Children’s brain injury unit opens at Southampton hospital
A new ward for children recovering from neurological injuries and illnesses has opened at Southampton Children’s Hospital, created with funding from a charity set up in memory of 10-year-old Robbie Keville.
Robbie’s Rehab is a four-bed unit designed for children with complex medical needs undergoing rehabilitation after acquired brain injuries — damage caused by events after birth, such as trauma, stroke, tumours or infection.
The £500k investment will transform how children receive specialist neurorehabilitation through the hospital’s SPIN (Southampton Paediatric Intensive Neurorehabilitation) service, which supports around 44 patients each year aged 0 to 18.
Consultant neurologist Georgina Bird-Lieberman said: “Rehabilitation is about relearning skills and requires repetition and practicing of these skills both in sessions with therapists, but also throughout the day. Until now, we have not been able to provide this in the right environment for our patients.
“Lack of space with dedicated facilities has limited the range of rehab activities we are able to provide on the wards.
“Disruption on busy acute wards, particularly at night, has resulted in poor and insufficient sleep which impacts the patient’s engagement and progress.
“Robbie’s Rehab is critical to the quality of care our patients receive and there is no imaginable way we would have been able to make this happen without the extraordinary generosity of the Keville family and all their donors.
“This incredible new space will make such a positive impact to our patients and will be a wonderful legacy for Robbie.”
Robbie Keville, a former patient at Southampton Children’s Hospital, died from a brain tumour in 2016, five years after his mother Kate died from breast cancer.
Before his death, he launched a charity to help others, which his father Mark and siblings Harry and Lara continued through a fund created with Southampton Hospitals Charity.
Mark said: “Robbie was seven years old when he first fell ill, but already understood charity fundraising as he had seen money being raised in honour of his mum, Kate, as she fought breast cancer.
“Harry, Lara and I were both proud and excited when he expressed his wish to start raising money for Southampton Children’s Hospital.
The SPIN team — made up of a consultant neurologist, nurse specialist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist, clinical psychologist, dietitian, education, and play and youth support — will now be able to deliver neurorehabilitation (therapy to help restore movement, communication or function after brain injury) in one dedicated space.
SPIN delivers intensive therapy from early in a patient’s stay, as evidence shows that early intervention can shorten hospital stays and lead to better long-term outcomes.
Children may remain in hospital for up to three months while receiving care.
The specialist unit is also expected to improve efficiency by allowing staff to deliver the full range of therapies in one location.
Mark said: “We were completely overwhelmed by the support that we received from so many adventurous fundraisers.
“The Robbie’s Rehab ward has been made possible by them and is a tribute not only to Robbie and Kate but also to the grit and determination of so many generous donors, to who we owe huge thanks.”
