Royal Surrey hospital opens new cardiac lab after £500k revamp

The new lab features an X-ray machine not yet used anywhere else in the UK, the trust said

A state-of-the-art cardiac laboratory has opened at a hospital after a £500k refurbishment.

The Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust said its new Cardiac Catheter Laboratory featured equipment which had not been used anywhere else in the UK.

It said the "cath lab" was a specialist X-ray room where heart conditions could be diagnosed and treated.

The trust said the investment will ensure Guildford and Waverley maintain a high quality cardiac service.

It said planned and emergency procedures for more than 4,500 patients would happen in the lab each year.

Those would include the insertion of devices such as pacemakers and implantable cardiovascular defibrillators, which treat people with abnormal heart rhythms.

During the 12-week refurbishment, the lab was temporarily housed in a unit within the trust's main operating theatres.

Trust chief executive Louise Stead said it was a "fantastic facility that will enhance the high level of specialised care we can provide".