TRAVELLING to the capital for specialist heart and lung treatment will soon be a thing of the past for thousands of Essex residents.

Building work in now complete on the world-class £60million Essex Cardiothoracic Centre in Basildon.

The centre will be a welcome addition to facilities at the hospital as Essex has been identified as an area with high rates of heart and respiratory disease. It is especially prevalent in south Essex.

The cardiothoracic centre is due to open in July and over the next two months, it will be stocked with state-of-the-art equipment for diagnosing and treating cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.

It will employ 400 staff and house more than 100 beds, many in individual rooms, including a fully-equipped 22-bed critical care unit.

The centre will also have state-of-the-art operating theatres, specialist cardiology labs, a rehabilitation gym, overnight facilities for relatives to stay and specialist day care facilities, including a dedicated cardiology day ward.

Health bosses say the centre will have the capacity to perform more than 1,400 surgical procedures and 2,500 cardiology procedures each year, in addition to seeing outpatients.

The centre will provide a range of adult services in cardiology, cardiac diagnostics, cardiac surgery and thoracic surgery.

It had already been viewed by almost 100 people, when the Essex Cardiac Network hosted a heart patient conference recently.

Clinical director Andrew Ritchie told the conference the centre would improve access to specialist treatment for thousands of people with serious heart or lung problems in the county.

He said the aim had been to build a world-class cardiothoracic centre for Essex.

It is hoped the centre will mean shorter waiting time and easier access for patients.

A small group of people, representing patient groups, have also seen the centre.

Nigel Marchment, chairman of the Basildon Cardiac Patient Representative Group, said he was extremely impressed with the centre.

He added: "The design and layout is all about patient wellbeing.

"We are very much looking forward to seeing the finished building."

Construction on the centre began in February, 2005, and work is running on schedule.

This week, it was handed over by developers HBG to the chairman of the hospital trust, Michael Large.

Dr Roger Boyle, the national director of Heart Disease and Stroke, was on hand for the milestone event.

Equipment and furniture will now be installed over the next two months, followed by a thorough deep-clean of the building, before it is opened in July. The centre has been funded by the Department of Health.