RAF Honington welcomes injured personnel for rehab
Injured servicemen from Iraq and Afghanistan are being treated at an improved rehabilitation unit at RAF Honington, thanks to a £1.5 million investment in facilities across the region.
The centre now provides long-term care for injured personnel, having formerly provided only outpatient care for soldiers suffering from musculoskeletal injuries.
Cpl Stu Hefi, 26, has spent six months at the facility after he was shot in the leg during an operation with 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, in Basra, in August last year.
Cpl Hefi, a gunner from RAF Honington, said: "I thought I could lose my leg or even lose my life.
"Being treated here is a massive boost to your morale as you feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
Initially flown to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, Cpl Hefi was returned to Honington, taking part in swimming, weight training, core work and lower limb treatment to get him back to full strength.
He said: "The relationship you build with the people here keeps you on a high.
"It is good to know you have not been forgotten, even when you are injured, and to know you still have a future."
The regional rehabilitation unit (RRU) is one of 15 in the country, developed to help increased numbers of wounded servicemen and women following a review of rehabilitation services by the Ministry of Defence in May.
The unit will ease pressure on the Defence Medical Education and Training Agency at Headley Court, in London, which treats more complex rehabilitation cases, such as amputees and brain injury victims.
Lance Cpl Daniel Tuft, 28, from the Army Training Regiment (ATR), in Bassingbourn, has been at the centre for six months after injuring his knee during a training operation.
He said: "Everyone here is all in the same boat so you so you get a boost from everyone else."
Chick Wilkinson, 54, is clinical manager at Honington RRU, treating two courses of up to 15 servicemen every three weeks.
He said: "It is not just a physical treatment, it is psychological and moral support.
"It is tremendous when you get them back in uniform, it is why we do this job."
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