Spinal service

The Wessex spinal service (WSS) is a tertiary spine centre providing specialist spinal services to nearly 5 million people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, Dorset and West Sussex. As well as taking referrals from within our own catchment, our spinal unit provides support to our partner hospitals across the region as the hub of the Wessex regional spinal network.

We provide treatment for adult spinal conditions including trauma, tumours, degenerative conditions, infections and scoliosis. Our unit treats all conditions from the skull base to the sacrum.

At Southampton General Hospital, we have a dedicated neuro intensive care unit and a full range of tertiary specialists such as ENT, neurosurgery, vascular, thoracic and plastics surgery as well as dedicated spinal radiologists to help in the management of very complex cases.

Our consultant body consists of both neurosurgical and orthopaedic trained surgeons. All of our specialist surgeons have all undertaken additional fellowship training and actively participate in research and education within the trust to train the next generation of spinal surgeons. In addition, our spinal unit has a range of highly trained physiotherapists and advanced nurse practitioners and ward nurses to help manage all aspects of patient care, from outpatient triage and assessment to inpatient care and discharge.

Our clinicians work closely behind the scenes with our excellent management and administrative team.