We often hear complaints about the standard of treatment and cleanliness in the NHS.

But how lucky we are to live in such a centre of excellence.

There cannot be too many illnesses and conditions where the expertise to tackle them is lacking.

The latest good news on the health front comes with the announcement of a new £29m cardiac centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Oxford already has a worldwide reputation for heart operations, including some revolutionary techniques.

With the new centre, much more will be achieved.

Not only will the centre create 200 jobs, it will enable staff to treat an additional 2,000 patients a year, bringing the total to 22,000.

Another bonus is that the money has been guaranteed by the Department of Health.

This means that work can proceed quickly - the new centre is due to open in January - and that we won't have to go through the long and arduous process of having a public appeal, as we did with the Oxford Children's Hospital.

The decision to choose the John Radcliffe for such a vital project shows great faith in the work being done on heart patients in Oxford.

For that, we should all be grateful.