Plans to merge two Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire based hospice charities have been praised by the boss of a national charity in the sector.

Trustees at Rennie Grove Hospice Care and Peace Hospice Care are proposing to become one charity, called Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, to serve the Buckinghamshire and West Hertfordshire area.

The new charity aims to develop new hospice services for the area’s community and use its “strengthened combined voice to secure the resources needed” for local care, say the charities.

The merger has been welcomed by Craig Duncan, interim chief executive of national charity Hospice UK.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

The merger is pending final approval of the Charity Commission and Rennie Grove members. It is planned to take effect from October if approved.

Rennie Grove chief executive Stewart Marks is set to take the same role at the newly merged charity and Peace Hospice Care’s CEO will be its new chief clinical officer.

“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, said Marks.

“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.”

Meanwhile, Peace’s chair Jeremy Shindler is set to chair the new charity’s board and Rennie Grove’s chair Stephen Spiro is to retire.

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