NI hospice review team announced

The membership of the panel which will review the workings of the crisis-hit Northern Ireland Hospice has been announced.

The review will consider, among other things, the circumstances surrounding the suspension and dismissal of Tom Hill from the post of Administrative Director, and his subsequent appointment as Chief Executive.

The head of the panel is Sir Graham Hart, former Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health in London and currently Chairman of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. He will be joined by: Richard Fries, former Chief Charity Commissioner in England and Wales; Alison Norman, former President of the UK Central Council of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and current Director of Nursing and Operations at the Christie Hospital in Manchester; Dr Rhian Owen, Consultant in Palliative Care Medicine at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Glamorgan; and Martin Pfleger, Deputy Auditor General in the National Audit Office.

NIO Minister Des Browne said: “This is an important and sensitive review and I am pleased that such experienced and expert people have agreed to be part of this work. I know that they are aware of the depth of feeling which events at the hospice have generated and they are keen to do all they can to examine the issues and make recommendations for the future. I look forward to receiving their report in due course.”

The review has been established to examine the past and current management of the Northern Ireland Hospice and to make recommendations for the way forward. It will also examine how the current difficulties might be overcome and make recommendations for the future.

Other issues such as the constitution and corporate governance arrangements, the concerns of staff, members and volunteers and the use of resources at the Hospice will also be examined.

The Hospice has undergone enormous upheaval in the past 12 months, and three weeks ago the Hospice's Chief Executive, Tom Hill, announced his decision is to step aside to allow for the review, which was announced today.

At the time of Mr Hill's appointment as Chief Executive in March, the charity declared it had been running at a loss since March 2002, racking up a £1.25 million deficit. Mr Hill's return was augured as spearheading an attempt to deal with the hospice's growing financial difficulties.

(GMcG)