Jane Wheeler, who formerly headed up an integrated care board (ICB), is the CEO of Harlington Hospice - and she is delivering our keynote speech today.

She led a strategic review of specialist palliative care in her area, which resulted in substantial recurrent investment across eight London boroughs and enabled a consistent model of care for over two million people.

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"Mine is a story about when not having money gets in the way, and of compassion," Jane tells delegates at the Mountbatten Conference 2026.

"I will tell you about the messiness of change-at-scale."

In a library, this story would be in the therapy, personal, self-help and epic tale sections, she says and luckily, this one has a happy ending.

Jane says change in her area happened thanks to the tenacity of local people.

Among the places served by Jane's ICB area was Grenfell, at a time when the devastating tower block fire occurred, killing 72 people. The tragedy was shortly followed by the closure of a nearby inpatient unit. In the wake of these events, hospices were given a seat at the table over future healthcare discussions. The hospices began working more closely together - joining forces to strengthen their call for more support.

For Jane, getting rid of the postcode lottery and raising standards were key.

She says years of work led to the area currently being 'in a good place' with regular meetings between hospices and health bosses, and security to grow. Having left the integrated care board to head up Harlington Hospice, Jane's new place of work has been positively transformed.

Jane spoke about the wide range of life expectancy in the area served by her hospice. It was already the biggest Integrated Care Board in the country and a recent merger means the patch is now bigger than Wales.

So, how was success secured? "As hospices, we spoke as one voice. We had a clear consistent message and we didn't argue in public. Find your person - the one who gets you. Have a strong partnership with the NHS, and a positive tone. Join me at book club," says Jane.

Asking delegates to stand, she has asked people in the room to stay on their feet if their work is 'more than just a job', regularly involves working over hours, and has an impact on their working life and finances. Everyone is still standing.