AN eagerly-anticipated £29m heart centre, built to save thousands of lives each year, has welcomed its first patients.

Yesterday, the Oxford Mail was given the first look inside the Oxford Heart Centre, based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, which staff have spent the past five days moving equipment and then patients into.

More than 20,000 cardiac patients are treated at the John Radcliffe Hospital each year, including up to 400 heart attack victims.

The new five-storey centre houses an around-the-clock heart attack centre, which allows patients to be delivered from ambulances directly to treatment rooms, saving live-saving minutes before treatment.

The hospital also has five catheter labs for diagnosing and treating other heart problems, more than 90 beds – including 50 single rooms for patients – and a dedicated space for medical teaching and research into new treatments for heart disease.

Steve Pugsley, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, was one of the first patients to be moved into the Oxford Heart Centre over the weekend.

The 48 year-old father-of-four was recovering after a heart valve replacement and had been staying in the John Radcliffe before the centre opened.

He said: “I love it here. I can finally sleep at night now I am in my own room.

“They have given me the option of being moved back to a hospital closer to home.

“But despite the long drive from home, my wife is determined I should stay here.”

Cardiology ward sister, Natasha Goswell, said staff were busy feeling their way around the new centre.

She added: “It’s very spacious and very nice.

“Obviously, it’s a new way of working which takes time to get used to, but my staff have been exceptional.

“Because everything is now housed in one centre, it will greatly improve the patient experience.”

The centre has been funded by the Department of Health with contributions from Oxford University, which will use the centre as a research base.

But fundraising for the Oxford Heart Centre is not over.

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Charitable Funds team is hoping to raise another £2m for furnishings.

Last weekend, more than 500 hundred people took part in the It’s Not Just a Walk in the Park event, which raised thousands of pounds for Oxford Cancer Centre and Oxford Heart Centre – and many more events are planned.

awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk