Please note: we are currently experiencing significant clinical pressures, so it may take longer than usual for us to respond to your call. For an urgent response, please call the NHS 111 service, or 999 if it is an emergency.

Tanya Baddeley

Oakhaven awarded Silver Merit at the Gardeners World Spring Fair

by

Claire Booth, with Gardeners World Silver Gilt Award

Oakhaven's Beautiful Border awarded Silver Merit at Gardener's World Spring Fair

This bank holiday weekend, Oakhaven will be at the Gardeners' World Spring Fair at Beaulieu, showcasing a Beautiful Border "Bob's Full Circle" by Garden Designer, Claire Booth, sponsored by Netserve Ltd.

Last evening, Claire and the Oakhaven team were delighted to receive a Silver Merit certificate!

Hannah Davies, Oakhaven's Community Fundraiser, said, "We are all thrilled with this Silver Merit award! Claire has designed and created a truly wonderful border, and this award reflects her hard work and creativity. Thank you Claire, and also our sponsors, Netserve Ltd, without whom this wouldn't have been possible.

"This is the first time we have been able to take part in this fantastic event - do come and visit us on stand BB12 if you are planning to come to the Gardener's World Fair! We have a fundraising raffle on the stand throughout the weekend, where you could win National Garden Gift Vouchers. All proceeds will go to support Oakhaven Hospice."

Claire Booth, who provides garden design and landscape alongside planting services, has been an established gardener for over twelve years.

>> Find details about Gardeners' World Spring Fair 2026 at Beaulieu.

Oakhaven's beautiful border at the Gardeners' World spring fair

Help hospice care live on

Leave a gift in your will and help protect hospice care for all, for now, forever.

Find out more

Volunteer for Oakhaven!

We welcome new volunteers in every department - get in touch to find out more!

Find out more

Wear Green for Oakhaven!

Help us raise funds on Friday 23rd October, by wearing green and making a donation.

Find out more

Make a donation

Support the Oakhaven Walkers on Saturday 16th May

by

Oakhaven Walkers

Support our Oakhaven Walkers on Saturday 16th May!

On Saturday 16th May, over 600 people will be walking to raise funds for Oakhaven Hospice, starting at 3 different locations. Keep an eye out for the Oakhaven Walkers and cheer them on their way!

  • Approximately half the walkers are taking up the 26-mile challenge. Starting at Land and Wave in Sandbanks, they will walk around the seafront promenade, past Canford Cliffs, Bournemouth and Southbourne. The walkers will then cross Hengistbury Head and walk around Christchurch and Stanpit Marshes to Mudeford.
  • At Mudeford, next to Christchurch Harbour, they will be joined by the 13-mile walkers. The walk continues along the coastal paths, past Steamer Point, Friars Cliff and Highcliffe to Barton on Sea.
  • At Barton on Sea, the 8-mile walkers join the challenge! The walkers will follow the coast path past Hordle Cliff, Milford on Sea and Keyhaven to Lower Pennington in Lymington.
  • All three walking challenges finish at Oakhaven Hospice.

All participants will be walking at their own pace, all with their own personal reasons for supporting their local hospice. Oakhaven Hospice cares for patients and families throughout the New Forest, Totton and Waterside area of Hampshire. At any time, the Hospice is supporting over 600 patients, plus their families and loved ones. Just 11% of Oakhaven's costs - which now amount to over £9 million a year - are covered by the government. For the remaining 89%, Oakhaven relies on the generosity of donations, fundraising, gifts in wills and income from charity shops and social enterprises, such as home care provider Oakhaven Care, which donates 100% of any profits to the Hospice.

Last year, the Oakhaven Walk raised over £180,000, making a real difference - and we hope that this year will be just as great.

Support the Oakhaven Walkers!

"It's a wonderful event, amazing atmosphere and incredible to be able to help raise money for such a great cause and feel you are helping in some way." 

Please clap and cheer the Oakhaven Walkers, as they march past. If you are able to make a donation to help them on their way, we would be most grateful.

Help hospice care live on

Leave a gift in your will and help protect hospice care for all, for now, forever.

Find out more

Volunteer for Oakhaven!

We welcome new volunteers in every department - get in touch to find out more!

Find out more

Wear Green for Oakhaven!

Help us raise funds on Friday 23rd October, by wearing green and making a donation.

