New standards for child heart surgery

Children's heart surgery services in Scotland are set to be measured against new standards, the Scottish Government has announced.

The standards, developed by leading heart care experts, will allow the Scottish centre to set a high benchmark for quality service and patient safety.

Clinicians and managers at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill in Glasgow - the base for children's heart surgery in Scotland - will undertake a self-assessment against the standards, developed as part of a UK-wide programme.

A team of expert clinicians will review the service delivered at the hospital.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "The staff of the RHSC provide excellent care to the children and parents who rely on them. These new benchmarks will ensure that we retain first-class childhood cardiac surgery in Scotland."