Two palliative care charities in the North East of England, Teeside Hospice and Butterwick Hospice, have announced they are to merge.

The merged charities will support more than 6,700 people across the Tees Valley and County Durham areas.

In a joint statement they say they “will be stronger together to meet the increasing demand for care and deliver services long into the future”.

The merger has been agreed in principle by both charities “to ensure the provision of services for those living with life limiting illness and their families will continue across the Tees Valley and County Durham”.

Teesside Hospice offers in-patient, outreach, wellbeing, Lymphoedema, and bereavement counselling support services across the Tees Valley.

Meanwhile, Butterwick provides care in Bishop Auckland and Stockton-on-Tees to adults and children through in-patient, day services, home care and family support, as well as through its dedicated children’s hospice.

Teeside Hospice chief executive Mike Thornicroft said: “At Teesside Hospice we have experienced a significant increase in demand for our services across the last few years and we have grown to meet this demand.

“Year on year we have seen increases in referrals and patient contacts across all our services, and we have taken steps to ensure we can meet the needs of this growing community without compromising our standards.

“This has included upgrades to our facilities, such as recent refurbishments in our In-Patient Unit and Wellbeing Centre, and increased staffing.”

He added: “Nationally, one in three people are still dying without the care they need at the end of life – we want to change that and together, through this collaboration, we will be stronger and better placed to drive this growth.”

Butterwick Hospice chief executive Edward Gorringe added that the charity wants to “develop our services further and faster, ensuring that we are able to respond to changing needs and demands over the coming years”.

“We believe that this can be best achieved by working with others and are excited by the potential offered by this collaboration with Teesside Hospice, he said.

“Together we will be stronger, more resilient and more responsive, anchored in our respective communities, and committed to continue providing the holistic, loving care.”

Challenging financial climate for hospice charities

The merger has been announced amid a challenging recent financial climate for hospice charities across the UK.

A protest organised by membership body Hospice UK was staged in Westminster last month calling for “fair sustainable funding” for the sector, which has been hit by redundancies and cuts to services.

During the last financial year spending by both Teeside and Butterwick had outstripped their income.

According to the Charity Register, Butterwick Hospice has 102 members of staff and is supported by 120 volunteers.

Its latest accounts for the financial year ending March 2025 were submitted more than a month late to the Charity Commission and show its income was £3.6m while it spent £4.7m over this period. This is the fourth year in a row its spending had exceeded its income.

Teeside Hospice Care Foundation has 159 staff and is supported by 350 volunteers.

Its accounts for the year ending March 2025 show that its spent £190,000 above its income of £6m. This was the first year in the last five where it spent more than it earnt.

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