PATIENTS needing heart surgery can now expect to have their operation within weeks of seeing a surgeon, according to hospital bosses.

The past few years has seen the transformation of heart surgery services at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.

Thanks to massive investment, creating extra operating theatres and ward space and appointing more specialist staff, long waits of up to 18 months for heart surgery are a thing of the past.

Seven months ago, The Northern Echo exclusively revealed that no one in the region was waiting longer than three months for heart surgery, including the wait to be diagnosed at a local hospital after being referred by a GP.

Now specialists at the Teesside heart unit have released new figures that confirm the huge improvement in treatment for heart patient in the past five years.

The reduction in waiting times to under three months underlines the success of The Northern Echo's long-running A Chance To Live campaign, launched in 1999.

Dr Jim Hall, who recently stepped down as chief of cardiothoracic services at the 1,000-bed hospital, said the improvements were "fantastic".

Since the multi-million investment to greatly expand capacity at the heart unit, literally hundreds of lives had been saved, he said.

Last year at James Cook, 850 people had heart bypass surgery and patients can expect to be operated on within six weeks of seeing a surgeon in outpatients.

Another 1,300 patients had angioplasty, a non-surgical procedure to unblock furred arteries, and would expect to wait less than three months for their treatment.

The death rate for heart patients in County Durham and Tees Valley was being steadily reduced and the next set of figures should confirm that the region is catching up with the national average for England.

While celebrating what has been achieved, Dr Hall predicted that a combination of pent-up demand being released and an improvement in diagnostic facilities at local hospitals would see a 20 per cent increase in the number of patients coming forward.

The consultant cardiologist said the demand for angioplasty would shoot up by up to 50 per cent over the next couple of years.

More specialist staff would have to be appointed to cope with this demand, he said.

"We will need more cardiologists, more radiographers and more cardiac physiologists," said Dr Hall.

Read more about the Chance To Live campaign here.