Find out more

Make a donation

Why talking about dying matters

by

Dying Matters Awareness Week 2026

Let’s Talk about Death and Dying

Every year, people around the UK use Dying Matters Awareness Week, led by Hospice UK, as a moment to encourage all communities to get talking in whatever way, shape or form works for them.  

Death, dying and bereavement affect us all. Yet 27% of people find it hard to talk about death with family or friends, and 30% bottle their feelings up.* If we don’t talk about death and dying and bereavement, it can be harder to cope when we experience them. 

The mission of Dying Matters is to break down the stigma and taboo of talking about death and dying. But sometimes, it’s hard to know where to start. 

This Dying Matters Awareness Week is focusing on the importance of conversations about death and dying – with family, friends, employers, anyone in your life – helping people to get the conversation started.  

Because talking about Dying Matters.

*This research is from polling commissioned by Celebration Day in 2025.

Start the conversation!

Oakhaven Wellbeing can help you to feel empowered and confident to talk about dying, death and grief; to ask questions; to listen; and to be sure of what you and your loved one want when your time comes. We understand it can be a difficult subject to approach and you may not know where to start.

Join us on Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th May to chat about death and dying - and how to start the conversation with your loved ones. You are welcome to drop in to the Coates Centre in the grounds of Oakhaven at any time between 10am and 4pm for a chat with one of our team.

Take a look also at our 'conversation starter pack' which has some suggested questions to get you started.

Find useful resources to help you start a conversation about death and dying

Help hospice care live on

Leave a gift in your will and help protect hospice care for all, for now, forever.

Find out more

Volunteer for Oakhaven!

We welcome new volunteers in every department - get in touch to find out more!

Find out more

Wear Green for Oakhaven!

Help us raise funds on Friday 23rd October, by wearing green and making a donation.

Find out more

Make a donation

Fair funding for hospices

by

Dear Prime Minister

Hospice UK are campaigning for fair funding for hospices

Hospices in England are on the brink. Surging costs have led to many services being cut back at some hospices – just as demand is rising, fast, because of our ageing population. As it stands, nearly 60% of hospices in England have either made or are considering cuts to frontline services. The situation is not sustainable – and time is running out.

That’s why we’re standing with Hospice UK to call for fair funding for hospices.

Hospices UK's four-point plan for fair funding

Hospice UK's four-point plan aims to secure the future of hospice care.

  1. Full funding of specialist palliative care provided by hospices. Whether in inpatient units, in patients’ homes, in outpatient clinics or through in-reach services within hospitals, the specialist palliative care, advice and assessment hospices provide should be fully funded by local NHS commissioners.
  2. Proper NHS contracts for hospices. Too often, the state’s contribution to the cost of hospices’ services is through grants which don’t reflect the true cost, and which are based only on historical precedent. Hospices should be on NHS contracts which are fair, multi-year, have regular reviews and increase in line with rising costs. These should be based on agreed national cost models. Contracts should be flexible in response to the changing care needs of a local population and meet rapidly growing demand.
  3. Funding to cover the cost of NHS pay rises for hospice staff. When pay deals are agreed for NHS staff, hospices must receive the funding needed to give their staff a pay rise too. Right now, they don’t – leaving hospices to plug the gap with already limited funds.
  4. National accountability for equitable provision of palliative care, wherever you live. Where you live should not determine whether you get the palliative care you need. Government must take action to guarantee fair, consistent provision across the country.

These changes would stem the wave of cutbacks to hospice services we have seen in the past two years.

They would open up significantly more community palliative care capacity to underpin the government’s vision for neighbourhood-based care – allowing hospices to better meet the growing needs of our ageing population.

And they would help guarantee, as a critical safeguard, should assisted dying ever be legalised in the UK, that good quality palliative care was available for all who need it.

>> Find out more about the Hospice UK campaign here.

Hospice UK's four-point plan for fair hospice funding

Help hospice care live on

Leave a gift in your will and help protect hospice care for all, for now, forever.

Find out more

Volunteer for Oakhaven!

We welcome new volunteers in every department - get in touch to find out more!

Find out more

Wear Green for Oakhaven!

Help us raise funds on Friday 23rd October, by wearing green and making a donation.

Find out more

Make a donation

Dementia Awareness Week: meet our Admiral Nurse

by

Oakhaven's dementia nurse

Dementia Awareness Week is 18th-24th May 2026

If you would like to learn about dementia and the support available in your community, come and meet our dementia specialist Admiral Nurse, Janet, during Dementia Awareness Week.

