Joining Forces to Care for Hospice Patients Across Buckinghamshire

A merger between Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and South Bucks Hospice has been completed, with the promise of even more support and care for patients and their loved ones.

Serving the whole of Buckinghamshire and bordering areas, the merged charity will be called Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity. Butterfly House, in High Wycombe, has been the home for South Bucks Hospice since 2017, and this building’s name will be unchanged, and all services will continue. At the heart of the merger is our commitment to care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses or needing end-of-life care, as well as supporting their families.

Both hospice charities have proud heritages dating back 40 years and have provided compassionate and expert care for thousands of patients. By bringing together and working with their partners at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, the charity says they will operate more efficiently and be able to secure and ultimately expand hospice care services in the county.

FNHC’s Chief Executive, Jo Turner, who will lead the merged organisation, said: “We announced earlier in the summer that Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and South Bucks Hospice were in advanced talks about merging and were delighted by the warm response that we received to this news from the charities’ supporters. We are excited that the merger is now coming into effect. “The services provided by both charities complement each other well. The merger will allow us to operate more efficiently, and over time, we will be able to offer even more support and care to patients and their loved ones. “We know that we can rely on the local community to continue supporting us in this ambition through fundraising, donating to, and shopping in, our charity shops as well as all kinds of volunteering.”

Chair of Trustees Noel Ratcliffe added: “This merger will help to deliver our strategy to provide the best hospice care to everyone who needs it in Buckinghamshire and borders. I am delighted that staff from both charities and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust have been working together increasingly closely to make the merger a reality and deliver our objectives for improved care, financial stability and efficient service delivery benefiting the local community”

Liz Monaghan, Lead Nurse for Palliative Care at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust said: “I’m excited that Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity is merging with South Bucks Hospice and look forward to Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust being able to support clinical services at Butterfly House on behalf of the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity. By joining forces, we can support more patients when they need us most. The facilities at Butterfly House are excellent and I look forward to working with the team to further develop the services already provided there. In addition, some of our community team who care for patients in the Wycombe area can use the building as a base, making it easier for them to deliver care in patients’ homes.”

FNH provides care for 2000 patients each year across Buckinghamshire and SBH supports 600 patients per year in south Buckinghamshire. The combined charity will have 125 staff and BHT/FNH 100 staff. All benefit from the huge support offered by over 1,000 volunteers.

Further information about the merger can be found by visiting: https://fnhospice.org.uk/charitynews/joining-forces-to-care-for-hospice-patients-across-buckinghamshire (EXTERNAL SITE).