St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield appoints new chief executive
St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield has appointed a new chief executive.
Jo Lenton comes to the role at St Luke’s, which was the first hospice to open outside London more than half a century ago, following a career in palliative care.
She qualified as a nurse from the Sheffield School of Nursing in 1992, with a diploma in nursing studies.
She began her career on a general surgical ward, where many of the patients were undergoing surgery for a cancer diagnosis.
Ms Lenton has been a part of the St Luke’s team since 2008, beginning as a community specialist palliative care nurse, moving to the role of manager for community nursing in 2016 and head of community nursing in 2017 and then being appointed to director of care and lead for healthcare partnerships in 2019.
She was subsequently appointed St Luke’s chief nurse and director of care services in 2023.
“I am truly delighted to have been given this incredible opportunity to take St Luke’s forward,” said Ms Lenton.
“This is a challenging time for the hospice movement, both in terms of the services provided and the funding needed, but I know from many years of experience working in palliative care how valuable those services are and how much people need them.
The new appointment follows the resignation of Peter Hartland after 15 years in the post.
Last year, the charity cared for almost 1,800 patients.