HEART care in the Hart region has received a boost with the purchase of a piece of portable equipment that can spot disease early on.

The £56,000 cardiac echo system, which has been bought by the Blackwater Valley and Hart Primary Care Trust, will be used at various locations in the area - which includes Old Basing, Hartley Wintney and Hart.

The purchase of the kit was made possible thanks to £20,000 donations from former Surrey Heath mayor Ian Simms and charity organisation The British Heart Foundation. The balance was paid by the PCT.

Dr John de Verteuil, a Farnborough GP, said: "I liken the echo system to someone cleaning dirty windows and getting a clearer picture as a result.

"For someone with limited outward signs of heart disease, this equipment makes a real difference, and its portability means that patients no longer have to go to hospital to be checked.

"National statistics suggest that, in our area, we should expect about 3,000 people to be suffering from heart failure. So far only 1,000 have been identified.

"When heart problems are suspected in a patient, the cardiac echo system allows us to confirm the disease early on so that we can start treatment much more quickly, improving patient outcomes and reducing hospital admissions."

The firm, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, has also paid for additional equipment and is set to help provide much-needed specialist training for nurses.