Senior commanders have written proposals suggesting that wounded troops could be treated at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre. The plan was last night being reviewed by ministers, with Defence Secretary BenWallace understood to be very supportive of the concept.
Around 50 to 70 Ukrainian soldiers are being transported by train to military hospitals every day. Most are believed to be suffering from blast injuries, including serious head injuries and lost limbs.
Though major hospitals, such as the ones in Dnipro, Mariupol, and Kyiv, have facilities for complex surgeries, providing cutting-edge prosthetics is much more challenging.
Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, is an award-winning centre used in the rehabilitation and therapy of soldiers for a wide range of conditions, including brain and spinal injuries, neurological disorders and amputations.
Its cutting-edge technology means it offers one of only five Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environments (Caren) in the world and the only one in Europe.
The 360-acre estate is four times the size of Headley Court, which it replaced in 2019. It was gifted to the nation by the Duke of Westminster, who spent 40 years as an Army reservist.
It would be technically possible to evacuate Ukrainian soldiers to Britain today, by sending them by train to Poland from where they could be airlifted by RAF C-17 transport planes. But sources have said any invitation would likely be delayed until the tempo of operations is “more favourable”.
Last night a senior military source said: “Stanford Hall is a centre of medical excellence and would be able to provide critical care and rehabilitation to Ukrainian soldiers who need support. This sort of care will help them adjust to their future lives and has been highly successful in the UK.
“A plan is in place, which needs to be signed off by the Defence Secretary, but from what I am told he is supportive.”