St. Joseph's Hospice (Jospice) in Thornton has appointed Mike Parr as its new Chief Executive, following the departure of Keith Cawdron, who has retired after 13 years.

Mike has spent his whole career working in the charity sector, most recently as Director of Corporate Services at Wigan and Leigh Hospice. Prior to this, Mike was Executive Director of the Groundwork Trust in East Lancashire. Mike has also worked with charities which support social housing and learning disabilities.

Mike, who joined the team at St. Joseph’s Hospice in December, is keen to build on its impressive traditions and lead the Hospice on its next journey; to support the changing needs of patients in the face of the increasing demands on healthcare providers.

He said: “I am delighted to join the team at St. Joseph’s Hospice and to develop the care and services that we provide to local people and their families. The patients we care for have changed as they are living longer and develop more complex conditions. Therefore, our services need to evolve to meet the needs of our community. There is real potential for us to offer a wider range of services to patients and their families across the Sefton, Liverpool and West Lancashire area and beyond.

“I am really keen to build relationships and form partnerships with other health care providers and to work closely with our local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group in order to provide more specialised services throughout our community.”

George Foster, Chair of Trustees at St. Joseph’s Hospice, said: “Our board of Trustees has appointed Mike to lead the team on the next phase of our journey. As a charity, we want to be able to support as many people living with life-limiting conditions as possible and to offer them a wide range of specialist care and support services.

“Mike brings with him a wealth of experience and we are all looking forward to working with him on developing this very special charity.”

Pictured: George Foster, Chair of Trustees, welcomes Mike Parr, Chief Executive, to St. Joseph’s Hospice.