Witney Minor Injuries Unit was judged runner-up in the NHS Nye Bevan Awards for excellence.

Staffed by emergency nurse practitioners seconded from Oxford's John Radcliffe casualty department, the centre gives fast-track treatment to people with small wounds.

Although the unit, which has a futuristic telelink with doctors at the acute hospital in Headington, has proved its success, earlier this year it was threatened with closure due to a lack of funding.

But Oxfordshire Health Authority recently revealed that it would be saved by a 200,000 cash injection.