Insane idea to close unit just to save money, says dad

Monday 14th March 2011, 1:00PM GMT.

Paul Joly’s son, Michael, nearly died when he was six. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 1108781)

THE father of a 12-year-old boy whose life hung in the balance before he reached Southampton Hospital has joined calls for the children’s cardiac unit there to stay open.

Paul Joly, 34, had to watch as his son, Michael, then 6, struggled with the effects of a lethal virus that prompted his brain to start shutting down his body.

Within hours of receiving treatment in Guernsey, he was flown to Southampton to receive the essential medical attention he needed.

‘If that unit wasn’t there, he wouldn’t have made a further flight,’ said Mr Joly. ‘With the extra time it would have taken to get to Gatwick or Manchester, he would have been dead, without a shadow of a doubt.’