Janet will be at four of our charity shops, from 12-1pm on each of the following dates. We welcome everyone living in our New Forest, Totton and Waterside communities. Pop by to gain information and friendly guidance.

  • Monday 18th May in Lymington (54a High Street, SO41 9AJ)

  • Tuesday 19th May in Hythe (1-2 Marsh Parade, SO45 6ZN)

  • Wednesday 20th May in Lyndhurst (38-40 High Street, SO43 7BG)

  • Friday 22nd May in New Milton (67 Station Road, BH25 6HY)

Janet's dedicated role strengthens the compassionate, specialist support provided by Oakhaven to patients and families living with dementia.

>> Find out more about the location of our shops

Help hospice care live on

Leave a gift in your will and help protect hospice care for all, for now, forever.

Find out more

Volunteer for Oakhaven!

We welcome new volunteers in every department - get in touch to find out more!

Find out more

Wear Green for Oakhaven!

Help us raise funds on Friday 23rd October, by wearing green and making a donation.

Find out more

Make a donation

Our Home and Craft Shop celebrate’s its first birthday!

by

Oakhaven's Home and Craft Shop is celebrating its first birthday

Happy 1st Birthday to our Lymington Home and Craft Shop!

It is a year since the Oakhaven Lymington Home & Craft shop opened in St Thomas' Street! This week, our staff and volunteers look forward to welcoming you to the shop, which has a 'Care for a Cuppa' theme, with fun and games to celebrate the 1st Birthday - with lots of prizes to be won!

Come and join our celebration 'Care for a Cuppa' weekend in Lymington!

Everyone is welcome to come and join the celebrations at 27a St Thomas Street. The shop's opening hours over the weekend are:

  • Wednesday 1st April - 9am to 5pm
  • Thursday 2nd April - 9am to 5pm
  • Good Friday 3rd April - 10am to 4pm
  • Saturday 4th April - 9am to 5pm
  • Easter Monday 6th April - 10am to 4pm

A fabulous first year for Oakhaven's home and craft charity shop!

Oakhaven's Lymington Home and Craft shop opened on Wednesday, 2 April 2025. Over 2,000 people visited the new charity shop on its first day - and the store smashed all previous sales records for Oakhaven’s High Street shops! An excited queue stretched down the length of St Thomas Street of locals and visitors to Lymington eager to be amongst the first to set foot in Oakhaven’s new charity shop - and hoping to meet BBC TV’s ‘Teddy Bear Ladies’ and Southampton footballing legend Matt Le Tissier.

>> Read about the Home and Craft Shop opening day 

In its first year, Lymington Home and Craft has sold over 125,000 items, including 25,000 items of Haberdashery, over 88,000 craft items and over 30,000 items of homeware.

The team estimates that they have sold at least 4 metres of ribbon and 8 metres of fabric each day. This equates to covering 15 football pitches in ribbon and completely covering Lymington High Street in fabric twice over!

Best-selling craft items this year include fabric, yarn, thread, papercraft items and crafting kits. The team estimates that they have sold over 2,000 buttons and have probably dropped 10,000 pins on the floor!!!

The homeware department has been popular with people of all ages, including students getting prepared for university. Plates and bowls have been especially popular, along with soft furnishings, kitchen equipment, lighting and small electrical items.

Gary Taylor, Oakhaven Hospice's Head of Retail, said, "Congratulations to Lymington Home and Craft for a stellar first year - and thank you to everyone in our community who has supported us with purchases and donations. We are blessed to have a great team of staff and volunteers who have worked hard to make our Home and Craft shop a success.

"Every item donated and sold helps us to raise vital funds for Oakhaven Hospice, enabling our specialist team of nurses, doctors, counsellors and therapists to provide compassionate care and support for families across the New Forest, Totton and the Waterside. At any one time, we are providing hospice care to over 600 patients and families facing end of life. With just 15% of our costs covered by the government, your support makes a real difference. Thank you to you all."

>> Find details of Oakhaven's shops 

>> Host your own Care for a Cuppa fundraising event!

 

 

Help hospice care live on

Leave a gift in your will and help protect hospice care for all, for now, forever.

Find out more

Volunteer for Oakhaven!

We welcome new volunteers in every department - get in touch to find out more!

Find out more

Wear Green for Oakhaven!

Help us raise funds on Friday 23rd October, by wearing green and making a donation.

Find out more

Make a donation