Virtual Hospice Chairs Group
The group brings together hospice Chairs to consider issues of mutual interest in their vital, voluntary roles.
Virtual Hospice Chairs Group
A Chair's role offers less scope to share experiences with hospice peers than for those in executive positions. But the benefits of doing so can be considerable. This, the third hospice virtual group, was set up in 2024 so this can happen.
We now meet every quarter. Numbers are small enough to allow everyone to participate, but large enough to get a range of opinions.
Below are details about some of our recent sessions. To learn more about the group, contact me.
October 2024 - Hospice Collaboration
'It used to be a risk to collaborate. Now it's risk not to.' These are the words of a former hospice CEO and certainly we are seeing more joint working with hospices than ever before.
Participants shared their experiences, agreeing on the need for the reasons for collaboration to be clear. They also discussed the challenges involved and how often these relate to the impact of different cultures or clashes between key individuals.
We agreed that the view that 'mergers reduce costs' is flawed, especially in the short-medium run. In fact, costs can increase due to redundancies and the extra resource required to manage the process. To see positive impact, one normally has to look at the long-term.
Examples of successful collaboration were also shared. Such as the Local Hospice Lottery model and hospices that shared Director posts.
July 2024
Our first virtual session involved a wide ranging discussion from the time honoured issue of trustee-executive relations, to the pros and cons of collaboration with other organisations and the financial challenges facing hospices.
We also covered the particular pressures involved in being a Chair and how to get the best out of trustees who are in full time employment or have a range of other time consuming duties.
Much to pick up on in more detail at future sessions!
