Rennie Grove Hospice Care and Peace Hospice Care have formally merged, the two charities have announced.
Both charities revealed their intention to merge last year in an effort to improve service delivery.
Today, the Hertfordshire- and Buckinghamshire-based charities began operating as Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, now delivering services across an area of 895 square miles and employing around 370 staff.
Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022 show that before the merger Rennie Grove Hospice Care had an income of £13m and Peace Hospice Care an income of £10.3m.
‘Exciting new chapter’
The charities “have been working hard to consolidate operations and service into one larger organisation and ensure a smooth transition with no break in patient services”.
Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care provides care free of charge to patients and families thanks to donations from the local community and receives less than a third of its annual running costs from the NHS.
Stewart Marks, chief executive of Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, said: “We are delighted to be marking this exciting new chapter and starting to operate as one organisation. We have a new name but our work is guided by the original vision of the founding charities – providing free care, support and advice to people in our local communities who are living with a progressive life-limiting illness, and those who care for them.”
‘National push for hospices to combine’
Marks added: “Over recent years there has increasingly been a national push for hospices to combine resources to avoid duplication and inefficiency in the sector. This merger allows us to grow the number of services that can be offered locally, extend our reach and ensure efficiencies in the way we operate.
“We know that the number of people needing more complex end-of-life care rises every year and we want to make sure that we are equipped to meet that need and that our resources are used in the most effective way possible.
“This milestone is a chance to celebrate what has been achieved so far and look forward to our ambitions for patient services in the years to come. All current services offered by both charities will continue, with the goal of delivering better outcomes from our combined resources as well as working together on future development and expansion to meet the demands of a population of around one million people in our area. This merger is all about building upon existing services in the years to come.”
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