Rowans Hospice bids farewell to Chief Executive who spent 29 years working for the charity - and Fred Dinenage turned up for the celebrations

Ruth White, will start her retirement in August 2023 after spending 29 years at the charity and to celebrate her time, the team gathered at the Queens Hotel at the end of June. Rowans Trustees, both past and present, and the senior management team gathered at the Portsmouth hotel alongside charity patron and TV presenter Fred Dinenage.

Ruth has been leading the charity since June 1994, but she has been working in the hospice sector since 1986, which is when she became the first matron at Rowans.

She said: ‘It really has been a privilege and an honour to be the Rowans Hospice chief executive, and to have been instrumental in developing Clinical Services since June 1994 when I arrived to work in the part-constructed Rowans Hospice as its first Matron.'

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To thank Ruth, the team presented her with flowers from the hospice gardens and a custom-made necklace featuring the Rowans’ 'R', while a photo slideshow shared some of Ruth’s career highlights from the last 29 years.

She added: ‘Hardly a day goes by when my heart doesn’t sing from reading a letter of thanks and appreciation for the services that are provided. These memories I will treasure forever and know that in passing on the baton to Kirsteen, there will be sadness but also confidence that she will continue the legacy of high-quality personalised care that was set into the charity’s DNA by our founders, dating back to 1984 when the fundraising began.’

Kirsteen Murray will start working as the new Chief Executive from July 24 and she has worked in the health and social care sector since 2004, as well as holding a number of senior positions in commissioning and provider organisations.