DOROTHY House has welcomed the news that John Davies will uphold the role of chief executive after it was confirmed at a board of trustees meeting this week.

Mr Davies, who has been at Dorothy House as interim CEO since October 2014, has undergone an extensive application process to be selected for the role which he considers to be the highlight of his career.

He added: “I am determined to lead the hospice in a manner that ensures that no one within our community is disenfranchised, ignored or ignorant of our services regardless of their culture, faith or creed.”

“We will deliver Reverend Prue Dufour's vision and founding principles allowing our patients to live well and die well.”

Despite having a business consultancy background, Mr Davies has been heavily involved with community work in his home town of Frome and has dedicated a vast majority of his time to Frome Community College, Mendip Enterprise Council, Frome Rugby Club, Julian House in Bath and Reading Refugee Group.

He previously had a career in the army before diverting his interests towards the charity and voluntary sector in more recent years.

Mr Davies said: “These are very exciting times with much changing in the charitable and health sectors and the next five years will be very different from the last five as we respond to the aspirations of the community and demands upon health and social care.”

Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Simon Coombe said it was a unanimous decision between trustees and staff for Mr Davies to continue as CEO.

Mr Coombe added: “The standard of candidates for the post was very high but John was simply the best. We would like to take this opportunity to thank John for the excellent job he has done in leading Dorothy House in the last seven months and congratulate him on his well deserved appointment.”