Heart attack patients receive top life-saving treatment at an Oxfordshire hospital, according to figures released by the Royal College of Physicians.

The Horton Hospital in Banbury is one of only 33 hospitals in England which has passed four Government targets put in place to ensure people suffering from cardiac arrest are given the best emergency care and follow-up preventative treatment.

The John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, Oxford, missed one of the four targets by a small margin.

The Royal College of Physicians' Myocardial Infarction National Audit Project report monitored the performance of 215 hospitals since 2000, when the Department of Health launched a 10-year programme setting standards of care for heart disease patients.

Part of the scheme centred around heart attacks, caused when a clot forms in the heart and starves it of oxygen.

Hospitals must administer clot-dissolving drugs to 75 per cent of eligible heart attack patients within 30 minutes of hospital admittance -- a period known as door-to-needle time

Staff must also ensure 80 to 90 per cent of heart attack patients are discharged with medication to prevent further attacks. This may include aspirin to prevent clots, beta blockers to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure, and statins to reduce cholesterol levels.

Although The Horton passed all the targets, less than 75 per cent of patients admitted to the JR were given clot-dissolving drugs within 30 minutes.

A spokesman for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, responsible for both hospitals, said The Horton treated 78 per cent of heart attack patients within the 30-minute door-to-needle time period.

But the JR treats 70.5 per cent of patients within 30 minutes, missing the target by 4.5 per cent.

The trust's emergency department clinical director Dr Rick Pullinger said: "This demonstrates that the way we work in collaboration with the ambulance service and other colleagues is bearing fruit."

The trust has introduced a number of measures to help meet the targets.

All heart attack patients are treated in casualty and paramedics alert hospital staff in advance if they are delivering a suspected heart attack patient.

Dr Jeremy Dwight, consultant physician and cardiologist, said: "This has been an important collaborative effort across medicine, cardiology and the emergency department. Achieving these targets means potentially saving more lives. It is a priority for us to improve."

The trust is continuing to improve performance by investing in equipment and providing training for casualty staff.