The troubled Northern Ireland Hospice is to undergo a major independent inquiry, the authorities announced today.
With opposing factions threatening to plunge the charity even deeper into crisis, Health Minister Mr Des Browne confirmed he will order a full review.
A team of experts is to be identified and instructed to begin the inquiry as soon as possible.
He said: "There is clear public interest and concern over the affairs of the hospice."
Festering tensions within the beleaguered organisation erupted into angry exchanges at a meeting in Belfast.
Hospice chief executive Mr Tom Hill, who has been at the centre of the internal dispute, has already agreed to stand down from his job while the probe is carried out.
Mr Hill was only reinstated to the top post and awarded more than £80,000 damages last month after being sacked as administrative director over working arrangements last year.
The charity has also been gripped by a financial crisis after a £1 million request to the Stormont Assembly was rejected in June.
Management had called on the department to come in and establish exactly how the hospice has been operating over the past two and a half years.
Concerned by media reports, they insisted they have done nothing wrong. In a statement, the hospice said: "The current council, since its election in December 2001, has always acted transparently and honestly in all its dealings and sought legal advice throughout, particularly in relation to the appointment of the chief executive."
But the row erupted again during an annual general meeting last night when angry staff members staged a walkout.
There were bitter exchanges between ex-management and the current council after the election vote split members down the middle.
Mr Browne said he had not wanted to intervene in what was essentially an independent organisation's employment dispute.
But with dispute threatening to intensify, he has been left with no alternative but to order an investigation.
PA