JUST weeks after it was announced that people in south west Hertfordshire suffer more from heart disease than those in the north of the county, health bosses have reacted to remedy the situation.

Watford and Three Rivers Primary Care Group (PCG) has set aside £90,000 to improve cardiac care in the area.

GPs will be able to apply for a share of this cash to improve their services. Grants of between £2,000 to £6,000 will be available.

Such speed of action and sensible targeting of resources must be welcomed.

PCGs are designed to get cash away from bureaucrats and to the people who really make a difference in health care and the way Watford and Three Rivers PGC has acted swiftly to respond to this issue shows this can work.

There may be many causes for people in south west Hertfordshire suffering more heart problems than their north Hertfordshire counterparts.

Possible reasons put forward include the fact there were, until recently, no national guidelines on cardiac care and there had only been one cardio-vascular consultant in the south of the region, compared with two in the north.

But, whatever the reasons, GPs are in a good position to do something about it.

GPs are most people's first and main point of contact with the health service and they are the first experts to have a chance to diagnose problems.

So it makes perfect sense for this cash to go straight to them.

It will allow GPs and nurses to give care beyond the traditional limits, such as setting up special cardiac clinics to monitor patients closely - something which could operate across more than one practice.

The scheme is thought to be unique and so, not only has the PCG produced an intelligent plan, it has produced a ground-breaking one as well.