THE fate of children’s heart surgery in Southampton will finally be decided today.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will make his long-awaited announcement on how many of ten centres scattered around England will close.

Among the ten is Southampton General Hospital, which appeared to have been saved last July after a study by the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT).

But the decision was thrown up in the air by a campaign group for Leeds hospital – earmarked for closure – which won a High Court ruling that the process was legally flawed.

Mr Hunt asked an independent panel to review the entire future of children’s heart surgeries and will reveal his conclusions in a statement to MPs today.

Yesterday he hinted that some closures were inevitable, saying: “Where there are difficult reconfiguration debates to be had we will not duck them.”

Southampton’s unit was saved after the Echo’s Have a Heart campaign collected more than 250,000 signatures in support of the unit, which was shown to be the second best in the country.

Nine-year-old Aaron Prior, of Locks Heath, whose life was saved by heart surgeons in Southampton, was one of those who presented the petition at Downing Street in June 2011.

For all the latest on the Daily Echo Have a Heart campaign click here