Belfast children’s heart surgery unit should close, says health board

Children born with congenital heart defects in Northern Ireland should have their surgery carried out in future in Dublin rather than Belfast, a report from the province’s Health and Social Care Board has recommended.

Northern Ireland’s health minister, Edwin Poots, is expected to make a final decision within a few weeks, but his approval is thought to be a formality.

Campaigners have battled to keep the surgery in Northern Ireland, and more than 80 members of the legislative assembly …