Oakhaven Hospice provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care and support to patients with a medical referral who live in the New Forest, Totton and Waterside communities, in the hospice and in their homes.
Their team of nurses, doctors, counsellors and therapists ease physical symptoms and offer psychological, spiritual and social support. Oakhaven’s care is tailored to suit the needs of each individual and, with a blend of specialist expertise and compassion, they offer support for patients and their families when they need it most - free of charge.
In addition to patient referrals, Oakhaven Wellbeing provides specialist support to everyone in the their community who is navigating a life-limiting illness, caring for a loved one or experiencing a loss or bereavement.
https://www.oakhavenhospice.co.uk/
Oakhaven was not a venue that had been on my radar. However, when Tim Fuell contacted me in April 2025 having read an article about Together For Cinema in the latest issue of ‘Hospice UK Leaders Briefing’ I felt that I should at least pop down to Lymington and take a look at the hospice.
With our 2026 schedule needing confirming I drove down to Lymington in November 2025 and met with Tim Fuell, the Fundraising Manager at Oakhaven Hospice. All the staff were so welcoming and the atmosphere was one of calm and tranquility, and an underlying sense of purpose to cradle and take care of all involved, be they patients, families, care team, staff, volunteers, visitors etc…
Whilst there I was shown two rooms, one large and across the courtyard with the need to go outside to access, and one, much smaller, but in the heart of the hospice and currently being used as the drugs room. Both were possibilities, but having spoken to Tim and his colleagues and understood more of how the room would be used, it was quickly apparent that the smaller room was the only option.
Easy to get to, small and cozy, with patio doors onto the garden, this room was perfect for what Oakhaven were wanting, a family room to snuggle up and spend some quality time together making memories and also reliving memories with families being able to bring their own home movies in to watch.
The staff were all behind the idea and really understood the difference a new cinema room would make to the hospice.
The 2026 schedule was already full but having ‘felt the hospice’ I was committed. The problem is that once you visit and venue and ‘feel it’, it’s incredibly hard to say, sorry, not this time…! I was committed and needed to find an installer!
It was shortly after my visit to Oakhaven that I heard the news that very sadly Richard House Children’s Hospice in Beckton, East London was going to close. Children’s hospices are given limited Government funding and with fundraising being harder than ever these days Richard House sadly became a victim of circumstance.
Often in this scenario, there are benefits to others…, and as we had been planning to install a cinema room at Richard House we were suddenly left with the equipment and an installer but no venue to install at… A quick phone call to Adam Wolfe at Art of Integration in Surrey and he was happy to take on the Oakhaven Hospice installation and use as much of the equipment we had secured for Richard House cinema room at Oakhaven.
Fate played it’s part but we had our installer, and one that had been keen to help with a Together For Cinema installation for some time.
Following my visit in November it was important for Adam to see the room and for us to discuss what design might work best in the space, and this would then lead to us determining what equipment we were going to try to secure.
With Christmas and the start of the year it wasn’t until January 30th that Adam and I were able to get down to Lymington to see the room again. We were again welcomed very warmly and were taken round the hospice to get more of an understanding of how Oakhaven operates. It’s always good to do this, particularly with the installer, as you get a real feel of the difference we can make to so many people for many years to come.
On walking in to the old drugs room we were delighted to see that it had now been stripped out and was a blank canvas for us to work on. With the space provided it was an easy choice to opt for a 65” screen, with a soundbar, sub and rear speakers and media wall styled solution. Fortunately we had most of the items needed in storage at AWE in Epsom so the ‘administration’ was fairly straightforward.
We did however need a few extra items and with some great contacts and supporting industry contacts we felt we were in good shape to move forward fairly swiftly.
One factor that was important to accommodate was that the room would be used by a huge cross section of people, from the very young to the very old, hence ease of use was essential. One button on/off control, simple changes from TV to gaming, from cinema to presentations etc… This was all considered in Adam’s design and kit list.
The products specified had to be right for the job, and with high use expected, they needed to be ‘hardy’ and give a high quality result. Many of our regular donors had already donated to the Richard House installation but there were still a few items we needed to secure.
All brands mentioned listed below were ‘ready, willing and able’ to donate the items that we needed to make this room happen. With a comprehensive and quality kit list there’s always the concern that we may struggle to make it happen, however, everyone we approached was keen to donate and as mentioned above, all that we had approached had donated several times in the past…
A big thank you must go to Marc Thrush from Workspace AV who kindly stepped in last minute to willingly and very happily supply the 65” Sony screen – he even dropped it off himself to the hospice!
We are of course hugely grateful to all companies that donate to a Together For Cinema project but for Oakhaven Hospice this is a real bonus that they a could never have afforded or imagined having. Thank you to all that donated and the kit list reads as follows…
Monday 19th April, 2026.
Wednesday 22nd April, 2026
To Be Confirmed
“…”
Adam Wolfe, Managing Director, Art of Integration
…and this is a simple ‘cut and paste’ of Tim Fuell’s unprompted email to Adam Wolfe…
“I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your guys' hard work and professionalism. It was a pleasure to host you and I've had some lovely feedback from other people within the organisation as to how polite etc everybody was. A real credit to you, so please also pass on my thanks and the feedback.
Finally, thanks for your dedication, investment and commitment to the project too. There are still bits we need to do here to finish but there is definitely a wow factor for all those going past, poking their head in.... something we could never have achieved without your support or the magic of Ian's motivation and organisation.
As you know I've had many jobs over the years but this is something special and seeing guys like yourselves playing a part in that really is heart-warming. Knowing that for years to come 100s if not 1000s of patients and their families will now benefit from a higher level of facilities and space thanks to you, should be something you can forever be proud of.
Thanks again. Stay in touch, come and visit and keep up the great work.”
Tim Fuell, Fundraising Manager, Oakhaven Hospice
THANK YOU…, you have helped make a real difference at Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington, and in turn, have made a real difference to so many people’s lives.
We’re all aware that charities have to work very hard to secure the funding for most of their operational costs. With the comprehensive and considered cradling of a family through tough times, there is little monies left over for luxuries such as a cinema room.
For Oakhaven Hospice this new cinema room is a wonderful addition to their facility and at a normal cost of around £18,000, is something that would not usually be considered as a possibility.
This was Together for Cinema’s 61st good cause cinema room installation and helped take the Together for Cinema good cause community delivery to very nearly £1.6m worth of installations, had they all been paid for.
For Adam Wolfe and his team, this was a long journey to complete their first Together For Cinema installation and is a gift that Oakhaven Hospice and their families will enjoy for many years to come. Be it movie time, gaming, karaoke, training, fundraising, the installation will be used and for many different purposes, all bringing joy and benefit to this wonderful cause. Most importantly of all, it will help cradle a families journey and create some happy moments and memories.
Thank you again Adam for taking this on, and thank you to Neil and Adrian for working so hard to deliver a positive difference. I hope you all have the ‘feel good’ factor of being involved in such a project, and making a difference to so many lives. It’s almost worth more than any payment!
For further details please contact Ian Morrish at:-
Mobile: 07768 398007 ♦ Email: ian@togetherforcinema.co.uk
www.togetherforcinema.co.uk
Report created by Ian Morrish. All quotes to be from Ian Morrish, unless otherwise stated.
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