THE £1 million eye unit at the Royal Bolton Hospital finally opened to a backlog of cataract patients this week.

Staff are hoping to double the number of treatments for cataract patients with the second theatre and are hoping to slash the waiting time to 26 weeks from referral to surgery. A temporary clinic had been set up at Beaumont Hospital during the winter whilst building work was carried out at the Minerva Road, Farnworth hospital.

The new theatre will mean better facilities for doctors and surgeons who already carry out 1,700 operations on Bolton people each year.

Beverley Andrew, director of operations for Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Staff have worked hard to get everything ready and I know they are excited by the new theatre opening. It will be of enormous benefit to local people."