On Tuesday, Princess Anne was in Liverpool to open a new building at the Walton Centre.
The brain and spinal centre was opened in the 90s, also by The Princess Royal, and she returned to officially make the new £29 million building public; it will provide an extra 30 beds for patients with complex injuries from January.
Anne spent here day in Liverpool on Tuesday. NHC UHI
The chairman Ken Hoskisson said: “We are delighted to welcome back The Princess Royal to The Walton Centre. We are very proud of what we have achieved with the opening of The Sid Watkins Building.
“Having a Royal visit marks how significant that achievement is, but we’re also proud that the visit will also remember and honour the great man we named the building after.”
A bust of Professor Sid Watkins, after whom the new building is named after, was also unveiled during the opening ceremony.
Professor Sid Watkins graduated with a degree in medicine from Liverpool University in 1952, and had a long and successful career in neurosurgery. It was Dr Watkins who pioneered a number of surgeries and treatments, including brain and spine stimulation, and Parkinson’s disease.
He improved a great many sports’ safety, including Formula 1; he was a close friend of Senna, the legendary driver, and his death prompted improvements in the safety of racing.
The Princess, 65, toured the new facilities anear got to see the hospital’s 30-bedded Complex Rehabilitation Unit, before she visited its Pain Management Programme. A specialist neuropsychology service, an education centre and lecture theatre were amongst the other highlights of the visit.
Anne’s entire day was spent in Liverpool. Patron of Catch22, a charity which helps young people find employment and opportunities to enhance their skills, and to find their place in the community, she also opened the ‘Safeguarding Futures’ Conference at St. George’s Hall.
