A £3.4m heart centre is nearing completion at Cumberland Infirmary and is expected to begin treating patients as of next week.
The heart centre will be used to provide essential emergency surgery to patients who've suffered severe cardiac arrest, alongside investigative procedures for lower-risk heart conditions and less severe heart attacks.
Dr Justin Barclay, clinical director for cardiology, said: “Having the two labs is a complete game changer for us, before now we only had one.
"We used to have to postpone planned procedures if we had an emergency case come in.
"These two labs are not just state of the art with the best equipment we could ask for, they mean that we will be able to carry our planned procedures simultaneously with emergency procedures," he said.
Work began on the project in September 2022.
"We will start treating people in the new labs from next week and we hope to be fully operational using both labs simultaneously by spring.
"The new labs will improve patient experience and eventually increase the numbers of patients who can be treated and in a more timely way.
"It will also reduce the patients that need to be transferred to the north east because we are now able to carry out even more complex procedures here," Dr Barclay added.
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