December 2025 marked a significant milestone for The Myton Hospices as CEO Ruth Freeman celebrates a decade of dedicated leadership. Over the past 10 years, Ruth has championed compassion, resilience and innovation, ensuring people living with a life-limiting illness across Coventry and Warwickshire receive the very best palliative and end of life care.
During her tenure as CEO, almost 13,000 patients and their families have been supported by Myton’s teams across their three hospices and in the community.
Ruth’s decade as CEO has been defined by bold service development and a commitment to meeting the changing needs of the communities the charity serves. Under her leadership, The Myton Hospices has introduced a number of nationally recognised initiatives and developed a range of new and existing services.
Reflecting on her ten years as CEO at Myton, Ruth said:
“It’s hard to believe that I have been CEO at Myton for 10 years, the time has literally flown by. It’s not surprising when you consider all of the wonderful opportunities the role has given me, not least to meet so many amazing people and to work alongside a team of committed staff, volunteers and supporters all dedicated to going the extra mile for patients and their families.
Of course, there have been challenges along the way – Covid what a resilience test that was, but I look back with pride when I remember how the whole Myton family and thousands of people and organisations across Coventry and Warwickshire pulled together to ensure Myton could continue providing vital services to those who needed them most.
Currently our biggest challenge and one affecting the whole hospice sector is the lack of government funding, and we, alongside our hospice colleagues from across the UK are fighting for funding reform to ensure the sustainability of vital Palliative and End of Life care services for everyone. Fortunately, unlike many hospices we have not yet had to cut services, this is due to a lot of hard work by our Income Generation teams but also because of the unwavering support of our local communities and I cannot thank them enough for the difference they have enabled us to make and continue to make to thousands of people each year.
It’s an absolute honour to lead such a wonderful organisation, I am very cognisant of the fact that not everyone has the chance to make a difference in the way that working at Myton has enabled me to do and I would like to thank everyone who has made that possible.
The biggest privilege of course for me is meeting so many inspirational patients and their families – the courage, love and even humour they show throughout the greatest of adversity is truly moving. There are obviously lots of tears at times but Myton is not sad place – how can it be when there is so much love and laughter every day.”
Ruth’s decade of leadership has taken place during a period of profound challenge for hospices nationally, with rising demand, increasing operating costs and a funding landscape that requires organisations like Myton to generate the majority of their own income while adapting to evolving patient needs.
In 2015, Myton needed to raise £8 million to fund their work, supported in part by NHS contributions. Ten years on, the cost of delivering services has risen to £15.3 million a year, with £12.7 million raised through charitable income. NHS funding now accounts for just 17% of Myton’s funding.
Despite this challenging landscape, Ruth’s vision for the future is defined by determination and hope. The Myton Hospices remains committed to reaching more people earlier in their illness, widening access to essential palliative care, opening all 36 inpatient beds – 25 of which are currently operational – and reducing waiting lists so that no one goes without the specialist palliative and end of life care they urgently need.
As we close the year, Ruth Freeman also shares her Christmas message, reflecting on the year gone by and thanking supporters for helping Myton make a difference to thousands of people across Coventry and Warwickshire. Watch Ruth’s video online at www.mytonhospice.org/Christmas
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At The Myton Hospices we believe that everyone matters for every single moment of their life; we focus on enhancing life when cure is no longer an option. We are not just about end of life care, we support patients and their loved ones right from the moment they are diagnosed.
We have three hospices in Coventry, Rugby and Warwick, and we care for people aged 18+ living with a wide range of life-limiting illnesses including Respiratory, Heart & Neurological conditions, Cancer and Organ failure.
At Myton, demand for our Inpatient Units has increased by 11% in the last 12 months, and too many people are dying on the waiting list for this vital service. As the only provider of Hospice Inpatient Beds in Coventry and Warwickshire, we are acutely aware of the need for more, but are limited in what we can provide due to funding constraints.
We are a charity, we are not the NHS, and we have to raise £12.7 million of the £15.3 million it costs this year to continue providing our services free of charge to patients and their loved ones. Just 17% of our funding comes from the NHS. We rely on donations and support from our local communities.
Find out more online at www.mytonhospice.org
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