The charity in Letchworth Garden City, located close to Innovative Trials’ headquarters, provides specialist palliative care to hundreds of local people every year, including those with incurable conditions and their families and carers. Support includes in-patient care, frailty services, community hubs and a local volunteer scheme to help tackle loneliness and social isolation. This new charity partnership will see Innovative Trials raising part of the £7.7 million needed to fund the hospice’s services annually.
Kate Shaw, Founder and CEO of Innovative Trials, said: “Research suggests about 55,000 people aged 18-40 in England live with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition1, but we know this figure is likely to be much higher. The number of children diagnosed with such a condition alone has increased significantly since 2000 and is predicted to continue rising2.
“At Innovative Trials, our work centres around helping patients get faster access to new and innovative treatments, and we are also passionate about making sure people get the wider care and support they need to help give them a good quality of life. The work that Garden House Hospice Care does makes a big difference to people’s lives across Hertfordshire, but we know many hospices are finding the current financial climate challenging. We hope our fundraising and support efforts over the next year can help to ensure the charity’s vital work continues. Over the last 15 years, Innovative Trials has established itself as a leading clinical trial patient recruitment company, working with some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies to accelerate the development of life-changing treatments, particularly in the fields of oncology and rare disease.
Carla Pilsworth is Director of Strategy, Transformation, Income Generation and Marcomms at the hospice. She said: “At Garden House Hospice Care, we’ve always stood for compassion, dignity, and support. But the world is changing. People are living longer, often with complex, long-term conditions. That’s why we’re launching a bold new 10-year strategy to transform how we care, who we reach, and how we sustain our work for the future.
“Support from charity partners is more important than ever to sustain our vital work at the hospice and out in the community. We’re so grateful to Innovative Trials for choosing Garden House as their charity partner for 2025/26 – every penny raised will make a huge difference to the lives of local people and their loved ones across North Hertfordshire, Stevenage and beyond.”
Innovative Trials has previously contributed more than £3,000 towards the construction of a world-leading Children’s Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital. It has also held previous charitable partnerships with Alzheimer’s Research UK and MS Society. In the US, Innovative Trials is continuing its partnership with the Oliver Patch Project, a non-profit organization committed to empowering children with cancer through the power of patches – colorful and collectable designs that can be ironed, sewn or glued onto items of clothing.
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For more information, please contact Laura Gibson, Healthcare Communications Consultant, at +44 7771 933609 or [email protected]
Notes to editors
References
- Fraser, L. K., Miller, M., Aldridge, J., McKinney, P. A., & Roger C Parslow. (2013). Prevalence of life-limiting and life-threatening conditions in young adults in England 2000-2010. In FINAL REPORT FOR TOGETHER FOR SHORT LIVES. Department of Health Sciences, University of York. https://www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk/app/uploads/2018/01/ExRes-Life-Limiting-and-Life-Threatening-Conditions-in-Young-Adults-Lorna-Fraser-Report.pdf
- Fraser, L. K., Gibson-Smith, D., Jarvis, S., Norman, P., & Parslow, R. C. (2021). Estimating the current and future prevalence of life-limiting conditions in children in England. Palliative medicine, 35(9), 1641–1651. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216320975308
About Innovative Trials
Innovative Trials is a prominent international company specializing in patient recruitment and retention for clinical trials. Boasting 15 years of experience, Innovative Trials provides three fundamental services in this domain:
- 1:1 In-country Recruitment Coaching & Site Support, facilitated by in-country patient recruitment experts operating in more than 70 countries,
- Site & Patients Educational Materials,
- Navigator, a patient support center for referral pre-screening and retention.
With expertise in over 400 trials, 30 therapeutic areas, and over 100 conditions, Innovative Trials has established itself as a trusted and seasoned partner for pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations (CROs) and biotechnology companies. For more information, visit www.innovativetrials.com
About Garden House Hospice Care
Garden House Hospice Care provides free specialist palliative care for patients, families and carers facing life limiting illnesses from across North Hertfordshire, Stevenage and towns and villages in Central Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire, serving a population of around 520,000 people.
Working with a medical team of highly experienced doctors and nurses, the Hospice has specialists in a wide range of roles including complementary physiotherapy, bereavement, occupational therapy, complementary therapy and spiritual care.
It costs Garden House Hospice Care £7.8m to provide their services, and although they receive some funding from the NHS, they need to raise £10,564 every day in charitable income and greatly rely on the support of the community – local businesses, groups and individuals to help fund their work. They also rely on the support of a fantastic team of volunteers to help them deliver services.
About Oliver Patch Project
The Oliver Patch Project (OPP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that empowers children and teens to find their inner warriors, as they endure life-changing milestone events, by providing a bit of sunshine throughout their cancer journey.
OPP’s mission is to create a free, fun, engaging platform where children, teens and their families can connect through a series of unique patches created by artists and designers just for them.
We believe in the power of positivity to promote healing and are serving families in all 50 states!