Florence Nightingale Hospice increases role in Hospice at Home care in Buckinghamshire

As well as delivering care in the Hospice building at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Florence Nightingale Hospice (part of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust) has nursed patients in their own homes in Buckinghamshire for over 30 years. Hospice at home services enable patients with advanced illness to be cared for at home, and to die at home if that is their preference.

Florence Nightingale Hospice’s care used to be delivered in the Aylesbury Vale (Aylesbury and north Bucks) and delivered by Community Nurse Specialists and Healthcare Assistants. In 2019 we introduced a more comprehensive Hospice at Home service (FNH@Home) which was piloted during the Covid pandemic and steadily expanded with additional staff. The majority of this community activity has been funded by Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity.

Hospice at home care in the south of Buckinghamshire has been delivered by Rennie Grove Peace and by a small team of Clinical Nurse Specialists employed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and managed by Florence Nightingale Hospice.

The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire west Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) which commissions healthcare in our region has recently retendered Hospice at home care. BOB ICB  decided to award new contracts for Hospice at home care in Buckinghamshire to the main providers in the area: Florence Nightingale Hospice, Rennie Grove Peace and Thames Hospice. This started formally on 1 January 2025.

The rationale for the new approach is to avoid duplication of care and encourage closer coordination between hospice care providers, District Nurses and GP surgeries, who work together locally as Primary Care Networks (PCNs), to provide joined up care to those with an end-of-life diagnosis in each local area. The new split is based on PCN areas.

Lead Nurse for Palliative and End of Life Care services at the Trust, Liz Monaghan said:

“The Florence Nightingale Hospice team has provided end of life nursing care for people both in the Hospice at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and in their own homes for over 30 years. We look forward to working more closely with GP colleagues and to extending the care we provide through the Hospice@Home service to a greater number of patients and their families in over half of Buckinghamshire.”

Jo Turner, Chief Executive of Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity said:

“We are delighted that Florence Nightingale Hospice will be delivering Hospice at home care across more of Buckinghamshire and for the vote of confidence on the services delivered by FNH which this represents.

“The money raised every year by Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity through a range of fundraising activity and our 15 charity shops enables us to commission numerous services and posts delivered by FNH. We are extremely grateful for this community support which ultimately delivers comprehensive, high quality, compassionate care for local people (patients and family members) wherever and whenever they need it.  We look forward to developing relationships and income generation in the areas where FNH will now be delivering Hospice at home care.”

It remains the case that the specialist doctors, nurses and allied staff at Florence Nightingale Hospice offer palliative and end of life care to people across the whole county of Buckinghamshire and bordering areas in their building at Stoke Mandeville. This includes In Patient care, Day Hospice and Lymphoedema. The Florence Nightingale Hospice team also offer palliative and end of life care for patients in general wards at Stoke Mandeville, Wycombe and Amersham Hospitals.

Florence Nightingale Hospice will now provide Hospice at home care in the following areas representing 58% of the population of Buckinghamshire:

 

PCN	Surgeries	Areas covered
Dashwood PCN	Carrington House, Chiltern House, Cressex Health Centre, Riverside Surgery, Stokenchurch Medical Centre, Wye Valley Surgery	High Wycombe, Stokenchurch Holmer Green
Cygnet PCN	Desborough, Kingswood, Priory and Tower House surgeries	West Wycombe, Downley, Totteridge, Holmer Green
Westongrove PCN	Westongrove Partnership – surgeries in Aston Clinton, Bedgrove and Wendover	Aston Clinton, Halton, Wendover, Stoke Mandeville, Bedgrove (Aylesbury East)
Phoenix Health PCN	Haddenham, Cross Keys and Unity Health	Haddenham, Princes Risborough, Brill, Chinnor, Long Crendon, Thame
Central Aylesbury PCN	Berrycroft Community Health Centre Whitehill surgeries	Central and West Aylesbury, Coldharbour, Haydon Hill Buckingham Park, Watermead, Berryfields, Quarrendon
Central Maple PCN	Mandeville Surgery, Oakfield Surgery and Poplar Grove Practice	South & East Aylesbury, Walton Court, Southcourt, Victoria Park, Bierton, Broughton, Broughton Crossing, Kingsbrook, Hulcott
Swan PCN	Swan Practice	Buckingham and villages
North Bucks PCN	3W Health, Ashcroft Surgery, Edlesbororough Surgery, Waddesdon Surgery	Winslow, Wingrave, Wing, Edlesborough, Ivinghoe, Cheddington, Waddesdon, Quainton

Rennie Grove Peace will provide Hospice at Home care in these areas:

PCN	Surgeries	Areas covered
The Chalfonts PCN	The Allan Practice, The Hall Practice, The Misbourne Practice	Chalfont St Peter, Chalfont St Giles, Gerrards Cross
Arc PCN	Bourne End & Wooburn Green Medical Centre, Cherrymead Surgery, Highfield Surgery, Millbarn Medical Centre, The Marlow Medical Group, The Simpson Centre	Bourne End, Wooburn, Loudwater, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Beaconsfield, Hazlemere
Mid Chiltern PCN	Amersham Health Centre, Hughenden Valley Surgery, John Hampden Surgery, Prospect House, Rectory Meadow Surgery	Great Missenden, Prestwood, Amersham, Hughenden Valley, Great Hampden
Chesham & Little Chalfont PCN	Gladstone Surgery, Little Chalfont Surgery, The New Surgery, Water Meadow Surgery	Chesham, Little Chalfont

Thames Hospice will provide Hospice at home care:

PCN	Surgeries	Areas covered
South Bucks PCN	Burnham Health Centre, Denham Medical Centre, Southmead Surgery, The Ivers Practice, Threeways Surgery	Iver, Stoke Poges, Slough, Burnham, Denham