The National Council for Palliative Care is merging into Hospice UK, the two umbrella bodies have today announced.
The trustees of both charities made the decision on Wednesday, and announced today that they would be working towards a merger. The process of due diligence and formal merger agreement is expected to take around three months.
A spokesman for Hospice UK said that, if the merger is agreed, the new organisation will be called Hospice UK. He added that the Dying Matters Campaign will continue, but that all other decisions on branding will be confirmed in due course.
The boards have agreed that Tracey Bleakley, Hospice UK’s chief executive, will become the acting chief executive of NCPC from 31 May during the interim period before a merger is agreed.
Hospice UK also announced that Claire Henry MBE, current chief executive of NCPC, will be joining the Hospice UK team as director of improvement and transformation in June this year.
The spokesman said that the Hospice UK board will continue as it is now, with two thirds of trustees elected by its members. He added that as part of the process of exploring a merger, Hospice UK will look at "how to make the most of the skills and expertise that NCPC brings".
Hospice UK, the umbrella body for hospices in the UK, had an income last year of £5.5m. NCPC, the umbrella body for all those involved in palliative, end of life and hospice care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, had an income last year of £1.7m.
Lord Howard of Lymphe, chair of Hospice UK, said: “By collaborating directly with NCPC we can pool resources, share knowledge and expand our reach – and ultimately improve outcomes for the beneficiaries of end of life care. Given our shared goals and history of working together, this is a natural progression for our organisations. I am very excited about this new chapter and the opportunities it will open up for everyone involved in hospice and palliative care.”
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Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, chair of NCPC, said: “I’m delighted that our organisations are joining forces to further strengthen the voice for excellent palliative and end of life care for all. NCPC has, in its 25 years, done so much to broaden and develop end of life care and palliative care has become mainstream across health and social care - which was always our aim. By coming together, we will continue to provide a clear vision and an even stronger voice for end of life care everywhere, because the most important person in end of life care is the person with the life limiting condition and their family.”
The two organisations have been working more closely together for the last few years on various campaigns and joint projects.
In December 2015 NCPC announced that its leaser was coming to an end, and that the charity would be staying in the King's Cross area in Central London by moving into Hospice House, where it will rent its own office space from Hospice UK.
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