After almost three years, the new Phyllis Tuckwell has opened at its original site in south Farnham with a building designed for comfort, dignity, and modern clinical excellence.

The hospice opened in 1979 and 40 plus years of dedicated work for the community, the building needed to be updated with the aim of increasing the number of people the charity supports to 3,000 a year by 2040.

Sarah Church, chief executive of Phyllis Tuckwell, said: “This week we were delighted to welcome the first patients to the new hospice in-patient unit. While the hospice was being constructed, we cared for inpatients at a temporary facility in Camberley, but now they have all moved to the new building.”

There are 18 inpatient rooms at the hospice, all ensuite and with facilities for loved ones to stay overnight, as well as a new family room so children and extended families can be close by. Each inpatient room opens out onto its own courtyard garden area, with space for beds to be wheeled outside.

Also opening out onto the gardens is a wellbeing and rehabilitation centre for the Living Well team to support people earlier in their illness, helping them to manage symptoms and live life as fully and independently as possible.

Ms Church added: “The new hospice will enable our compassionate teams to manage patients’ symptoms, ease pain, support their emotional and practical needs, and make care easier to understand and navigate.

“We are here not only at the end of life, but earlier too, helping people to live as well as possible for as long as possible. As more people need our vital care, our ambition is to reach further, support earlier, and help more people get the care they need – and this new Hospice will enable us to do that.”