A merger has been agreed between two of the region's biggest hospices - including our own Rennie Grove.

The merger between Rennie Grove Hospice Care and Peace Hospice Care first proposed in June will be going ahead as planned, with the new organisation now incorporated and called Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care.

The driving force behind the merger is a goal to increase the reach and scope of services offering a range of high-quality care for those facing life-limiting illness, as well as bereavement counselling services for anyone affected by grief, across our diverse local communities.

The combined catchment areas across west Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire covers more than one million people, with a local need to serve just under 8,000 patients a year.

Rennie Grove Peace Hospice wants to increase their current patient numbers from approximately 5,000 per year to cover more of this need, and for more of the local population to benefit from the combined high-quality services of the merged organisation.

Stewart Marks, Chief Executive of Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care said: “I am delighted with the sheer amount of hard work that has been happening behind the scenes across all departments to combine the two successful charities and achieve our vision of growth in our new bigger catchment area.

"We have already identified key growth areas to focus on to serve and support more people, reach all sections of the community and strengthen our resources to ensure every local person receives the care they need, when they need it, whoever they are.

“We are currently liaising with the Charity Commission for their final approval, and the newly appointed Executive Board is now leading our merger integration plans with their combined teams."

Chair of trustees of the new organisation, Dr Jeremy Shindler, added: “The reaction to news of our merger has been overwhelmingly positive.

"We are especially delighted that our staff are already combining forces to lay out plans for how our services will extend efficiently across this wider catchment area covering over one million local people. We are on track to deliver our action plans for the next 18 months of merger integration and excited to work with the wider community."