Oxford Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre officially opened

The Oxford Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre (OHTC) was officially opened on 5 October 2022 by Martin Beard and Sandy Jeffery, patients at the OHTC. It is one of the largest Haemophilia Comprehensive Care Centres in the UK, responsible for the care of patients with bleeding and clotting disorders.

Staff and patients at the centre were joined by the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Oxford University Hospitals, Professor Meghana Pandit and Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery and Douglas Graham, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Hospitals Charity who helped fund the project, as well as retired Consultant Haematologist and leading expert in Haemostasis and Thrombosis, Dr David Keeling after whom one of the laboratories was named.

The OHTC, run by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), was previously located at the Churchill Hospital, and completed its move to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) in March this year.

Works on the OHTC commenced in January 2021 and were completed in early 2022.  The building, which had been a ward and then used for storage, was re-designed and completely refurbished with a budget of £4 million.

Funding was also provided by the Oxford Hospitals Charity to purchase new rehabilitation gym equipment for patients and to make the outdoor space welcoming and attractive for patients and staff.

The new OHTC houses around 50 members of staff across all teams and is in a quiet location on the NOC site with disabled parking in front and a large green space to the rear. The interior layout includes treatment rooms, co-located offices, the Keeling laboratories, staff rooms and a patient gym.

The OHTC cares for close to 8,000 patients annually, and the teams lead programmes across the Trust for Venous Thromboembolism Prevention and Anticoagulation Safety. It is dedicated to providing specialist care to patients locally, regionally, and nationally, including adults, children and their families diagnosed with Haemophilia A, Haemophilia B, von Willebrands disease and other rare bleeding disorders.

Dr Susie Shapiro, Head of Department for the Oxford Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre said: "We are delighted to have successfully moved to our new location at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital.

"Our new Centre provides improved clinic and treatment facilities for our patients including an on-site patient gym to help with rehabilitation following bleeds and surgery and keeps our specialist haemostasis laboratory and staff offices altogether."

Professor Meghana Pandit, Chief Executive Officer at OUH said: "I am pleased that the new, modernised OHTC is now officially welcoming patients, and our staff are excited to be working in this new environment where they will benefit from new areas to work. We are committed to improving patient experience across OUH, and the relocation of the OHTC will help us deliver compassionate and high-quality care to patients with bleeding and clotting disorders."

Dr David Keeling, retired Consultant Haematologist and leading expert in Haemostasis and Thrombosis, said: "As a clinician, I have always had a keen interest in laboratory haemostasis and was passionate about the integration of laboratory and clinical services.

"I am therefore delighted that the new OHTC will continue to have a bespoke haemostasis laboratory sited alongside the Haemophilia and Thrombosis clinical facilities, so that the vital close daily contact between laboratory scientists and clinicians continues. I am most honoured, and humbled, that the laboratory bears my name."

Sandy Jeffery, patient at OHTC, said: "Over the years I have been supported and treated through many medical crises. I am a patient of Dr Susie Shapiro and Dr Nikki Curry, the OHTC consultants, and they and the rest of the staff have created an amazing centre where we can access and receive help and support with any medical problems that we may have.

"The new OHTC is much bigger, brighter and has, more importantly, so many more facilities. It is an amazingly well organised and designed Centre for us patients to be treated in."

Douglas Graham, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: "We are delighted to be able to support such an important initiative. The additional rehab equipment funded by the charity will make a huge difference to many patients, and the outdoor area when completed will provide much needed space for patients and staff to be able to relax."