The 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.