SPECIALISTS at the Royal Blackburn Hospital have said they hope to save countless more lives when its new cardiac catheter laboratory opens.

The hospital’s second laboratory, set to open in April as part of a £2 million development programme, will allow doctors to perform more advanced heart procedures on East Lancashire patients.

The cardiac team, led by consultant cardiologists Dr Ravi Singh, Dr John McDonald and Dr Kanarath Balachandran, has already halved deaths following heart attacks through its state-of-the-art heart unit.

Since services were reorganised in October 2007, deaths in hospital following heart and angina attacks dropped from 15 per cent to seven per cent, and deaths within 30 days of leaving the wards fell from 19 per cent to 10 per cent by January this year.

The three have performed angiograms and fitted pacemakers in the existing lab for almost three years, carried out under local anaesthetic.

But patients who needed more advanced treatment such as coronary angioplasty, the surgery Blackburn Rover's manager Sam Allardyce underwent 10 days ago, which involves the fitting of wire mesh stents to open blocked arteries, or the fitting of more complex pacemakers, have had to travel to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for their treatment.

Dr Singh, lead consultant cardiologist, said: “The big benefit for patients is that they will now be able to have these more complicated procedures in Blackburn.

"At the moment patients from Pendle, in particular, have to face very long journeys, which can only increase their anxiety.

“Having the facilities on site will also mean our most urgent patients can have these procedures very quickly after they first suffer from chest pains.

"A large proportion of heart patients will be able to have their complete package of care here.

“It’s a very exciting development for cardiac patients in East Lancashire.”

Three new staff nurses, a radiographer and extra lab technicians have been appointed to support the service.

A large mezzanine floor above the main entrance to the hospital has already been converted into a dedicated recovery area.

The new laboratory is being built next to that area and is on schedule to open in March.

The existing laboratory will then be upgraded, with both fully-operational by May.