A CAFE which has raised more than £1m to buy hospital equipment reopened this week after a £200,000 revamp.

The League of Friends Cafe at the John Radcliffe Hospital reopened on Monday after a six-week makeover.

It is the first time the volunteer-led cafe has been refurbished since it opened in the 1970s.

League of Friends chairman Andrew Bax said: “The whole place has been redecorated.

“We have been waiting for this for a very long time so it’s a great privilege to be chairman when we are marking a legacy in history.”

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A team of 14 volunteers runs the cafe, serving about 500 hospital staff, patients and visitors a day.

The cafe, on level 2 of the main hospital, raised £1m for hospital equipment by donating 40 per cent of its takings to the Headington hospital.

Mr Bax said: “The cafe is needed because we raise a lot of money and without it, where would 500 people a day have their lunch? People say it’s the heart of the hospital.”

Funds for the revamp were saved from the cafe’s weekly takings over the last few years.

More kitchen and serving space have been provided by extending into the seating area, which is still able to hold about 35 people at a time.

Volunteer Fiona Cookson said: “It’s early days but seems to be working well. It’s helpful to have new equipment and to be able to offer a greater choice.”

A 20ft daisy mural decorates one wall, which includes cafe facts and statistics.

Architect Georgia Burt, of Becket Street’s Gray Baynes and Shew, said: “We just wanted people to know that everything they spend there goes back to the hospital to benefit the patients. The mural is very striking.”

New flooring, wallpaper and hand rails were fitted, with an electric shutter and a glass screen to separate the cafe from the hospital corridor.

A new counter means volunteers can offer visitors a wider selection of food.

Ms Burt said plans for refurbishment began in 2013 and about 10 architects and builders worked on the six-week revamp.

She added: “It’s been a long time in the making. The League of Friends had outgrown the kitchen. It was very restricted.

“It was a little bit tired and the space was not working as well as it could have done.”

Ms Burt added: “I was very proud to be involved because the League of Friends does so much for the hospital.”

Mr Bax said the cafe is looking for volunteers and would like to hear from residents who can spend a few hours each week at the hospital.

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