Active Care Group and charity partners WheelPower have joined forces to develop the new Active Neuro Stoke Mandeville Private Rehabilitation Hospital.
This is a significant investment in the future of specialist spinal and neurological rehabilitation in the area.
The hospital design is already at an "advanced stage" on the chosen site.
Located next to Stoke Mandeville’s National Spinal Injuries Centre, the new 52-bed Active Neuro Stoke Mandeville Private Rehabilitation Hospital will treat approximately 250 patients a year, offering timely access to specialist spinal and neurological rehabilitation.
The site that has been chosen for the new facility is an existing site at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, which is owned by the charity.
Keith Browner, CEO at Active Care Group, told Building Better Healthcare: "Stoke Mandeville has a proud heritage in spinal injury rehabilitation and is globally recognised as the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement. With that legacy, and the specialist facilities already supporting people with spinal injuries, it is the natural home for the new Active Neuro Stoke Mandeville Private Rehabilitation Hospital.
"Through our partnership with WheelPower, the hospital will bring specialist rehabilitation services back to the site, giving more people access to gold-standard expertise and technology to support their recovery, independence and return to everyday life.”
Hospital design features
The new hospital will be designed around the needs of patients and families with specialist clinical, therapeutic and communal spaces that support rehabilitation at every stage of recovery, including:
- State-of-the-art rehabilitation environments designed for spinal and neurological recovery, including robotic gait and arm training, virtual-reality balance systems, augmented-reality therapy and neuromuscular stimulation.
- High-quality inpatient and day therapy areas designed to support intensive, multidisciplinary rehabilitation.
- Two technology-enabled, AI-integrated trial and step-down flats, where patients can safely practice daily activities before returning home.
- A dedicated ventilated high-dependency unit (HDU) to support patients with complex respiratory and medical needs.
- A specialist hydrotherapy pool designed to support accessible, patient-centred rehabilitation for patients with spinal injuries and clients with disabilities.
- Purpose-built communal and therapeutic spaces designed to enhance recovery, participation and patient experience, including a cinema room, outdoor wellbeing spaces and other areas that support rehabilitation beyond the clinical setting.
- Family accommodation to support recovery, participation and reintegration.
- A purpose-built AI learning, education and conference hub aimed at advancing research, innovation and quality in rehabilitation treatment and care.
The hospital is expected to create numerous skilled jobs across clinical, therapy, nursing, operational and support roles, bringing investment into the local community and helping to grow specialist rehabilitation capability in the UK.
Keith Browner, CEO of Active Care Group, said: “This investment reflects our long-term commitment to transforming outcomes for people recovering from life-changing injuries, ensuring they can access the very best rehabilitation care to make the fullest possible recovery.
More than 105,000 people in the UK are living with a spinal cord injury, with around 4,700 people injured or diagnosed each year. For many people, specialist rehabilitation is a critical part of rebuilding their lives after injury, helping them adapt, recover and regain as much independence as possible.
Rob Wilson, Chairman of WheelPower, said: “I am delighted that we are able to bring rehabilitation services back to our site. It is something that we set out in our five-year strategic plan as it will make such a difference - particularly as we know that a spinal cord injury can have such a profound impact on every part of a person’s life, affecting mobility, independence, confidence and overall quality of life. It was also part of the original vision of our founder, Sir Ludwig Guttmann.
“Rehabilitation services, coupled with an established route into sport, can make a profound difference to the thousands of people each year who experience life-changing spinal injuries and need access to specialist, ongoing services to help them recover and rebuild their lives. We will now have all these important services on one site.
