Gina Starnes, Director of Nursing at St Catherine's Hospice, has been appointed the Deputy Chair for the newly formed Executive Clinical Leads in Hospice & Palliative Care (ECLiHP).

The peer support network group was created by Help the Hospices to provide a forum for executive clinical leaders engaged in the planning and delivery of hospice and palliative care. The core purpose of the group is to: assist executive clinical leads to plan for the future of hospice care; provide peer support and a network in which to share innovations and best practice; and to provide a cogent voice relating to clinical service planning and delivery.

Gina Starnes has been a nurse for 28 years, 18 of which have been working to support the best possible end of life care for patients and their families. She joined St Catherine's in 1998 and in 2011 she received a Masters in Hospice Leadership. She has since used her skills and experience to plan and implement service developments at the hospice.

Gina says "I am thrilled to have been appointed to the role of Deputy Chair for ECLiHP. I am a firm advocate of collaboration, communication and sharing of good practice not only amongst the St Catherine's teams but also with other organisations concerned with end of life care. Over the years I have built up a personal network of clinical lead colleagues, which has enabled me to benefit from others' skills and experience as well as sharing my own. I thoroughly look forward to undertaking this voluntary role, whilst continuing to lead on end of life care issues at St Catherine's."