THE Royal Bolton Hospital has the best record in the North-west for giving heart patients clot-busting drugs within target times.

Three years since the Government set hospitals tough time limits for providing the drugs and for seeing patients complaining of chest pains, health chiefs say care for heart disease patients has improved significantly.

The coronary team ensured that all patients arriving at the hospital with chest pains were, where necessary, given the clot-busting drugs, which reduce heart muscle damage and help prevent further heart attacks.

In January, 90 per cent of patients were treated within 20 minutes of arriving at the hospital -- 10 minutes ahead of the target time of half-an-hour.

Every patient referred to the hospital's rapid access chest pain clinic was seen within 14 days, ensuring it met the other time target of a fortnight, set in 2000.

Hospital bosses point to the extra staff they have taken on to enable them to improve care.

Three years ago there were no acute chest pain specialist nurses at the hospital, but now there are four. A specialist heart failure nurse has also been appointed and is educating practice nurses in caring for cardiac patients.

Tracy Higginson, senior nurse for cardiology, said: "It's excellent news that we have made such progress in just three years. Countless people have been helped.

"The targets are becoming increasingly demanding to meet with the resources we have, but we will continue to work hard for our patients."

But the hospital is hoping the service will improve further when a new coronary care unit is built.

An appeal is under way to raise £1.3 million to build a new 10-bed coronary care unit. The existing unit was built in the 1960s, but is cramped and dark by today's standards.

Anne Schenk, director of service development, said: "The new coronary care unit will further add to the standard of service. Patients who do come in with a possible heart attack will receive care in a better equipped unit with a better environment."

Bolton has one of the worst heart disease records in the country with 51 deaths per 100,000, compared with 22 per 100,000 in Kent. In Bolton 29pc of women and 34pc of men smoke.