Two hospice charities in Teesside are to merge in a bid to ensure the long-term sustainability of both organisations and grow their services.
Butterwick Hospice in Stockton-on-Tees has agreed to merge with the Middlesbrough-based Teesside Hospice.
The charities both provide specialist palliative care services for patients suffering from life-threatening or life-limiting conditions.
Both charities will retain their identities, with Butterwick Hospice joining the Teesside Hospice Group.
Teesside Hospice recorded income of £6m in the year to the end of March 2025, while Butterwick Hospice had income of £3.6m over the same period.
The organisations have 174 and 98 employees respectively and the merged charity will have a new senior management team to lead across both hospices.
Butterwick Hospice will have a subcommittee board reporting to the group board and no immediate changes are expected other than to the chief executive role and senior management team, the charities said.
Mike Thornicroft, chief executive of Teesside Hospice, will lead the merged charity. Edward Gorringe, chief executive of Butterwick Hospice, is expected to leave the charity once the merger is completed.
The charities said the timeframe for the completion of the merger had not yet been finalised.
A spokesperson for Teesside Hospice said: “Butterwick Hospice’s finances were challenged due to work to boost its Care Quality Commission rating and [the] reopening of its adult in-patient unit.
“All hospices at the minute are challenged and funding is limited, costs are going up at a rate that is higher than income is coming in.
“This merger is more financially sustainable for the hospices to ensure longevity of services.”
Thornicroft said: “At Teesside Hospice we have experienced a significant increase in demand for our services across the last few years and we have grown to meet this demand.
“Year on year we have seen increases in referrals and patient contacts across all our services, and we have taken steps to ensure we can meet the needs of this growing community without compromising our standards.
“Nationally, one in three people are still dying without the care they need at the end of life – we want to change that and together, through this collaboration, we will be stronger and better placed to drive this growth.”
Gorringe said Butterwick Hospice wanted to develop its services “further and faster” to ensure it was able to respond to changing needs and demands.
“We believe that this can be best achieved by working with others and are excited by the potential offered by this collaboration with Teesside Hospice,” he said.
“Together we will be stronger, more resilient and more responsive, anchored in our respective communities, and committed to continue providing the holistic, loving care envisaged by our founder, Mary Butterwick.”