MEDICS at Worcester's new hospital are setting the pace when it comes to treating patients with heart problems.

The £96m hospital recently launched a new pacemaker service, which aims to save people's lives as well as saving them the trouble of travelling elsewhere in the country for treatment.

It has recruited a team of specialists, who can fit pacemakers and send the patient home the same day.

Since the start of the service in December last year, 45 people have had the operation at Worcestershire Royal.

In the past, they would have had to travel to Birmingham to be treated.

Team leader Dr David Pitcher, a consultant cardiologist, said most elective patients had pacemakers fitted within three weeks, while emergency patients had them installed almost immediately.

"Previously, they would have had to wait for a week to be transferred to Birmingham, and the transfer was not without risk," he said.

"Hopefully, we are delivering a safer service, which is more convenient for patients."

Dr Pitcher is joined by cardiac technician Tracey Hammond and Liz Rhee, a specialist coronary care nurse. A radiologist also helps with the operations.

"The process involves teamwork," said Dr Pitcher. "Putting in a pacemaker requires input from all four members of the team."

Surprisingly for an operation involving the heart, it is done under local anaesthetic and requires just a small cut under the collarbone.

The whole operation takes between 30 minutes and one hour, and the pacemaker is positioned under the skin and fatty tissue.

Each pacemaker costs £1,400, compared to £500 30 years ago. They now last between eight and 10 years, while early models had to be replaced after just two-and-a-half years.

The pacemaker recipient should be able to live a normal life after their operation.

"It should hopefully keep them out of hospital and raise their quality of life," said Mrs Hammond.

The service does not require much specialist equipment, but the funding has not been available to staff it until now.