CHAPTER 3
DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER SPINAL
INJURIES CENTRES
i. THE UNITED KINGDOM
There are seven other Spinal Injuries Units of smaller size which were set up after the
Second World War in various parts of the United Kingdom which, like Stoke Mandeville,
are built on ground level.
LODGE MOOR, SHEFFIELD
The Unit at Lodge Moor Hospital in Sheffield has a complement of 60 beds and Dr
A.Hardy, F.R.C.S., is the Consultant-in-charge. The Unit was first opened in 1945 at the
Warncliff Hospital, a mental hospital, and was transferred to Lodge Moor in 1951.
Since its inception over 1,500 cases were treated until 1969, over 90 per cent being new
traumatic cases. In the first 10 years, over 200 miners were admitted, since Sheffield is
situated near the Yorkshire coal-mining area. However, the numbers of coal miners with
spinal injuries has declined during the last 10 years.
The Unit takes part in postgraduate teaching but undergraduates from the Ortho–
paedic Department of Sheffield University also come periodically to Lodge Moor
to be instructed in the problem of paraplegia. Dr Hardy sees virtually all new spinal
injuries which are admitted first to orthopaedic and accident departments. Although the
Unit has no personnel or facilities for research, Dr Hardy and his deputy Dr Watson
have published most valuable papers on various clinical and social aspects of paraplegia.
Lodge Moor very soon included sport in the rehabilitation of paraplegics and takes part
regularly in the annual Stoke Mandeville Games. The unit is provided with a swimming
pool.
MIDLAND SPINAL INJURIES UNIT
This Unit is part of the famous Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital
at Oswestry, Shropshire, and was set up in 1965 with a complement of 60 beds (20 for
females). Mr T.McSweeney, M.CH., F.R.C.S., is the director of the Unit and Dr B.F.Jones,
M.R.C.P., his deputy. Before 1965, cases of spinal injuries were treated in various wards of
the hospital under the care of various 'firms', which did not prove satisfactory. Oswestry
had, however, been orientated towards the problems of paraplegia since the foundation
of the hospital in 1920, for this hospital became a Centre for the treatment of tuberculosis
of the spine and has done pioneer work on Pott's paraplegia. From 1960-69, 380 para–
plegics and tetraplegics were treated, of these 295 were traumatic cases (140 tetraplegics).
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