 Experts say the new centre will become a global leader |
A burns research centre which a charity says offers "hope to thousands" is to be set up in both Cardiff and Swansea. The Healing Foundation UK Centre for Burns Research will examine physical and psychological effects of burns, and how to improve treatment and support.
The �10m centre, the UK's first, is joint initiative by both cities' universities and Morriston Hospital with the charity Healing Foundation.
Over 14,000 people are admitted to UK hospitals with serious burns each year.
About half of those are children under 16.
The new centre will be located at the Heath Park campus of Cardiff University's School of Medicine and the Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston Hospital.
It will look at the physical effects of burns, including inflammation and scar formation and the psychological and social aspects of living with burn scars, long-term rehabilitation and prevention.
Organisers said they had fought off competition from across the UK to win the award.
'Prestigious'
Cardiff University said it would support the centre by making a �5m investment in new staff and a �4m investment in new and refurbished laboratories.
William Dickson, director of the Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston, said: "This prestigious award - the first and only chair of burn injury study in the UK - will put Wales at the international forefront of burns research."
Brendan Eley, chief executive of the Healing Foundation, a charity which funds research into disfiguring conditions and has Falklands veteran Simon Weston as its "lead ambassador" said the centre would "provide hope to thousands".
He said: "This award represents a major step forward in our goal to improve the treatment, care and long-term understanding of burn injuries.
'Great news'
"The Cardiff/Swansea centre will become a global leader, improving the outcome for patients, enhancing our understanding of burns and offering hope to thousands of people, worldwide."
Health and Social Services Minister Brian Gibbons welcomed the award as "great news" for Wales.
"It is a mark of how highly regarded the academic team in Cardiff University is and how respected the clinicians and care staff of the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery have become," he said.
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The Cardiff/Swansea centre will become a global leader
