Rennie Grove Hospice Care and Peace Hospice Care have announced their intention to merge in an effort to improve service delivery.
All services offered by both charities will continue under the banner of Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, with the aim of reaching more people across Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
The merger is planned to take effect from 1 October, subject to the final approval of the Charity Commission and the members of Rennie Grove.
As of 31 March 2021, Rennie Grove Hospice Care had an income of £11.9m and employed 167 people. Peace Hospice Care had 120 employees and an income of £6m.
More people needing ‘complex’ end-of-life care
The charities said the merger will allow them to provide a wider range of services to people nearing the end of their lives as well as develop and enhance services better tailored to their needs.
Stewart Marks, chief executive of Rennie Grove, has been appointed designate chief executive of the new charity. Dr Jeremy Shindler, who chairs Peace Hospice Care, was elected as designate chair.
Marks said: “With the number of people needing more complex end-of-life care rising every year, we must be ready to change and adapt to ensure that resources are used in the most effective ways.
“By merging, we will be able to pool our resources to reach many more people with even better care. Our wonderful local community raises most of the cost of running our services so it’s important that we repay this incredible generosity by making sure we are always meeting the changing needs of everyone in the community. We believe that this merger will allow us to do that.”
Ensuring hospice care is ‘sustainable’ in the long term
Hospice UK, the infrastructure body for hospice charities, backed the merger.
Craig Duncan, interim chief executive, said: “We have clearly identified in our future vision for hospices that they need to work more closely together to avoid duplication of services and maximise efficiencies.
“This is the best way to guarantee that resources are used effectively and to make hospice care sustainable in the longer term. The proposed merger of Rennie Grove and Peace Hospice Care is an example of forward-thinking organisations taking a proactive approach to securing the best care for their local communities for the future.”
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