A SILSDEN family has joined MP Kris Hopkins in delight that Yorkshire's children’s heart unit has been saved.

Kirsty Whitaker, whose son Joseph was treated at the unit in Leeds, has welcomed the decision of an NHS review.

The announcement comes after years of uncertainty following a proposal in 2009 to close the unit at Leeds General Infirmary.

Campaigners had fought to keep the unit open and this month they won another victory after the NHS pledged to continue to support and monitor progress at Leeds - which is expected to meet all the required standards by 2019.

Similar units in London, Leicester and Manchester will close as NHS England seeks to boost surgeons’ skills with a bigger pool of patients at fewer sites.

Mr Hopkins, who represents parts of South Craven, said he had held several meetings with worried parents who were understandably concerned about the future of the Leeds unit.

He said: “I was very happy to raise their concerns with relevant ministers and officials, and am obviously delighted at the news.”

Kirsty, whose son Joseph was treated as a baby for a congenital heart defect, did a parachute jump in 2012 to raise money for the campaign to save the Leeds unit.

Joseph, now a keen soccer player and karate student, will return to Leeds over the next few years for surgery as he reaches growth milestones.

Kirsty said she had suspected the Leeds unit might be safe because she had read recent reports of its pioneering research and surgery.

She said: “It’s such a shame that other units will close instead, because it was all about the money. But it would have been a travesty if Leeds had closed down.

“We’ll need the unit in the future, and the thought of travelling to Newcastle was not welcoming. Leeds is where my heart lies and I trust the unit implicitly.”