In 2020, the Chief Executive of Peace Hospice Care departed for a new role in a different hospice. This vacancy led to discussions between Rennie Grove and Peace Hospices about whether there was an opportunity for more collaborative working.
The Chair of Trustees, Vice Chair and Company Secretary from each hospice formed a working group to explore the possibilities to collaborate in more detail. They ran two ‘test projects’: one on learning and development, and the other a review of outpatient services.
The projects were successful, and it was agreed that the hospices should consider whether a merger would be beneficial to them and the communities they serve.
Early in the process, it was agreed that a ‘group’ structure would be best for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, if the merger did go ahead.
Reasons to believe
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The hospices developed a set of “reasons to believe” that a merger could be beneficial. This gave them a framework to explore the possibility in more detail.
Optimising patient and family care
Supporting preferred place of death (PPD)
Gaining increased engagement from donors and supporters
Both hospice’s objectives could be more easily achieved through a merger
The combined charity will deliver more than its individual parts
Introducing children’s services to South West Hertfordshire
Giving more access to a medical team who engage more in community service
Serving a bigger and more diverse population via stronger engagement with more GPs
Increase the reach of the hospice at home model
Reviewing and improving the outpatient offering
Improved engagement with integrated care systems and primary care networks
Improved fundraising from the community population
Increased income generation from a larger retail trade estate
Improved education offering (internally and externally)
Better and more varied career development opportunities across service activities
Increased resources for communication and marketing
Joint development of digital services bringing simplicity of data capture and evidence of impact
Reorganisation to produce more efficient teams, delivering more
Removing duplication of processes
Future Vision framework
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Hospice UK’s Future Vision Programme was a key part of the exploratory phase. It helped everyone focus on what the future of hospice care might look like, and what action would be needed to make sure both hospices were sustainable in the future.
Before the merger could be approved, the hospices developed nine conditions of approval. These included getting agreement on:
the governance & leadership structure
management structures
financial planning.
They developed a project plan and carried out strategic planning, and both hospices ran their own due diligence process.
In March 2022, both Boards of Trustees approved the merger. A new Executive Board was created and Stewart Marks was appointed as Chief Executive.
Facilitators, challenges and advice
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Key facilitators
Rennie Grove and Peace Hospice have been working collaboratively since 2018. Since 2019 they have also been working closely with The Hospice of St Francis, Berkhamsted, to provide a joint Rapid Personalised Care Service (Fast Track) to people in West Hertfordshire. This means there was already a good working relationship between the two hospices’ leadership teams. The trustees were supportive of the idea of a merger, and open to working together.
To enable the hospices to discuss the idea of a merger in more depth, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Non-Disclosure Agreements.
The hospices went through a thorough process when deciding whether to merge, and this built more trust between the two hospice teams. Once the merger was agreed, a Shadow Board was formed to bring together the trustees of both hospices who wanted to move forward in the new organisation.
The Boards of Trustees had strong enough skills to carry out their own due diligence, but external support was sought from auditors, legal advisors and merger project specialists.
Challenges
As Rennie Grove was a membership organisation, it was more complex to agree the merger. The intention to merge needed to be announced and a vote held at a meeting in July 2022. 96% of voters approved the changes.
It took longer than expected to get approval from the Charity Commission for the merger. This meant there was a period of time when the new organisation was registered at Companies House, but still operating with two boards of trustees.
Tips and advice
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Don’t shy away from the word “merger”. You need to discuss it in order to decide if that is what you want to do. Ask whether it’s possible - what would a merger look like for you?
Get it right – don’t just get it done. Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care delayed the date of their merger integration from 1 April 2022 until 1 October 2022, to ensure that nothing was rushed.
Make the best efforts you can to help your staff understand what’s happening. As part of this, Rennie Grove and Peace Hospice sent out a fortnightly communication to all staff and volunteers entitled “Best of Both”.
Progress is cyclical – you might feel like you are moving forward and backwards. Remember that each area of your organisation will be at a different stage in the process and need different support to move forward.
