A doctor who died of leukaemia two weeks ago has been granted his final wish: the NHS hospital where he was a patient will have its windows cleaned for the first time in seven years.

John Hughes-Games was treated as a patient at the Bristol Oncology Centre. He was appalled by the dirty windows during his stay and decided he wanted other patients in the ward to be able to see the sun.

He died after three weeks of treatment at the centre, but not before he had set about raising £1,500 to have all 400 windows cleaned.

"He received fantastic treatment in hospital but he did comment about the state of the windows," said his widow, Susan.

"They made everything look dark and gloomy - every day would look dull even when it wasn't outside.

"He just wanted people inside the building to be con nected to the outside world."

"All the wards are quite high up in the building but you wouldn't really know it.

"He said he would like to leave some money to have them done.

"It's an unusual gesture but the kind of thing he did. It will be a good memorial to him."

The unit, which opened in 1971, has 400 windows over four floors, which are framed by large concrete window ledges.

Mrs Hughes-Games asked her family and friends to make donations to the fund through undertakers handling the funeral of her husband.

But the family has said it will make up any shortfall needed to pay the bill, thought to be around £1,500.

"He [was] quite a spontaneous guy," said David Spence, clinical director and consultant homeopathic physician at the United Bristol Healthcare trust, which runs the unit.

"One day he said 'I'm going to set up a fund to have these windows cleaned' and absolutely true to form he's having it done."

Window-cleaning firms are currently tendering bids for the work, which is expected to take a three-man team a week to complete.

Steve Glasson, of Gleaming Windows in Bristol, is preparing to submit his quote after looking over the building.

"It's a big job - the windows are a terrible mess and it won't be a simple case of giving them a wipe," he said.

"They will need a thorough clean to get rid of all the bird mess and dirt - it's at least a week of work."

Dr Hughes-Games graduated from the University of Bristol in 1954 and worked in GP surgeries in the St Phillips, Knowle West and Whitchurch areas of Bristol for 40 years.

He became involved in homeopathy in the 1960s and began working at the Homeopathic hospital in Bristol in the 1970s.

He retired in 1997 at the age of 70, and was diagnosed with leukaemia in February this year.

In early July he was admitted to ward 62 of the Bristol Oncology Unit and underwent three weeks of transfusions to ease his pain.

The 77-year-old grandfather was allowed home to Clifton, Bristol, to spend a last week with his family before he died on July 22.

A spokesman for the United Bristol Healthcare trust said: "Dr Hughes-Games was a long-serving and highly respected member of the local health community, and will be greatly missed.

"He was also a larger-than-life character, and had a great rapport with staff at the Bristol Oncology and Haematology Centre during his stay.

"The fact that the only improvement he wanted was cleaner windows speaks volumes for the quality of clinical care he received at the centre."