The mother of a teenager seriously injured when he was attacked with a bottle while on holiday in Majorca last August has called for a dedicated brain and spinal injuries unit in Wales that would serve youngsters with these injuries.

BBC News reports that nurse Helen Hughes believes that the recovery of her son is being hampered because he is being treated for neurological injuries on the same ward as elderly patients at Rookwood Hospital.

Alex Hughes, 17, was originally treated for his injuries at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff before being transferred to Rookwood after he regained consciousness in September.

Alex has gradually regained his speech, but still cannot walk – it is hoped that surgery on his foot will help him regain some movement. He undergoes physiotherapy, speech and language therapy daily, but for the rest of the time he is left to ‘his own devices’.

Mrs Hughes says that the equipment in the hospital’s social areas is basic and outdated, meaning that her son is often bored.

His physiotherapy also sometimes amounts to just 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon if there are staff shortages, she told BBC News.

‘There's an old TV which is available for all patients to use but it only has about three channels and a video recorder, not a DVD player. So it's hard for Alex to amuse himself,’ she said.

Mrs Hughes visits regularly to play games with her son or take him out for a drive, but she feels that a dedicated rehabilitation unit serving young adults with brain and spinal injuries in Wales is necessary to speed their recovery.

Alex is expected to be in hospital for months, she said – and is currently surrounded by elderly patients mostly in their 70s and 80s.

‘They can often be crying, screaming or swearing loudly, which is quite intimidating for someone his age,’  she said.

A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly said that spinal injury and neuro-rehabilitation units were ‘highly specialised services’.

‘Due to the relatively small number of patients with these injuries, they require a large population base in order to ensure safe, high quality and sustainable treatment,’ he added.

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