A HEART "wonder drug" has saved the lives of 19 people in Wyre Forest in the first year of a pioneering trial.

They were all treated with thrombolytic drugs, a clot-buster used to treat potentially fatal heart attacks.

The drug, previously only administered at hospital, dramatically improves a patient's recovery rate if it is given quickly, said Brian Chambers, clinical director of Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

It was introduced on all 999 ambulances in Wyre Forest a year ago and has already been successfully used 19 times by the specially trained crews, he said.

A similar trial is running in Redditch with plans to extend it across Worcestershire and Herefordshire by next year.

Mr Chambers said the drug's success depended on a patient ringing 999 as soon as chest pain developed.

"These new drugs are wonderful but the sooner they are administered the better the chance of recovery.

"Some people are still reticent to ring us or accept they might be ill and leave it too long - if in doubt someone with chest pains should always ring us. We would rather have a wasted journey than arrive too late to help someone."

The treatment was introduced after Kidderminster Hospital lost accident and emergency services in September 2000.

The ambulance trust's director of operations Steve McGuinness said he hoped the number of patients helped by the drug demonstrated its effectiveness and eased the fears of people in Wyre Forest worried about the distance to hospital in Worcester or Redditch.

Paramedics also carry defibrillators, used to shock a heart back to life after a cardiac arrest which can be triggered by a heart attack.

The use of the thrombolytic drugs is combined with a hi-tech radio and equipment link between the paramedics and consultants in hospital, who can assess heart readings and advise treatment, added Mr Chambers.

Wyre Forest MP Dr Richard Taylor said of the scheme: "I am absolutely delighted it has got off the ground and that it's proving its worth."