A new Programme Director has been appointed to support independent hospices working together across the North East and North Cumbria.
Sarah Burns has joined the Independent Hospice Collaborative for the North East and North Cumbria, which brings together 11 independent hospices, including Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice.
The Collaborative includes Willow Burn Hospice, St Teresa’s Hospice, St Oswald’s Hospice, Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Hospice at Home Carlisle & North Lakeland, Hospice at Home West Cumbria, Tynedale Hospice at Home, HospiceCare North Northumberland, Teesside Hospice, Alice House Hospice and Butterwick Hospice.
Together, the hospices are working to strengthen the collective voice of hospice care across the region and help ensure services are sustainably commissioned for the future.
Sarah Burns brings 23 years of experience working within the NHS in the North East to her new role. Most recently, she helped develop the Integrated Care Board’s commissioning plan for palliative and end of life care and supported the development of a comprehensive health needs assessment for the area.
Her appointment comes at an important time for the hospice sector, as Integrated Care Boards have been instructed by Government to ensure the sustainable commissioning of hospice services.
Julie Clayton, CEO of Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw and Chair of the Independent Hospice Collaborative for the North East and North Cumbria, welcomed the appointment.
“We are really pleased to have Sarah’s experience, skills and ambition for our hospices and the communities we serve. The government has instructed all ICBs to ensure the sustainable commissioning of hospices ahead of the publication of the long-awaited Modern Service Framework. The appointment to the Collaborative also marks a new commitment to work closely together to ensure meaningful commissioning for our services which reflects both the work we do to support the NHS, and the experience of patients in our care.”
Through the Collaborative, the 11 independent hospices will continue to work together to represent the needs of their patients, families and communities, while demonstrating the important role hospice care plays alongside NHS services.
For Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, this partnership is an opportunity to add our voice to the wider hospice sector while continuing to champion high-quality palliative, end of life and hospice care for people across Cumbria.
