Teesside Hospice and Butterwick Hospice announce merger

Teesside Hospice, in Middlesbrough, and Butterwick Hospice, in Stockton, plan to unite in a bid to ensure “long-term sustainability” of end-of-life care across the North East.

The decision, which has been agreed in principle, comes as hospices across the country remain at crisis point with finances running low and services at risk of being cut.

Both hospices continue to face “unending” financial challenges, spending more money than they are bringing in at a time when demand is increasing year on year.

Both Teesside and Butterwick now feel that they can generate more income together, with no immediate noticeable changes to services.

While the hospices will now jointly support more than 6,700 people across Teesside and County Durham, the merger has meant that two Butterwick staff now sadly face redundancy.

“By making these decisions now, we are protecting ourselves for the future”, Mike Thornicroft, CEO of Teesside Hospice, told The Northern Echo. 

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“We would always want to reach more people and deliver outstanding care. Demand is going up year on year, and we want to do more for more people.

“I think by working together we can share costs, we can bring more income in, and each hospice is protected by the other one’s success.” 

Edward Gorringe, CEO at Butterwick Hospice, said the two hospices are “stronger together”.

“They can better serve communities in the future”, he said. “We have got strengths in different areas at each hospice. We can hopefully create something taking the best elements of each.”

Both hospices ‘under pressure’

The merger, which follows a lengthy decision process, has been agreed to ensure services for those living with life-limiting illnesses and their families will continue. 

Mr Gorringe, who has been in his role since 2022, said all North East hospices have been working together for years.

In the last few months, the merger came about as an “opportunity to build something special”. 

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

It comes just less than two years after Mr Gorringe revealed that, without additional funding, the hospice’s current provision would “simply become unsustainable”.  

Mr Gorringe said: “At some point in time, we could have [a financial challenge] that we cannot cope with. It could be anywhere between two months to a year from now.

“We are all under pressure with costs going up. 

“For the whole sector, the hospice’s funding model is based on a simple approach to providing care. But we are akin to a small hospital – and the funding model does not sustain that.” 

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

However, Mr Gorringe did say that the hospice has made significant progress, recently reducing a £1 million deficit by around half. 

“The government needs to take these issues seriously”, he argued. “They need to wake up and take it seriously because if they don’t they will lose hospices.” 

Meanwhile, Mr Thornicroft, who has worked in the sector for eight years, said finances had been tough this year due to National Living Wage and National Insurance Contribution increases. 

He previously said difficult decisions could lie ahead for Teesside Hospice, which faced a deficit of around £300,000 last year – but there are plans in place to tackle the next forecasted deficit.

He said he hopes the merger will bring the potential for new roles within the hospices – but, with the ongoing crisis, cannot guarantee there won’t be cuts in the future.

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“I think both Teesside Hospice and Butterwick Hospice over the last few years have been delivering expert care to our communities”, Mr Thornicroft said.

“We both face challenges around financial sustainability, and we have both been experiencing a deficit budget. Over the last few years we have been eating into our resources. 

“It just makes sense to work together and be stronger together rather than competing for funding in our local areas. We feel that, working together, we can generate a lot more income.”

Mr Thornicroft said the changes will largely be felt behind the scenes:  “Nobody outside of the hospice should notice any change to services. 

“It is purely to make us more efficient and save money.

“We are going to work on the basis of a group structure, but both Butterwick Hospice and Teesside Hospice’s identities will be remaining. 

“They’ll still have separate bank accounts but we will have one leadership team across both.”