PATIENTS from across south Cumbria are to benefit from more than £1m of investment in heart care facilities.

The Morecambe Bay Cardiac Centre at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal was officially opened this month.

The investment from University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has paid for new specialised cardio-vascular imaging equipment and a full refurbishment of the Cardiac Catheter Lab Theatre Suite.

Trust chairman Pearse Butler said: “It was an honour to open the cardiac centre which will benefit so many people around Morecambe Bay for years to come.”

The centre, which will serve patients all along the Furness peninsula, offers services and procedures including diagnostic coronary angiography, which involves taking a specialised x-ray to diagnose conditions such as coronary artery disease which causes angina. Specialised staff will also fit permanent pacemaker implants and support a number of patients with chronic cardiac conditions.

Alison Capps-Nevett, lead radiographer for Morecambe Bay Cardiac Centre, said: “I am overwhelmed at the support we have had for the cardiac centre from staff, patients and partners, and overjoyed that we are all here today to celebrate. We were delighted to have opened ahead of schedule in July. I can’t thank all the key teams involved enough for their support throughout the scheme.

“We’ve had some great feedback from patients who have received care in the mobile Cath Lab which has been really rewarding.

“The newly-installed x-ray system is one of a new generation of cardio-vascular imaging suites which provides exceptionally high quality images of the heart with the ground-breaking benefit of a considerably reduced radiation dose per procedure. This is an advance of great significance for both our patients and the Cath Lab team.

“We take enormous pride in the quality of specialist care provided by our dedicated team, and this investment will further enhance the patient experience, providing assurance that the Cardiac Catheter Lab theatre suite here at UHMBT is, quite simply, of the highest specification and standard currently available.”

The investment is said to have “future-proofed” the cardiac centre for at least the next decade.

Dr Adrian Brodison, clinical lead cardiologist for UHMBT, said: “It provides a huge technological leap forward from our previous unit and, as such, will allow us to explore further development of cardiac services for our patients in Morecambe Bay.”