The Friends of Teddington Memorial Hospital (TMH) welcomed supporters to its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Drinks Reception on Monday (16 June), which celebrated the TMH Pain Clinic.

The £2.5 million project for The Woodland Suite, part-funded by the Friends, exemplifies the group's commitment to enhancing patient care, and is set to open this summer.

This year's guest speaker at the Friend's AGM was Dr Prabu Gandhimani, Consultant Anaesthetist and Clinical Lead for the Kingston Pain Clinic.

According to the Friends, "Dr Gandhimani gave an engaging and insightful presentation on the soon-to-open Woodland Suite, the new home of Kingston and Richmond Pain Management Service".

The Teddington Memorial Hospital Pain Clinic, scheduled to open its doors on 1 July, "will provide a truly holistic service for people living with chronic pain, offering specialist physiotherapy, psychological therapies, injection treatments, and group exercise programmes all under one roof".

During his talk, Dr Gandhimani highlighted how the new location at the Teddington Health and Social Care Centre, situated at the rear of TMH, will transform access to care for local people.

Previously, the pain clinic's services were fragmented across different locations, with some temporarily housed at Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton.

The creation of The Woodland Suite brings everything together in a welcoming, purpose-built environment designed to deliver joined-up support to patients with long-term pain conditions.

The Friends says it is "proud to be a major funder of this vital project. Our contributions have helped transform outdated office spaces into a bright, modern facility equipped for both one-to-one and group support".

It has also committed additional funds to support enhancements to the garden areas, artwork displays, and even a new tea and coffee machine, "making the space feel as comfortable and inclusive as possible".

The Friends added: "This milestone project shows what is possible when the community come together, and we can't wait to see the difference the Woodland Suite will make for patients across the borough.

"Thank you to all our members and supporters for making this progress possible."