NCPC and Hospice UK to finalise merger

Date: 
29 June 2017
The National Council for Palliative Care was set up 25 years ago, at the request of the then government, to advocate for palliative and end of life care and build collaboration and partnership in the sector. Cicely Saunders was one of our founders and our first President. Since then we have worked tirelessly to bring palliative and end of life care into the mainstream, and ensure that everyone gets access to good end of life care.

And since 2009 we have led the Dying Matters coalition, encouraging people and communities to have conversations about dying, death and bereavement, to get their plans in place and to provide practical support for each other.

Throughout, we have worked with many partners, because death, bereavement and end of life care involve so many different areas of life. We are grateful for the support we have had, from Government and national bodies through to tiny charities, and many more besides. And most of all to the individual people who have shared their stories and campaigned with us for change. Every partnership has helped us and enriched our work, and every bit of support has helped us move closer to our goals.

But the current financial climate is hard for any charity, and so we are pleased to be merging with Hospice UK. We both have a lot to offer the other, and we believe that the new organisation will be more than just the sum of its parts. This merger will create an organisation that will keep moving end of life care forward.

Dying Matters will continue as a coalition and a campaign, and the goals of the National Council for Palliative Care will become part of the goals of the new organisation. We will continue to work in partnership with a broad range of organisations and individuals, but with all the added benefits of being part of Hospice UK’s dynamic and exciting work.

Thank you for all your support over the years. Thanks to your support, we’ve seen tremendous improvements in palliative and end of life care over the last 25 years, and this will continue after the merger.

The official press release can be read here

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