Hospice UK, the infrastructure body for hospice charities, has appointed Tracey Bleakley as chief executive.
Bleakley replaces its leader of 18 years, David Praill, who announced in April that he would stand down.
Bleakley, who will join at the end of the year, is currently chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and has worked in the charitable and public sector since 2009. She will lead the organisation as it develops its role as a membership organisation.
Chair of Hospice UK, Lord Howard of Lympne, said: “Tracey has an excellent track record at board level and a wealth of experience in the public and charitable sector and the requisite skills and experience to deliver our vision.”
Lympne said Bleakley joins the charity at an “ambitious” time as it seeks to “transform end of life care across all settings, including a reinvigorated partnership with the NHS”.
In a statement on Friday, Bleakley said it was an “exciting time for the hospice care sector” and a “critical juncture for end of life care”.
“There is a growing public awareness about the huge difference that high quality end of life care can make for dying and terminally ill people and their families,” she said. “There is a critical need for more of this kind of care to support the UK’s increasing number of older people. I look forward to working with hospices to champion this cause and develop our service offer for the future.
Praill’s departure was announced in April. During his time at the charity, he played a key role in developing the organisation’s grant programme, leading the charity as it distributed over £150m worth of grants - most recently £60m worth from the Department of Health.
He also helped to create and launch the digital, palliative news and information website, eHospice in 2012 which has since gained participating organisations around the world.
Hospice UK accounts show steady income
Hospice UK’s accounts were also recently published. The accounts show a slight decrease in income from last year - not including a £60m NHS grant the charity received the previous year for distribution across the hospice sector.
The total income for the year ending March 2015 was £6.4m, down £35,000 on the previous year.
Total expenditure for the year was £6.8m, which remained consistent with the previous year.
In September 2014 Hospice UK rebranded from Help the Hospices. The most recent accounts show a total of £106,000 was spent on the rebrand over the last two years.
