Sue Plummer, chief executive at Garden House Hospice Care, has announced she is to step down from the position, taking up a new role at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

She will leave the Letchworth-based hospice after seven successful years, increasing the range of services available to patients living in North Hertfordshire and their loved ones in response to the growing need for end-of-life care, and driving growth in income.

During her tenure at Garden House she has overseen innovation such as the introduction of the Compassionate Neighbours scheme, dementia and frailty services, and most recently she has steered the organisation through the Covid pandemic.

Highly-respected Sue reflected on her time at the Hospice, saying: "I feel very proud and privileged to have worked with such a committed team of employees, volunteers, and trustees. It is never an easy decision to make when leaving a charity and cause that you strongly support and believe in, but after an incredible seven years developing services for people across North Hertfordshire and Stevenage, I feel the time is right for both me and the organisation. The Hospice is in a strong position, and it is now time for another person to develop the next phase and its future.

"There have been some incredible highlights and milestones over the past seven years, such as the development of our dementia and frailty services, the support we offer in care homes and the introduction of the Compassionate Neighbours programme means we are able to reach a wider audience of people across the communities we serve. Garden House Hospice Care will remain an organisation I continue to be passionate about and I will continue to be their biggest advocate."

Sue will be rejoining the NHS in October.

See Letchworth Nub News for more on this subject later this week