The Wessex Neurological Centre provides a dedicated, integrated, 24 hour acute neurosurgical and neurological assessment, investigation and treatment service. It sits within a large teaching hospital Trust with clear priorities for maintaining high standards of care and developing its specialist services for the community. Serving a population of over 3 million people spread across central southern England and the Channel Islands, each year we treat approximately 4,000 inpatients and 13,000 outpatients.

Facing up to any form of illness or injury can be daunting, but perhaps even more so when the condition affects the brain. The following pages give details of the facilities and services available at the Centre, and provide information on some of the specialist support available to patients and their families. For example, our team of specialist nurses, each with a wealth of experience and knowledge in a particular area, is on hand to provide support and to answer your questions.

There was a time when patients awaiting transfer from the Wessex Neurological Centre (WNC) to their 'home' hospital elsewhere in the region did just that - wait. Often the reason for the delay was the lack of the appropriate vehicle to undertake the 'repatriation', but thats all changed with the introduction of the Smile4Rich ambulance. Built as a dedicated resource for the WNC by WAS Vehicles, the Ambulance was entirely funded by the Smile4Rich Appeal, which raised £80,000 in a little over 18 months. It went into operational service in early May 2007 and, in its first year, carried around 600 patients.

Aside from the more recent and public Smile4Rich Appeals, which focus on capital / equipment projects, the Wessex Neurological Centre Trust has been providing charitable support to deserving projects since 1983. For the most part, this has involved sponsoring research projects into neurological conditions, often providing the funding needed to 'pump-prime' research that would not otherwise be undertaken. Such research projects have been conducted primarily at the Southampton University School of Medicine, or directly within the Wessex Neurological Centre, and have contributed greatly to advances in the care and treatment of patients.

For further information on the neurosciences unit please click here.