Nearly 3m has been ploughed into Oxfordshire's health system to combat pressure during the winter months.

Acute and community hospital staff have been working together with the health authority and social services to make sure patients are given the best treatment at what is historically the worst time of the year for the NHS.

Bosses are confident they have done everything possible to ease the situation, despite a national survey which shows the UK could be heading for another disastrous winter. The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, which oversees Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, the Churchill, Radcliffe Infirmary, and The Horton, Banbury, was given 1.9m of Government money to improve critical care.

Intensive care beds have been increased and a new High Dependency Unit set up to care for people too ill for general wards.

More cash has been ploughed into a new GP referral unit at the John Radcliffe, which will allow patients to be fast-tracked to medical wards. A new Rapid Access Chest Clinic means those with chest pain or coronary problems will be diagnosed quickly.

Health authority development and implementation manager Carolyne McKinlay said: "Another 670,000 has just been awarded to us and we are currently working out how to use that money to combat the problem, too."