Nigel Hartley MBE is a prominent leader in the hospice and end-of-life care sector both in the UK and across the world. He has worked as a Counsellor and Music Therapist, Senior Manager and Chief Executive Officer for almost 40 years, holding posts at London Lighthouse, the UK’s first centre for those living with HIV/AIDS, Sir Michael Sobell House in Oxford and St Christopher’s Hospice, London where he worked with, and was inspired and influenced by the pioneer and founder of the modern hospice movement, Dame Cicely Saunders. He hails from a family of publicans and coal miners in North Wales, where he learned the power of community and the significance of kindness at an early age.

In 2015, Nigel moved to the Island with his husband, Tom. They live in St Lawrence and have a large, extended family, including children and grandchildren. Between 2015 and 2025, he was CEO of the Mountbatten Hospice Group, where he is best known for his highly transformative tenure. He retired from the role in October 2025.

 

Whilst at Mountbatten he oversaw the merger of Mountbatten Isle of Wight, and the formerly NHS-run Countess Mountbatten Hospice, Southampton which created one of the largest hospice providers in the UK He is also accredited for leading on the development of ‘The Mountbatten Model’, which has become a widely replicated care model across the UK, focussing on access to 24/7 end-of-life care within the
home, early referral into appropriate support and care services in order to avoid crises, and radical and open community engagement with death, dying and bereavement in order to change perceptions and to allay fears.

Nigel is an acclaimed author of several books and has an international reputation as an educator and teacher in the areas of death, dying and bereavement. He was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in King Charles III birthday honours list in 2023 for services to hospice and end-of-life care, and in 2025 he was presented with the Chamber of Commerce President’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Isle of Wight Community.

Since his retirement in late 2025, he is still in demand as a conference speaker, educator, consultant and mentor within the charity and hospice sectors. Nigel is also an accomplished pianist and he enjoys playing and performing whenever he gets the chance.

​

For all enquiries for the High Sheriff, please contact isleofwight@highsheriffs.com

 

​