LOOK to the right and a jetty overlooks a tranquil lake against a backdrop of the majestic Cumbrian hills, while to the left is a tantalising view of waves lapping against the sands of an exotic island beach at sunset.

For prisoners on the brink of death at HMP Holme House in Stockton, gazing at these pictures is as near as they are going to get to breathing in sea air or dipping their toes in the water.

Three cells have been converted into a wet room and two spacious single bedrooms, similar to those in any local hospital but without the television and a big bolt lock on the door.

Elise Smithson, Care UK’s head of healthcare at the prison says the suite had been a long-held ambition.

“Just because somebody loses their liberty does not mean they lose their right to health. It is about offering patient care in the best facility we can. We are not here to judge we are here to care."

She adds: “We have an ageing prison population that reflects the rest of society and, with improvements in forensic science, we have more people arrested in old age for historic crimes.

“Not everybody wants to go out to a hospice or is able to go out because of the crime they have committed. A lot of them want to stay in the house blocks because it’s their home, in essence, and they want stay with their friends.

"It is very much about patient choice but we ensure that no one is alone, there is always someone with them at the end.”

Nine prisoners died at the category B adult male prison last year compared to four in 2012, according to figures released by the Ministry of Justice.

Seven of those deaths were from natural causes with two classed as self-inflicted. It was the highest number of deaths since the prison opened in 1992. It holds 1,210 prisoners, many of whom are serving long sentences or on remand for crimes including violent or sexual offences.

Funded by Health & Justice NHS England, prison healthcare provider Care UK and charity Macmillan cancer support, the new end-of-life suite was officially opened by MP for Stockton North, Alex Cunningham.

He says: “Everybody should be entitled to the same level of care and facilities as they pass away. I can understand why people could think this is money being spend on people who have done nasty things but they would not want their relative to die in a prison cell, people would want them to die with dignity.”

The specialist facility is based in the healthcare wing’s inpatient unit where prisoners are also sent who have overdosed, self harmed or on suicide-watch.

The end-of-life rooms will help clinicians look after patients thinks medical officer, Hasan Omran. “This is not just for people with cancer, we also treat end stage lung disease, heart failure and reduced mobility due to a stroke. We have people in their 80s in here.”

A corridor with new wood-effect flooring and a poster stating “Keep Calm and Carry On” links the in-house hospice, named the Pallium suite after a prisoner competition, with a relatives lounge.

Decorated with uplifting posters showing the bright lights of New York’s Time Square, it is a place overlooking a grassy quadrangle filled with flowers where patients and their families can spend quiet time.

They could also choose to play a game such as Charades or Scrabble or choose from a selection of books ranging from thriller novels by Stephen King and Dick Francis to an autobiography by pop singer turned reality tv star, Peter Andre.

A similar end of life facility has already opened at Frankland Prison in County Durham, where the chance of a high profile offender getting out into a community hospice is negligible explains Julie Dhuny, Head of Commissioning Offender Health at NHS England (North-East).

“Public perception is a big issue, we have to be careful we do not offer anything in prison over and above what anyone else would receive. We have a modern, civilised country. We would like to think we would support people to die in a comfortable environment. The prisoners are not being treated better than anyone else, there’s always an equivalence and that’s a fine line.”