Cited in UK press coverage of health & social care
2 citations
Across 1 topic, first on 27 Aug 2026.
Biography
Dr (h.c.) Leigh Vallance has been Chief Executive of Bolton Hospice since 2012, having previously held CEO roles across the voluntary and charity sector for over 20 years in areas including homelessness, domestic violence, mental health, learning disabilities and looked-after children. Bolton Hospice is an independent charitable hospice providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care to the people of Bolton, located on Queens Park Street. She holds a BA Hons in Sociology and a postgraduate certificate in Charity Sector Management & Leadership, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Health Care by the University of Bolton in recognition of her contribution to health and social care. She chairs the Greater Manchester Hospices Provider Collaborative and serves as the appointed GMVCSE member of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board. She is publicly known for arguing that hospice care is an essential health service that is structurally underfunded by government, and has called on the NHS and ministers to act urgently on sustainable hospice funding reform.
References
- 1.Dr (h.c) Leigh Vallance | Bolton Hospice — Current role as Chief Executive; career background prior to joining Bolton Hospice in 2012
- 2.Leigh Vallance – VCFSE Leadership GM — CEO since 2012; 24 years' charity CEO experience; qualifications including BA Hons Sociology, PG Certificate, Honorary Doctorate; governance roles including Chair of GM Hospices Provider Collaborative and GMVCSE member of GM ICB
- 3.Honorary Doctorates – University of Greater Manchester (University of Bolton) — Honorary Doctorate of Health Care awarded to Leigh Vallance for outstanding contribution to health care
- 4.Stand with Bolton Hospice: a petition for fairer funding | Bolton Hospice — Quoted as CEO publicly arguing for fairer, sustainable government funding for hospices; describes structural funding gap
- 5.Hospice Leaders head to Parliament to call for funding reform | Bolton Hospice
Expertise
Cited on
Stated areas of expertise
- Palliative and end-of-life care
- Hospice funding reform
- Provider sustainability
- Voluntary and charity sector leadership
- Integrated care and VCSE representation
- Greater Manchester health system
Notable achievements
- Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Health Care by the University of Bolton for outstanding contribution to health care Source ↗
- Appointed Chair of the Greater Manchester Hospices Provider Collaborative, leading collective advocacy to Parliament for hospice funding reform Source ↗
- Appeared on BBC North West Tonight to call for NHS action on hospice funding instability Source ↗
- Led Bolton Hospice's public petition campaign for fairer hospice funding in 2026 Source ↗
What they’ve said
“No matter how hard we work, no matter how much income we generate we cannot fill that gap on our own. The NHS is in such a tight spot right now, it doesn't have the resources. But the NHS does understand that without us they will be in a bigger problem that will cost far more money.”
Chief Executive of Bolton Hospice · Palliative & end of life care · 27 Aug 2026 · 'It changes people's lives': Bolton Hospice's urgent drive to raise funds in few hours | ITV News Granada ↗
“We are incredibly grateful to Lauren, Ben and everyone involved in Strictly Learn to Dance for choosing to support Bolton Hospice. Funds raised through events like this make a real and tangible difference, enabling us to continue providing compassionate, specialist care to patients and families when they need us most.”
Chief Executive of Bolton Hospice · Palliative & end of life care · 27 Aug 2026 · Bolton Charity Leaders Swap Boardrooms for the Ballroom to Support Bolton Hospice ↗
Source references
- 'It changes people's lives': Bolton Hospice's urgent drive to raise funds in few hours | ITV News Granadaitv.com · 27 Aug 2026
- Bolton Charity Leaders Swap Boardrooms for the Ballroom to Support Bolton Hospiceageuk.org.uk · 27 Aug 2026
Contact & links
- Staff pagehttps://www.boltonhospice.org.uk/team/dr-hc-leigh-vallance
- LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-h-c-leigh-vallance-98154bab/
- Press office emailadmin@boltonhospice.orgpublished here ↗
- Press office phone01204 663066published here ↗
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Chief executives, directors and spokespeople of trade bodies, representative associations and charities speaking for the sector. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.