Mr Voss, who was awarded a CBE for services to British Industry and voluntary work in the UK in the New Year’s Honours List of 2014, is Patron and President of a number of local and national charities, and has been a supporter of the Berkhamsted-based Hospice for some years. He has visited the Hospice on a number of occasions on both a formal and informal basis and also gave the thank you address to dinner guests at a recent 40^th anniversary dinner at Hatfield House.

Mr Voss said this week, “I am delighted to become a Patron of The Hospice of St Francis. I have known the wonderful St Francis team for some time and have greatly admired their dedication and the care they have for their patients and their families. The atmosphere around St Francis is one of love and support and I look forward to helping build on that ethos.”

“Robert is passionate about raising the profile of the Hospice movement within Hertfordshire, already setting up a Hospital and Hospices panel, and is committed to doing what he can to help us start conversations and spread the message about the important role Hospices play in our county and across the UK.”

In February 2020, The Queen sanctioned Robert being honoured as a Commander in the Order of St John (CStJ).

He is Patron and President of a number of local and national charities and is active in Holocaust education.

Claire Hewitt, our Joint Head of Family support, met with Victoria to discuss everything, from our unique care, to our support for carers and families.

Claire said, “It was so nice speaking to Victoria about the variety of services we offer at the Hospice and in the community. She was particularly interested in the referral process for family members and patients as well as support for carers.”

After a tour through the Inpatient Unit, our CEO presented Victoria with flowers from our gardens and a jar of honey from the Hospice’s bees.

Tim Curry, Chair of Trustees, said, “We’re delighted to have MP Victoria Collins joining our patrons. At such a crucial time for hospices, Victoria’s commitment is greatly appreciated.”

Sarah became MP for Chesham and Amersham in a 2021 by-election and held the seat in the 2023 General Election.

Sarah has been a champion for the local environment, speaking out on the sewage discharges into our local rivers.

Sarah has also established a strong record of action helping local people, small businesses and the self-employed. 

Sarah lives in Chesham with her partner, Daniel, and her Labrador, Angus.

He is also an MP for South West Hertfordshire.

In 1992 she joined some pioneers to establish a palliative care unit in West Cumbria Hospital and became enthused by the specialty. In 1996, she took on the leadership role at the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted, Herts, a post she held until March 2015.

During her time at St Francis she grew the medical team, the senior management team, secured funding for a Consultant in Palliative Medicine, appointed the first hospice fundraiser and transformed Day Hospice into the Spring Centre! Her main achievement was securing a site for a new 14-bedded hospice building, overseeing the construction project and creation of the garden.

She then became Clinical Director at Hospice UK, a national umbrella charity for the hospice movement, and most recently has been back at the bedside as a palliative physician in the busy palliative care team at the Royal Marsden and Royal Brompton Hospitals in London.

Dr Taylor now has over 26 years experience in palliative care and was awarded an MBE for Services to Hospice Care following a nomination by a St Francis patient. She has recently contributed a chapter on spirituality through the lens of a doctor, in a new book Spirituality and Hospice Care. She is contributing to the new Lancet Commission on the Value of Death and is a senior advisor to the Montreal 2020 International Congress on Palliative Care.

She’s on X as @hospicedoctor and is a Deputy Lieutenant in the county of Hertfordshire!

Until her retirement, Jo was Group Managing Director of an FTSE 250 software company.

Since then she has undertaken a variety of Non-Executive Directorships with IT and telecommunications companies. Until March 2019 she was Chair of Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Older and Disabled People, and Chair of the Communications Consumer Panel.

In addition, she has undertaken a number of roles for not-for-profit and charitable organisations, including Pro Chancellor and Chair of the Board of Governors at the University of Hertfordshire, Chair of the Hospice of St Francis Berkhamsted, national Chair of Help the Aged.

Her current roles are as Trustee of Hertfordshire Community Foundation; and Chair of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists’ Charity.

She is also a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Chartered IT Professional, Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (2008/9), a Freeman of the City of London, and a Deputy Lieutenant for Hertfordshire.

Jo was awarded an OBE for services for older people (2011), and the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Hertfordshire(2014).

She lives in Great Gadsden and is married with two adult children and two grandchildren.

Charles has been married to Val (HOSF volunteer) since 1991 and has two adult children. He has lived in Berkhamsted since 1986. He belongs to Berkhamsted Rotary, and Berkhamsted Golf Club.

From 1960 to 1963 he was a management trainee at William Crawford and sons of Edinburgh

In 1964 he moved to Abbey National Plc, and worked in several branches in Edinburgh, Hamilton, Carlisle and Dundee until 1975.

He then became the Regional Manager of all Scotland until 1984. From then until 1999, he held a variety of Head Office positions in Baker Street, London. These consisted of General Manager, Branch Operations; Operations Director; Managing Director, New Businesses; Managing Director Retail Bank. He became Plc Board Director following flotation in 1989 and was Group Deputy Chief Executive from 1996 until 1999.

Non-executive Directorships.

NHBC from 1996 to 2002; Director then Deputy Chairman from 1999 to 2004. He was also a member of the Remuneration Committee and Chairman of the Audit Committee.

