In July 2012 it was announced that the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre which served 5 million people and treated 230 children and 70 adults a year, would close to focus surgical expertise in fewer locations. The unit would however continue to provide diagnosis and non-surgical treatment. The unit had the largest ECMO unit in the UK and had been in operation for 20 years and a petition to save it attracted 100,000 signatures.
