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Heart patients will continue to benefit from the increased investment to the NHS as a whole. £600 million is being invested directly to improve and expand England's cardiac facilities and patient care environment.

Patients are now using new facilities at Papworth, South Tees and Central Manchester.

In October 2004 a new £60 million state of the art heart and lung centre was opened in Wolverhampton significantly expanding the capacity for local residents.

The Cardiothoracic Centre at Broadgreen in Liverpool will open the doors to its new wing in the summer of 2005, providing a much needed increase in capacity for residents of the North West of England and North Wales.

A number of other large new units are planned in Oxford, Bristol, Blackpool and Essex, with the new cardiothoracic centre opening in Basildon in September 2006. This will offer Essex residents improved local access to diagnostics, surgery and angioplasty.

Leicester will open the doors to its new and modernised services in September 2005.

In Kent, Leeds and Manchester funding has been provided for new and upgraded cardiac centres. These developments all include the establishment of local networks of district general hospital angiography and angioplasty services offering more local care for local residents whilst working alongside the specialist services offered through tertiary centres.

The Department of Health is proud of the developments funded at Sheffield, Southampton, Plymouth, Dorset and Somerset, Newcastle and Hull.

Nottingham City Hospital is well on track with its new cardiothoracic centre and will offer patients care in a more modern and vibrant environment from July 2005.

The capital treasury modernisation fund for cancer imaging equipment has had a very real impact on cardiac imaging too. Of the 75 wave one to six sites receiving new MRI machines, 23 with have cardiac capability providing an opportunity for enhanced imaging and diagnostics. In the longer term another 30 sites will take delivery of their new MRI equipment with many of these enabling improved cardiac care support.

In order to improve diagnostic facilities, the Department of Health and the New Opportunities Fund (now known as the Big Lottery Fund) have invested £125million to build 90 new or replacement cardiac angiography laboratories. The last of these is anticipated to be delivered by November 2005. By the end of the year it is expected that the number of cath labs in the NHS will have increased by over 50% since 2002.

A map showing the progress made by the NHS catheter laboratory services from 2002-2007 is below.