Shaping the Future of Hospice Care: Our Chief Executive explains Fit for the Future

We are delighted to let you know that Hospice in the Weald has begun work on an exciting and transformative programme to improve our facilities and services, so we can provide the very best care for our community for years to come.

We will be refurbishing and upgrading our Hospice in Pembury. And in Five Ashes, we will once again provide in-patient services at Cottage Hospice, and will be opening a brand new centre for children and young people.

We will continue to provide care and support for patients and their loved ones throughout the refurbishment. While work is underway there will be some temporary service relocations, but all services will remain open, and we are working hard to ensure transitions are as smooth as possible.

Once the programme is complete we’ll have much greater flexibility in what we offer to patients and their loved ones, an even better environment for our wonderful staff and volunteers, and we’ll be in an even stronger position to support the communities we serve and those who support us.

A fresh look at Pembury

The Hospice in Pembury opened in 1998 and is now in need of refurbishment. The in-patient ward, reception area, spiritual care rooms, and the Living Well centre will all be given a fresh, new look.

They will be modernised and upgraded, so they’ll remain functional well into the future, and redesigned to offer a calm and uplifting environment. We have recently appointed a design team, with extensive experience on similar projects, who are now working with staff, volunteers and patients to explore ideas and develop concepts. These will take shape over the summer.

Ultimately, the changes will enable us to offer a greater range of support and will make the building even more welcoming for the many members of the community who use it.

During the refurbishment

While the refurbishment is underway, some services will be temporarily relocated:

• Instead of being admitted to the ward at Pembury, in-patients will be cared for at Cottage Hospice in Five Ashes.
• Counselling and Support services will move to Hawkwell Business Centre, just a mile from Pembury. We’re already seeing new clients there and will fully transition once works begin.
• Living Well services will continue to run at the Hospice in Pembury, but will be based on the lower ground floor, with additional sessions at Cottage Hospice and in the community.
• Physiotherapy and Occupational therapy will continue as part of this, including home visits.
• Outreach services will run as normal, with some additional community-based appointments.

These services will all return to Pembury once the refurbishment is complete.

Timings

We’ve appointed an Employer’s Contract Agent to oversee the building works and ensure everything stays on track, on budget, and to the highest quality. Alongside this, our design team is developing detailed layouts and interior concepts for the refurbishment, which we look forward to sharing with you soon.

Preparatory work is already underway, and we expect to welcome in-patients to Cottage Hospice in Five Ashes this autumn. For a short period, both in-patient wards will be open, helping us minimise moves for patients wherever possible.

Later this year, we’ll be ready to appoint contractors to carry out the main refurbishment. Once they’re on board, we’ll have a clearer picture of exact timings, but we expect most of the work to be completed by the end of next year. Plans for the new centre for children and young people are also progressing well, and we’ll be able to share more about timings once the detailed designs are finalised.

We are committed to ensuring that our services can be accessed by the people of Kent and East Sussex throughout this refurbishment. This requires careful planning and time to ensure that our day-to-day work isn’t impacted.

We’re able to carry out this work thanks to funds we’ve already raised, along with a government grant to improve hospice buildings. But we still rely on your support. Each year, we need to raise £9 million to keep our services running, which makes supporting our fundraising events and charity shops more important than ever.

We will, of course, keep you posted with more updates.

Thank you for your support.