The rebuilt Martlets hospice in Wayfield Avenue, Hove was officially unveiled at the weekend following a £10million upgrade.
Andrew Blackman, HM Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex, cut the ribbon with speeches from Martlets’ CEO Amanda Fadero and Chair of Trustees Mike Rymer.
The hospice, which cares for over 3,000 people living with a terminal diagnosis each year across Brighton & Hove and The Havens, underwent the two-year transformation project to ensure it can provide patients and families with the highest standards of support. The original building opened in 1997 and has supported more than 36,000 local people since then.
The new building allows Martlets to care for even more people as outpatients and can accommodate up to 14 inpatients in self-contained, ensuite rooms, which open onto their own garden spaces. The sustainable building has been designed with a focus on ensuring all medical care can be delivered in each room, with bespoke equipment catering to each individual’s needs at their bedside.
New facilities include landscaped sensory and memory gardens for patients and their loved ones, counselling and therapeutic rooms,a new gym for rehabilitation therapy, as well as enhanced family and visitor areas, including a cafe.
The project has been funded in part by the generosity of Martlets’ supporters – more than £2.5million was raised via fundraising activities, including a public fundraising campaign, reflecting the important position Martlets holds in many people’s lives.
Martlets’ Chair of Trustees Mike Rymer says: “We are so proud to unveil our new hospice and show everyone the wonderful facilities that their generous donations have provided. This is a major event in Martlets’ history, and we are enormously grateful to everyone involved.
“Martlets has been caring for people in Sussex for 27 years now and with our new facilities I am confident we can continue to spend the coming decades providing the highest standards of support for those facing the toughest of times.”
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