A brain injury hospital is set to close after being declared unfit for purpose.

The Wolfson Neurorehabilitation Centre, in Wimbledon, could be sold within the next six months, after hospital bosses said the centre was too old to keep open.

The news has raised concerns for the charity behind a support group at the centre.

Patients at the 32-bed unit are set to be transferred to a temporary ward at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, before a larger neurorehabilitation unit at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton is completed.

A report released by the Wolfson’s owners, St George’s Hospital NHS Trust, before a Merton Council meeting this week said: “The building is no longer fit for purpose.

"Neurorehabilitation has changed considerably in recent years, and facilities designed more than 40 years ago are no longer suitable.”

It added the Copse Hill facility was expensive to heat and needs investment to prevent leaking.

The hospital was opened in 1967 and has treated 147 patients over the past year, including about 25 from Merton.

A spokesman for brain injury charity Headway South West London, which runs a monthly support group for people with brain injuries and their families, said it was currently given meeting space at the hospital free of charge – but would now have to hunt for new premises.

Trustee Rachel Allan said: “There may be a cost implication, which we don’t really have a budget for.”

But Miss Allan said she did not disagree with the decision to move patients to Roehampton.

She said: “My personal opinion is the facilities (at the Wolfson) are quite tired – people want the best facilities possible.”

The report said hospital bosses hoped to sell the Wolfson by the end of March and use cash from the deal to develop the number of neurorehabilitation beds at Queen Mary’s from 14 to 36 within two years.

In the meantime, a spare ward and facilities at St George’s will replace services previously run at the Wolfson.

Hospital bosses said the Queen Mary’s site offered better support and outpatient services than its Wimbledon equivalent.

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