A SPECIALIST multimillion pound brain injury nursing clinic is to open in Hampshire, the Daily Echo can reveal.

This is the first artist’s impression of the 12-bed home which is likely to create 30 full-time nurses and support worker jobs in the area.

The centre in Kingfisher House, Rownhams Lane, North Baddesley, will cater for people who have suffered brain injury after birth, for example through road accidents, severe infections, stroke, disease, tumour or aneurysm.

It will be managed by private healthcare provider Dolphin Care Limited and will be aimed at people who have suffered significant brain damage to help their recovery and rehabilitation.

Developers say the scheme, which has been given the go ahead by planners, will be a vital asset to the region because the closest dedicated brain injury unit is in Wiltshire. It comes less than two months after plans were given the go ahead to build a Circle Health private hospital at Adanac Park, which promises to create more than 400 jobs and inject up to £70m of investment into the local economy.

Outline plans for North Baddesley, which were given the go ahead by Test Valley Borough Council, include a two-storey building and 11 parking spaces.

Rachel Lamb, a senior planner in the Southampton office of planning and urban design consultancy Turley Associates, said: “We are delighted with this decision.

The closest specialist brain injury unit is in Wiltshire and there is a real need for a dedicated clinic in the county.”

A spokesman for Dolphin Care Limited said that North Baddesley was chosen specifically for its rural setting to help create a “peaceful and stress free environment” for the residents while also having good road links.

Construction is expected to start in April 2012 with the clinic open by December 2012.