Why it matters: The Treehouse provides palliative and end-of-life care to children aged 0-18 with life-limiting conditions, supporting not just the children themselves but their entire families. EACH says referrals are growing year on year, and the current building can no longer meet demand.
The details: The project, expected to be completed by the end of 2027, will deliver a new hydrotherapy pool, a wellbeing and therapies suite with a private entrance for families, a bigger and separated care activity area, a dedicated space for teenagers, an additional bedroom, a larger kitchen and dining area, underfloor storage and more car parking spaces.
Planning permission was granted in November, and Gipping Construction was appointed as the main contractor in January following a competitive tender process.
What they're saying: EACH chief executive, Kevin Clements, said a lot of the charity's work goes beyond end-of-life care. "We provide a package of support for the entire family, not just for the child in question. So much of our work is around the wellbeing and the holistic model of care that hospices can provide."
Clements previously said growing demand made the expansion essential. "Year on year, we get more and more referrals, and future projections tell us those numbers will keep growing. It's vital we're able to futureproof the site to meet this increasing demand – and to align with the government and public ambition to deliver and receive more care outside the hospital setting."
Laura Jenkins, service manager at The Treehouse, said the expansion had been a long time coming. "For me personally, for a number of years, we've been raising some of the potential difficulties that we've got."
She added: "Knowing as well we've got so many other families we can reach - having the work starting today is really exciting."
She highlighted the hydrotherapy pool as one of the most eagerly anticipated improvements. "Currently, our pool isn't big enough to do family swims, so actually being able to get all the families to meet in the pool together is just going to be fantastic."
The bigger picture: EACH has also received a message of support from its Royal Patron, the Princess of Wales, who wrote: "I hope we can bring The Treehouse expansion vision to life, to support even more families across Suffolk and Essex."
What's next: Andy Laflin, joint managing director of Gipping Construction, described the project as an approximately 80-week build across two phases – a new wellbeing and hydrotherapy pool extension, followed by a new activity area. "It has been well planned, well thought through. We're confident. We hope, if it's possible, to have some sort of interaction with the families and keep them informed on what's going on – I think they're going to be interested to look out the window and see what we're up to."
EACH says it has secured enough funding to begin the project and will continue to fundraise over the coming months to support both the expansion and day-to-day care for families.
The bottom line: The Treehouse has been a lifeline for families across Suffolk for 27 years. Now, it will have the space to match its ambition.
