Two “life-changing” hospital wards have been officially unveiled in Southampton.

Staff, patients, and Totton’s gold medal-winning Paralympian, Aaron Phipps, gathered at Western Community Hospital in Millbrook on Wednesday to officially unveil two brand-new rehabilitation wards that have been supporting patients since October 2024.

Following a £21 million redevelopment the west wing of the hospital is home to psychological, neurological, and physical rehabilitation services, forming the South of England Rehabilitation Centre.

Constructed across two floors the centre provides 50 beds for patients, helping to free up beds at the Royal South Hants Hospital where rehabilitation services were provided for almost two decades.

Speaking at the opening, Dan Baylis, chief medical officer for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our job as I see it is as providers of healthcare, is to help people reach their full potential and get the most out of life regardless of who they are and where they come from.

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“There are teams right across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, in people’s homes, in surgeries, GP practices, health centres, and in hospitals, doing that right now, across physical health, mental health, and primary care.

“This building is a really important part of that service, providing high-quality, specialist rehabilitation care, to the people of Southampton, Hampshire and beyond.

“It is already having a life-changing impact on people, day in, day out. It is a total privilege to see this service develop and see where it is today.”

Wheelchair rugby player Phipps, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, said he was “incredibly proud” to cut the ribbon and unveil a plaque, commemorating the opening of the Conan Doyle and Keats wards, before he was given a tour of the new facilities.

Mabel Knowles, 101, from Sholing, had been receiving care on the Keats Ward and was expecting to return home in the coming days.

Speaking to the Echo, she said: “It’s wonderful here. If you spent thousands of pounds on a big hotel, you would never get the treatment that you get here.

“All the staff members will do anything for you, and I mean anything, they are wonderful. From the cleaners to the physios and nurses, they are truly wonderful.”