NEW state-of-the-art equipment which helps fight heart disease will soon be in Medway -thanks to a lottery grant of about £1 million.

The cardiac angiography kit is coming to Medway Maritime Hospital thanks to a grant from the New Opportunities Fund.

The specialist equipment, which allows an X-ray examination of blood vessels, will form an integral part of a new day unit for heart patients at Medway. The equipment is scheduled to be in use by March next year.

Welcoming this new investment, Medway NHS Trust chief executive Andy Horne said: "The new specialist heart unit means that many patients with suspected or confirmed coronary heart disease will receive timely investigation and diagnosis locally, instead of enduring the inconvenience and stress of commuting to a London hospital, which applies at present.

"Heart disease is the most common cause of premature death in the UK and this equipment will help us to raise the standard of service provided at Medway as well as making a positive difference to the patient, by reducing waiting times and speeding up the treatment process.

"This funding announcement is a positive boost to our plans. We now have to press on and get the infrastructure and the service fully operational for what is a really exciting development."

Medway is one of six trusts across the south of England to gain from the new wave of investment from the lottery, putting £297 million into the New Opportunities for Health programme aimed at reducing heart disease, cancer and strokes.

The extra money is expected to enable swifter diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.

Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, chair of the New Opportunities Fund, said: "This new investment of diagnostic equipment will make a real difference to the quality of life for people and will help to ensure that all patients have access to the right treatment at the right time."

It is estimated that about 1,000 patients a year will benefit from the new day unit at Medway.