SERIOUSlY ill children in Southampton suffering from head injuries and brain tumours will soon be treated on a new million-pound unit, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The children’s neurosciences centre has been an ambition for doctors at Southampton General Hospital for more than eight years, but the plans have become a reality and building work starts next year.

More children will be cared for on the new unit which will have two more beds than the present ward, currently within the adult unit, which sees around 300 to 350 youngsters pass through every year.

It will also boast a six-bed highdependency unit to care for the most serious cases.

Better accommodation for families will be built in, and once the first phase is complete, in August or September next year, there are hopes that a new rehabilitation unit will be built next door.

It will also allow doctors to take in more patients from across the region, an important factor because UK health bosses are currently assessing paediatric neurosciences units across the country and, as it stands, Southampton sees fewer cases than larger centres in the country.

Peter Wilson, clinical director for child health, said: “Everybody is delighted that we have finally managed to make this happen.

“A lot of these children are quite unwell for a long period of time so anything that we can do to make their stay better for them is worth doing.

“Outcomes on the unit are already superb, but what this new dedicated unit will do is improve the experience for the young patients, who we know thrive in a paediatric setting, as well as their parents.

“It will also have a knock-on effect for children on other wards, because the unit has a hugely skilled nursing team who will now be within the paediatric centre and not separated in the adult unit. Everyone will gain from this and it is very exciting.”

Work is due to begin in April.