Garden House Hospice Care is set to join forces with Isabel Hospice, based in Welwyn Garden City, following a number of successful joint initiatives.

The two charities combined serve more than half a million people in North Herts, Stevenage, mid and East Herts.

John Procter, Board of trustees chairman at Garden House Hospice, said: “We are looking forward to collaborating more across services and building on the success of recent joint working.

“This will mean working together on fundraising projects, support for patients with particular illnesses and training, for instance.

“Both boards are determined not just to stand still but to continue expanding and improving vital support and care for people in need.”

Board of trustees chair at Isabel Hospice Rod Leggetter said: “There is a growing demand for hospice care and, at the same time, increased pressure on funding and costs.

“In response to this, and reflecting on the advice of the charity commission and Hospice UK, we believe that radical thinking and bold action are required and this includes increasing the collaboration between our two hospices.

“Our message to the community is, by extending our collaboration, we believe that our individual hospices will be stronger, more able to cope with the pressures on us and, more importantly to maintain and improve the range and quality of services for patients and families experiencing life-limiting illnesses within our communities.”

Doctors, nurses and other staff from the organisations have enjoyed previous joint ventures of the hospices, including its recent collaboration on a heart failure awareness project.

During Heart Failure Awareness Week last month, Garden House Hospice Care and Isabel Hospice teamed up to educate those suffering with heart failure on diet, breathlessness and managing fatigue.

The hospices have also worked closely on a successful bid to secure National Lottery Community funding for £495,247, to help fund a joint Compassionate Neighbours scheme.

To find out more about Garden House Hospice Care, go to ghhospicecare.org.uk and for more on Isabel Hospice, go to isabelhospice.org.uk.