History

Structure, Governance and Management

• The charity was originally constituted as a Charitable Trust and governed by a Trust Deed, dated 12th Oct 1986. The status of the charity was changed to a new Company, limited by guarantee in England and Wales on 1st July 2009. It is managed by a Board of Directors/Trustees, appointment to which is by resolution of the board members. The Board meets regularly to determine overall policy and a smaller group of managing trustees which may give guidance on routine affairs. The Trustees delegate the day to day responsibility for the operation of the hospice and its main services to the Chief Executive, who is supported by Clinical Nurse Managers, an Accounts Controller, Retail and Appeals Managers and assisted by many dedicated staff, professional volunteers and supporters.
  
  The South Bucks Hospice was originally formed in Dec 1985 to raise funds for a hospice for the South Bucks area, and started from the hardest position of all with zero funding. In the intervening years a hardy group of Trustees, volunteers and supporters started the fundraising activities and by 1989 had raised sufficient funds to start a Home-care nursing team under the direction of the local NHS service and was called the ‘Edie Pusey Nurses’ – so named after our founder who had died of a cancer related illness in the same year. The service ran for four years and looked after cancer patients and other terminally related illnesses on a 24hr basis. This provided a much-needed service in the area at the time, as well as allowing our organisation to become more recognised in the community. By 1992, and mainly through pure fundraising activities at grass roots level, the Trust had accumulated sufficient funding to purchase the present hospice location at 9A Amersham Road, High Wycombe, then under private domestic ownership. We finally were given permission to convert the building into a Hospice Day Care Centre by the then Government Planning Ombudsman over local objections. The hospice opened in April 1994 has been open ever since, five days/wk. A separate clinic was created for treating patients with the conditions of Lymphoedema at Cedar Barn, Hazlemere in January 1997. 

• Registered Charity No. 1128881