Disabled people in Oxfordshire will be able to visit a one-stop shop for support and care, after the Oxford Centre for Enablement was opened yesterday.

Disabled Rights Commission chairman Bert Massie cuts the ribbon to officially open the centre

The £9.1m centre, at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington, has brought a number of services under one roof. Patients will no longer have to travel, accompanied by staff, between the different facilities, which were scattered across the city.

Head injury unit Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, physical disability centre Ritchie Russell House, carer charity Crossroads, Dialability, and services housed at the NOC's Mary Marlborough Centre, and Oxford Wheelchair Service will all be based at the centre.

OCE director Anne Stead said: "It's been a long time coming, but the start of change is now here. The OCE will, for many patients, provide a single centre to meet their needs.

"The centre will also welcome Rivermead's strong research base, which will support the specialist skills of rehabilitation and disability management."

The OCE has taken two years to build and will provide neurological rehabilitation, respite and day care, carer support, disability services and treatment.

It has 37 inpatient beds, 20 day care places and an outpatients' area.

The design of the centre includes overhead hoists to help staff move patients, colour-coded areas directing visitors to the centre, wide corridors for easy wheelchair access, and gardens.

The building was named by the people using the centre's facilities, who said it enabled them by improving their quality of life.

It has replaced buildings, including the former Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre in Abingdon Road, and Ritchie Russell House, at the Churchill Hospital.

Ed Macalister-Smith, NOC chief executive, said: "Staff have been involved every step of the way and have contributed to everything from building design to designing new uniforms.

"We're delighted NOC will be able to offer this magnificent new centre for neurological rehabilitation and continuing disability management. We hope it will act as a flagship."