New multi-million recovery centre opens at Catterick Garrison with Legion’s help
25 October 2011
Injured personnel are
now recovering at Phoenix House, Catterick Garrison, thanks to the
Legion working together with the Ministry of Defence and Help for
Heroes.
The newest of the Personnel Recovery and Assessment Centres, Phoenix House will help wounded, injured and sick Service men and women to recover and return to duty or give them the support to move successfully into civilian life. The centre, where interim facilities opened yesterday, will also offer support to the families of recovering Service men and women.
The Legion will invest £8.5 million into the Catterick PRAC, funding the operating costs of Phoenix House, a purpose-built Personnel Recovery and Assessment Centre which is set to open fully in 2013. Help for Heroes are funding the capital building of the Catterick PRAC, which will be operated by the Army.
Phoenix House forms part of a £50 million commitment by the Legion towards the Defence Recovery Capability. The biggest-ever single funding donation in the Legion's 90-year history, this contribution will pay for the creation and operation of The Royal British Legion Battle Back Centre, and fund operating costs of the Personnel Recovery Centres for ten years, including a further three in the UK and one in Germany. Interim recovery facilities are also open at PRAC Tidworth House and the pathfinder PRC, in Edinburgh, now funded by the Legion, has been operating since 2009.
Chris Simpkins, Director General of The Royal British Legion, said: "The help this Personnel Recovery and Assessment Centre at Catterick will provide is vitally needed for those who have given so much for our country, and the Legion is delighted to be part of it. As a charity we have been helping Service men and women for 90 years and we have a long and deep connection with the Garrison at Catterick and with Armed Forces personnel and their families in the area. Our support for the Personnel Recovery Programme is a key part of our welfare services and at the very heart of our organisation.
"Wounded, injured and sick Service personnel deserve nothing less than the best and The Royal British Legion will continue to support them, and their families, for the rest of their lives."
For more information:
Claire Thorburn, PR Consultant - Northeast, The Royal British
Legion
T: 01668 214 863 M: 07980 284 061 E: cthorburn@britishlegion.org.uk
