Winchester GPs and nurses are among the first in the South to offer an improved service for patients with heart problems.

The medical staff are introducing a new package of care which encourages healthy living and regular health monitoring.

The doctors and nurses from Winchester Primary Care Group have been on a training course at Alton Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre.

The new guidelines from ALIVE 2000 (Actions Linked to Impact on Vascular Events) aim to:

help patients stop smoking;

encourage healthier eating;

increase physical activity;

treat with drugs to reduce the progress of the disease.

Norma McKay, ALIVE 2000 project manager, said: "It is still early days for Primary Care Groups to be planning health care for their own localities as they have only been in existence since April 1999.

"Mid Hampshire and Blackwater PCGs have already led the way in developing new local services for patients with heart disease and it is a credit to their hard work and commitment."

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