"RAISING money for the Big Red Heart Appeal will help to save lives."

This is the message from coronary care staff at Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital as a two-year fundraising campaign is launched today.

It will also be the Grimsby Telegraph's official appeal for at least the next year.

With February being National Heart Awareness Month, and Valentine's Day fast approaching, we are asking you to look into your heart to help others.

The £2-million appeal is to develop a coronary angiography suite at the Grimsby hospital with a new catherterisation lab where numerous procedures will be carried out.

They will include angiograms, the fitting of pace-makers – special devices to help synchronise the heartbeat – and the fitting of defibrillators, which correct the heartbeat using an electric current. Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is also supporting the campaign, and staff will be trained in advanced to fit the specialist devices. Currently, patients have to travel to out of town hospitals for some of the procedures.

Mr Mike Walters, consultant and cardiology and clinical director for medicine, said: "At the moment the patients have to go to other hospitals for various procedures – it is important to raise money for the appeal so that they can be done locally.

"The £2-million is achievable and it will mean the waiting list will come down and people will be seen quicker."

Anne Jones, radiology sister at the Scartho Road hospital, said: "At the moment, the X-ray equipment here is shared with the vascular department.

"Having a new cath lab will mean vascular will have more flexibility and inpatients waiting for cardiac procedures could be seen that day, instead of waiting several days.

"Raising the money will help to save lives."

Ron Kitching, chairman of the Grimsby and District Health Care Charity and co-ordinator of the Big Red Heart Appeal, said raising the cash will be "a dream come true".

He said it will do wonders for the hospital – meaning staff can help more local people – and build on their excellent cardiac services.

Read Ron's own story of how the department's staff have helped him in tomorrow's Grimsby Telegraph.

As reported, The Big Red Heart Appeal follows on from our hugely successful Pink Rose Appeal and Bottom's Up, which raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for breast and bowel cancer sufferers respectively.