Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Mr Rana Sayeed with the team.
A team of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses from the Oxford Heart Centre are set to climb the three highest peaks in the UK in just 24 hours on Saturday 28 May.
Led by consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Rana Sayeed, the group hopes to raise £5,000 for the Heart Campaign.
Mr Sayeed explains "A team of ten of us will set off at the crack of dawn on May 28th to face the full 4,406 feet of Ben Nevis. Then we'll drive to Scafell Pike in the Lake district to tackle its 3,210 feet, followed by the 3,560ft of the second highest peak of Snowdon. By this time we will be racing to get up and down the mountain by 6am on the Sunday."
The idea for the fundraising climb came from trainee surgeon Elizabeth Royston.
She said: "There's been a lot of amazing fundraising taking place at the hospital recently.
One heart consultant ran seven marathons in seven days and another group of staff swam the channel. I've done marathons before but have always wanted to do the Three Peaks. I thought it would be great for staff morale to do this together and anyway I am always looking for a new challenge."
The group will be setting off in a minibus on loan from the Barton Community Centre next weekend and hope to raise over £5,000 for the Oxford Heart Centre's fundraising appeal.
Rana Sayeed added: "We will all be pushing ourselves well beyond our comfort zones in an attempt to raise as much money as possible and hope people will get behind our efforts. The Heart Centre means a huge amount to all of us in the Cardiothoracic team as we know what a difference can be made through the extra facilities that fundraising can provide."
If you would like to sponsor the team:
If you would like to get involved with fundraising for the Oxford Heart Centre, Cancer Centre or Breast Cancer Screening you can sign up for The Heart and Cancer Abseil taking place at the John Radcliffe on Sunday 12 June 2011.
Contact: Sarah Vaccari
Contact Details: 01865 743444