CONSTRUCTION of a new brain injury rehabilitation unit began yesterday as the Mayor of Swindon laid one of the first bricks.

The £3.5m 20-bed independent hospital will officially open next year at Edison Park in Dorcan, and it is the latest development by the Brain Injury Rehabilita-tion Trust (Birt), a division of The Disabilities Trust.

It is hoped that the new service will also create up to 70 jobs in the area, providing much-needed employment in the current economic climate.

Birt Director Lynn Turley said: “We are delighted building work is going ahead and we look forward to forging close links with the local community in Swindon.

“This much-needed service will be a great asset especially to people living in the south west.”

The service will support adults with an acquired brain injury showing behavioural or cognitive deficits which in turn lead to complex care needs.

Service users may also have pre-existing or concurrent mental health problems in addition to their brain injury and may also be subject to detention under the Mental Health Act.

Providing assessment and rehabilitation and also continuing rehabilitation services, the new hospital will serve people from the south and south west of England and will provide a much needed addition to similar Birt services in York and Glasgow.

Peter Jackson, Chair of Trustees for The Disabilities Trust, said: “We have always wanted a unit in the south west and we have had our eye on Swindon for a while.

“It is costing £3.5m which I think is a sign of our commitment to this project.”

Due for completion in early 2013 the service will incorporate independent living facilities, assistive technology opportunities, state of the art design features and a spacious environment with a variety of rooms to meet service users’ individual needs.

Coun Ballman said she was delighted to be involved in the beginning of the project.

“This is a really important project for Swindon ,” she said.

“Not everybody knows my background.

“But I worked for the NHS in Intensive Care and I looked after lots of head injuries, usually they would go to Bath, so to have something on our doorstep will be absolutely great and I am really pleased.”