Active Care Group has announced plans to develop a new specialist private rehabilitation hospital in Stoke Mandeville, creating a 52-bed facility dedicated to patients recovering from spinal cord injuries and neurological conditions.

The multimillion-pound development follows an agreement with charity WheelPower and will be built adjacent to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville, one of the UK’s leading centres for spinal injury treatment. The hospital is expected to open in summer 2027 and will provide specialist rehabilitation for approximately 250 patients each year.

The new Active Neuro Stoke Mandeville Private Rehabilitation Hospital will offer multidisciplinary care for patients with complex spinal and neurological injuries, combining inpatient rehabilitation with advanced therapeutic technologies designed to support recovery and improve long-term outcomes.

Facilities will include specialist rehabilitation areas equipped with robotic gait and upper-limb training systems, virtual reality rehabilitation technology, neuromuscular stimulation, a dedicated hydrotherapy pool and a ventilated high-dependency unit for patients with complex respiratory and medical needs. Technology-enabled step-down apartments will also allow patients to practise daily living skills before returning home.

The development is expected to create a range of skilled clinical, therapy, nursing and operational roles while expanding specialist rehabilitation capacity in the UK.

Keith Browner, chief executive officer of Active Care Group, said: “The new Active Neuro Stoke Mandeville Private Rehabilitation Hospital is a landmark investment in the future of specialist spinal and neurological rehabilitation. It will offer a gold standard in rehabilitation care, bringing together world-class specialists and facilities with advanced rehabilitation technologies and techniques that are rarely available together in one rehabilitation setting.

“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.”

According to Active Care Group, more than 105,000 people in the UK are living with a spinal cord injury, with around 4,700 people sustaining or being diagnosed with one each year, highlighting the continuing demand for specialist rehabilitation services.

WheelPower chairman Rob Wilson said the development would help restore rehabilitation services to the charity’s historic Stoke Mandeville site while supporting people recovering from life-changing injuries.

He said: “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.”