Review of the work and impact of the Commission into the Future of Hospice Care

The Commission into the Future of Hospice Care was established in 2011 by Hospice UK (then called Help the Hospices) in order to “provide guidance, information and options for hospices with the aim of informing their strategic position and support in addressing the changing and growing needs of their local communities” (‘Preparing for the future: key operating principles’, Commission into the Future of Hospice Care, 2012). The Commission undertook a two-year work programme and produced 16 different reports and working papers before the publication of its final report, ‘Future ambitions for hospice care: our mission and our opportunity’, in October 2013. 

The Commission represented a major piece of work on the part of Hospice UK, with significant financial investment and input on the part of trustees, executive staff and member hospices. Two years after the Commission’s final report, Hospice UK’s Board of Trustees agreed that it would be timely to review the impact for our member hospices of the Commission’s work. The review was conducted for Hospice UK between January and March 2016 by Heather Richardson, working as an independent consultant. This report describes the review and its findings.

A number of key themes emerged: 

• The majority of hospices who engaged in the Commission placed high value on its work. 
• The degree to which hospices engaged in the Commission was variable as a result of a number of different factors. 
• Some hospices who were initially disengaged were encouraged to engage by a third party during the course of the Commission. 
• Some hospices valued the intelligence generated by the Commission but failed to integrate it into their thinking and plans due to local demands and limitations. 
• Many hospices, even those that highly valued the learning of the Commission, have failed to establish or implement long-term plans for change as recommended. Some members feel this outcome would have been different with sustained input from Hospice UK. 
• Some hospices that invested time and effort in planning change demonstrate changes in models of care, behaviours and reach. It is too early, however, to assess the full impact. 
• The opportunities raised by the Commission are still considered to be pertinent by many hospices. They would like Hospice UK to help them re-engage and enact the changes required to take hold of them. 
• Members also identified new areas of work that would benefit from sustained and significant input on the part of Hospice UK, namely performance indicators, new ways of generating income/reducing expenditure and becoming more efficient, and the shape of the workforce in the future. 
• Hospice UK can learn from the experience of the Commission and build on it, particularly around how it draws on expertise and help from its members and partners in the future, the focus and ambition of future projects, and the support required by its members to sustain related interest and change. 
• The highly variable responses to the Commission highlight the significant diversity of the members of Hospice UK. It is clear that, as Hospice UK considers how it serves its members in the future, “one size does not fit all”. Opportunities exist to segment the membership and adjust offerings accordingly

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to:

• Lucy Olliff at Hospice UK for her work on the survey data and figures
• All who contributed to the survey
• Those individuals who gave time and thought to the interviews
• Karen Ashcroft, Jason Davidson and Alison Stevens who undertook related research for their masters degrees and offered their learning.

Author: Heather Richardson

Published by Hospice UK in July 2016.