The Spinal Injuries Centre in Rookwood Hospital, Cardiff, is set to be closed by next April. The Centre will be moved to another hospital site nearby.

Rookwood Hospital has been in need of refurbishment for sometime, and moving to a new hospital offers the potential for improved facilities. But if the patients are to benefit from the move then, as Aspire’s Head of Services Alex Rankin says, it’s absolutely vital that as well as a better physical environment, the current standard of service is maintained:

“There are some advantages in moving away from Rookwood. But the new Centre must have the same number of beds and the same number of staff. Meanwhile, the services provided by organisations including Aspire – such as our Assistive Computer Technology Programme and the Independent Living Advice we offer – must move along with the NHS facilities. Any reduction of service as a result of the move would be a real cause for concern.”

For Hugh Stokes, a former Rookwood patient who now volunteers for Aspire teaching new patients how to use the specialist computer equipment the Charity provides, getting the move right for the patients is critical:

“It might be a good thing to move, but only if the facilities for patient rehab carry on as they do now.  We can’t see patients lose out on rehab time, or on the facilities we need to allow people to start their lives again and live independently after a spinal injury. Many people, for example, benefit from the computers Aspire supply during rehab and they must be there at the new site and not be lost.”