PATIENTS have always been the focus of the NHS since it formed in 1948.

After all that was the whole reason the health service began - to offer free health care to those that need it.

And while it is the patients that are the focus, it is the 1.5million NHS staff who make the idea of the NHS possible.

In Oxfordshire there have been hundreds of thousands of young lives saved and improved by the dedicated team at the Oxford Children's Hospital at the John Radcliffe.

The Oxford Mail spoke to families who wished to offer their thanks to the surgeons, doctors, nurses and therapists whose tireless efforts have helped them through what is likely to be the most traumatic and difficult time of their lives.

Seven-year-old William Gent, from Bampton, had his last stay at the children's hospital two years ago.

He spent four months in a wheel chair following an operation to correct a condition called congenital kyphoscoliosis - meaning his spine did not form properly in the womb and does not grow straight.

And while he will continue to need treatment the success of the last operation has meant he has now spent the last couple of years leading a relatively normal life.

William's mother, Katy, said: "He was speaking with some friends about the year he spend in and of hospital, and he declared it to be the best year of his life.

"For us it was traumatic, but for William and his younger sister, they remember it very fondly.

"We were all so well looked after there, not just medically but in every sense of the word."

"He spent a lot of time on the wards with the play therapists and it's just amazing how everyone made his stay there not just tolerable but actually enjoyable.

"For that I can't thank them enough."

Anna Drysdale was diagnosed with cancer in February 2017.

When she began complaining about a strange feeling in her arm parents Keeley and Ian Drysdale thought she may have fractured it after a fall from the sofa.

However, following tests at the John Radcliffe Hospital the youngster from Chipping Norton was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma.

Surgeons were quick to operate on the tumour, removing a bone in her leg to reconstruct her upper arm and shoulder.

She then spent most of the year at Oxford Children's Hospital, undergoing a course of chemotherapy.

Mrs Drysdale said: "From the moment we first walked into the ward every member of staff did their best to put us at ease during what a terrifying time in our lives.

"They are so caring and will do anything they possibly can to help."

Anna is now in remission after finishing her treatment in April.

Mrs Drysdale said: "She's doing really well.

"She's back at school and enjoying life.

"Words can't express our enormous gratitude and thanks for everything they have all done for us.

"We are forever indebted to them."

Surgeons told Lynne and Tom Hammond they had to operate quickly to save their daughter's sight.

Then two-years-old, Eliza Hammond had been diagnosed with children's cataracts leaving her with just 10 per cent vision in her eyes.

She was taken to the Oxford Eye Hospital for the major eye operation which was a success.

Mrs Hammond said their 'world fell apart' after hearing the diagnosis

She said: "When we saw the consultant Dr Goran Hildebrand, he was amazing,

"He was able to put us at ease bearing min mind he had had the shock diagnosis.

"He was really able to reassure us and calm us down.

"And it wasn't just him, it was all the staff.

"They all got to know us as a family which makes things so much easier."