Fighting to save the future of the Mandeville miracle

Last week, 70 wheelchair-bound ex-patients occupied Stoke Mandeville Hospital in protest against proposed cuts which would further restrict the work of its famous Spinal Injuries Unit. Although the unit's achievements in treatment and rehabilitation are considerable, lack of funds have caused it to fall behind in the last ten years. The staff are distressed because they can no longer offer help to enough patients, as Alison Hyde found when she visited the unit.