Ministry of Defence
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MoD announces extra £24m for injured troops at Headley Court Rehab Centre
Defence Secretary Des Browne today announced an additional £24m of funding for the world leading Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court.
In 2007, the Armed Forces' Surgeon General commissioned a review of defence rehabilitation services to ensure that the highest standards of care can continue to be offered. Announcing the outcome of the review, Des Browne today pledged additional funding over the next four years for significant ward and accommodation upgrades.
Des Browne said:
"Headley Court is globally renowned for delivering first-class rehabilitation treatment to troops with complex physical and mental injuries. I want to ensure that reputation is retained and that is why I have announced £24m of additional investment in the future of Headley Court.
"I would also like to pay tribute today to the remarkable charitable work conducted to honour the bravery and professionalism of our Armed Forces. The excellent contributions of charities like SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) and Help for Heroes, is also going to raise more money for Headley Court."
The investment in Headley Court will fund key enhancements to maintain standards of care. The temporary ward annex will be replaced with a permanent expansion of the Peter Long Unit, bringing the number of permanent beds available for higher dependency in-patients to 66.
The upgrade will also include improvements to patients' daily lives. An expanded prosthetics facility and enhanced treatment areas and imaging facilities will be incorporated into the expanded Peter Long Unit. The prosthetics workshops are already some of the best in the world, and the new investment will help to keep them at the leading edge of rehabilitation.
Defence Medical Services are now saving more lives than ever before meaning that there is an increasing demand for accommodation at Headley Court. In addition to the £4m announced previously for a new 58-bed temporary accommodation block, the MOD will spend over £13m on a progressive upgrade of all the existing 180 beds for patients and staff, to provide modern facilities.
The findings of the Rehabilitation Review further underline the status of Headley Court as the premier treatment facility for injured service personnel, and the new funding announced today will help it to remain so.
Notes to Editors
1. With the increase in the numbers of patients, and the
complexity of the treatment required, there is a regular need to
enhance Headley Court's capabilities. Today's measures
follow improvements made over the course of the past 3 years.
These earlier improvements include:
a. our own workshops and
technicians to provide a "state of the art" limb fitting
service, enabling us to start to mobilize patients who have lost
limbs as soon as they arrive at Headley Court and to adjust their
prostheses as soon as needed;
b. an increase in the numbers of
therapists and nurses and the introduction of a new team to deal
with head injuries, working closely with partner
organizations;
c. deployment of physiotherapists into Iraq and
Afghanistan to assess patients' needs and start treatment,
where appropriate, in advance of their arrival at Headley Court;
and,
d. a new ward annex (opened last May), providing 30
additional beds and giving us a total of 66 ward beds.
2. Headley Court currently benefits from the use of a hydrotherapy pool and four gyms on site. Last year a new charity, Help for Heroes, generously offered to raise funds for a swimming pool and gym, which would together form a new rehabilitation complex, with additional space for rehabilitation and assessment. The charity has already made impressive progress in its fund-raising and we welcome their support.
3. Headley Court has worked in partnership with a number of charities for many years. The estate is owned by a charitable trust. The Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen's Family Association purchased a house in nearby Ashtead which was opened earlier this year as a "home from home" for families visiting patients at Headley Court, supplementing accommodation that we had already provided on site.
4. A copy of the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Top Level Review and Recommendations is available at: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DMS/OurPublications
5. Further information is available on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) website http://www.mod.uk/