MSB INTERNATIONAL Plc from 1999 to 2004; He was Senior Non-Executive Director; Chairman of the Remunerations Committee and a member of the Audit Committee.

FORD BANK Plc (often known as Ford Credit) from 1999 to 2007.
he was Director, a member of the Finance and Audit committees.

BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS Plc: from 2002 to 2008.

He was appointed Deputy Chairman 2002, Group Chairman from 2002 to 2008 and was Chairman of the Nominations and Remunerations committees.

HOSPICE of ST FRANCIS, Berkhamsted.

He was appointed a Trustee 2009; Chairman from 2010 to 2016 and Chairman of the Governance and Remuneration committees.

Dame Vivienne Cox has wide experience of business gained in the energy, natural resources, publishing and pharmaceutical sectors. She also has a deep understanding of regulatory and government relationships.

Dame Vivienne is Chair of Victrex plc, Non-Executive Director of Haleon plc and Nonexecutive Director of Venterra Group plc. She is also an Adviser to Montrose Associates Ltd. Previously, Dame Vivienne was Board member of Stena AB.

Dame Vivienne worked for BP plc for 28 years in Britain and continental Europe, in posts including Executive Vice President and CEO of BP’s gas, power and renewable business, where she created the alternative energy unit. She is Vice Chair of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, Chair of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and Honorary Secretary of the Energy Institute, and an Advisory Board member of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the African Leadership Institute. She is a Patron of the Hospice of St Francis. Dame Vivienne was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for services to sustainability and to diversity and inclusion in business.

Prior to that he was CEO of the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust for 12 years.

Peter is a registered mental health and general nurse.

Peter is a graduate of the Institute of Personnel and Development. He has a Masters Degree and PhD from the University of Birmingham. He is a visiting Professor at 4 Universities and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners and an Ad Eidem Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.

One of the things he is most proud of was his membership of the Crown Commission into non-medical prescribing whose recommendations the Westminster Government accepted. This led the way to nurse prescribing.

During his time at the RCN Peter reshaped the organisation and membership rose from 300,000 to 430,000. The College also achieved recognition in the Sunday Times top 100 companies to work for and achieved the gold award for Investors in people.

Peter has extensive media experience and has twice been interviewed for the BBC programme Hardtalk.

He has written for most of the national newspapers and journals and has contributed chapters to a number of books.

He is now an Independent Healthcare Consultant. Since leaving the RCN he has worked across the UK and internationally he has worked in ten countries. He has twice been asked by the NHS in England, to be the interim Chairman of two NHS Trusts that were in serious difficulties. From November 2016 to March 20017 he was the Chairman of the Medway NHS Trust and from October 2017 to February 2018 Chairman of the East Kent University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

When not working his interests are Music, sport, cycling, literature, and politics and is a qualified SCUBA diver

He was awarded the OBE in 2006.

Hilary McNair was Matron when we were at our first home in Shrublands Road from 1988-1995. A dynamic nursing leader and passionate about good bedside hospice care, she was involved with the founding of the National Council for Hospice and Specialist Palliative Care (now Hospice UK, the umbrella organisation for over 200 UK hospices).

Now nearly 86, and a Hospice Patron, Association Member and adviser on our Cleanliness Audit Committee, she looks back fondly  on her seven years at the Hospice as being “the happiest and most fulfilling” of her nursing career.

“You had the reward every day,” she says. “How lucky could you be to have people say all the time what a difference you had made? There aren’t many jobs where you get that kind of vocal satisfaction consistently.”

Hilary is the mother-of-three and very proud grandmother-of-two.

She also works as an Honorary Physician in the ILD service at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals. She recently moved from the Royal Free to expand her interests into providing services for Cancer and optimising front end delivery of Emergency Medical Services. Her interests are in optimising the local provision of all respiratory and medical services in a more effective, productive and safe way.

Rama is also a British Lung Foundation Ambassador aiming to represent the patients view and a member of the BTS COPD Specialist Advisory Group.  She previously held posts at Barnet, as Clinical Director, Associate Medical Director for both Barnet and Chase Farm Trust and Barnet Community Services. Rama qualified in Nigeria and the Royal Free in Medicine and then trained at the Royal Brompton, Hammersmith and St Marys. Her Masters and PhD were in the Immunopathogenesis of Scleroderma and Non Specific Interstitial Pneumonitis.

Her more recent interests are in other allied care specialties and in all health care environments. She is also a trained transformational therapist with a subspecialty interest in clinical hypnotherapy for the management of the psychology of illness behaviour.

Alison, who lives in Bovingdon, was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2013 after retiring from a career in Finance. She took over as Chair of Trustees in February 2016.

Having qualified as an accountant with Cadbury Typhoo she went on to work for AT&T, the BBC and University College London. She has extensive knowledge of the not for profit and charity sectors. She has been trustee of BBC Media Action. a governor at the University of the Arts and on the Executive Committee of the Caravan & Motorhome Club.

Previously she sat on the audit committees of the Royal Society and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. She was a governor at her local primary school and PCC Treasurer at her church.