Iain Rennie Hospice at Home and Grove House both started from humble beginnings in 1985. The two charities merged in 2011 and now care for more than 3,000 patients and families affected by life-limiting illness every year. Below are some of the key events in our 30 year history
| Iain Rennie Hospice at Home |
Grove House |
| 1985: In May, 5 nurses care for Iain Rennie in his own home | 1985: Official launch of the Hospice Care Team in St Albans in January as first Macmillan nurse is appointed1985: A separate charity, the Cancer Support Group, also in the early stages of development |
| 1985: Iain Rennie Hospice at Home is born in August and based in Beaconsfield | 1987: Bereavement Care Service opens, associated with, but not exclusive to, the Hospice Care Team |
| 1988: Nurses split into 2 teams, North & South | 1988: First Day Care Group is set up at the United Reform Church Hall in St Albans |
| 1992: South team nurses move to Cedar Barn in Hazlemere; North team nurses move to Pitstone | 1989: Research begins into looking for a place to bring all these services together |
| 1993: First IRHH charity shop opens in Tring | 1991: Vision for local hospice care developed |
| 1994: 3 nursing teams formed as patient caseload increases | 1992: Lord Robert Runcie launches £1million appeal for new hospice building |
| 1995: A 4th adult nursing team is added plus a paediatric team funded by Pepper Foundation | 1992: Dr Mary Groves retires as a GP to give more time as Medical Director of the Hospice Care Team |
| 1997: Director of Nursing post introduced | 1994: First patients begin to use Macmillan Runcie Day Hospice, running on 4 busy days by November, and officially opened by the Duchess of Kent |
| 2000: North nursing teams and admin support move to Tring | 1998: Innovative 'Cancer the Next Step' is introduced |
| 2003: South nursing teams moves to Gillian King House in Chalfont St Giles | 1999: Service review sees addition of outpatient services and re-naming the building Grove House in honour of Dr Mary Groves |
| 2009: Clinical integration with Grove House in St Albans | 2004: Becomes a full charity as Macmillan funding ceases |
| 2010: 10,000th patient cared for | 2009: Clinical integration with Iain Rennie Hospice at Home |
| 2011: Merger with Grove House to become Iain Rennie Grove House Hospice Care | 2009: Duke of Gloucester opens building extension and launches the new Hospice at Home service |
| 2011: Merger with Iain Rennie Hospice at Home to become Iain Rennie Grove House Hospice Care |
Iain Rennie Grove House Hospice Care
2011-12: Night team is introduced for Hospice at Home care, initially as a pilot project
Rennie Grove Hospice Care
2013: Charity is renamed Rennie Grove Hospice Care and new branding launched
2014: Further day services are launched at Grove House
2014: In April, the charity achieves the milestone of caring for 3,000 patients and families a year
The Future:
With rising population figures and the fact that the number of over 75s is predicted to double in the next 30 years, the support of our local community will be vital if we are to continue caring for local patients and families.
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