Issue 174 network - St Nicholas Hospice

Couple celebrate special day at our Hospice

networkinternal magazine for staff and volunteers

January 2017 | Issue 174

2 January 2017

in this issue

Organisational and general news

Senior manager on-call • Kevin Clements:

January 27 to February 3

• Georgina Bissell:

February 3 to 10

• Philippa Wilding:

February 10 to 17

• Sue Allison:

February 17 to 24

• Barbara Gale:

February 24 to March 3

Staff Support Counsellor Julie Dansie

01787 228334

The next Network deadline is Friday, 10 February. Please email all your stories, pictures and news to Katie Anderson at [email protected]

Hello: Claire Philpin, Doctor; Charles Van-den-Bulck,

Van Driver; Denise Moffat, Retail Administration Assistant;

Katherine Chapman, Bank Hospice Care Assistant; Emma

Jelley, PA to Clinical Services Director; Nicola Lane, Bank

Hospice Care Assistant; Eliza Tuel, Bank Hospice Care

Assistant; Rebecca Durrance, Healthcare Assistant; Lisa

Alliston, Bank Hospice Care Assistant; Kevin Atkinson,

Shop Volunteer; Jennifer Groom, Volunteer Ward Reception

Administrator; Gillian Singleton, Hospice Neighbour; Tracey

Nunn, Volunteer Complementary Therapist; Elna Bruning,

Shop Volunteer and Linda Edwards, Shop Volunteer.

Goodbye: Roger Whomes, Donations Officer;

Katy Edgar, Hospice Care Assistant; Lauren Deacon,

Speciality Registrar; Sally Palmer, Hospice Neighbour;

Marie MacBean, Shop Volunteer; Judith Smith, Hospice

Neighbour; Philippa Davis, Shop Volunteer; Denis Dalby,

Hospice Neighbour; Carl Symonds, Hospice Neighbour;

Jane Midwood, Catering Volunteer; Jacqueline McKay,

Shop Volunteer; Julie Pottle, Hospice Neighbours

Coordinator; Melvyn Jones, Shop Volunteer; Marie Devine,

Shop Volunteer; Simon Curtis, Volunteer Driver; Lindsey

Kearns, Shop Volunteer and Lily Wolford, Shop Volunteer.

We remember: Maggie Morgan; one of our

Hospice’s Haverhill Shop Volunteers who sadly died.

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Survey results

Organisational news

Fundraising news

Wedding special

3vwww.stnicholashospicecare.org.uk

Survey results

The results of the Staff and Volunteer Survey have given us a chance to reflect on the organisation as a whole, looking at the things we do well as well as the areas where changes need to be made.

As you will see below this month’s theme is working practices.

The themes:• The organisation• Wellbeing• Resourcing• Working practices• Career and reward• People management• Training and

development

Results summary

Our working practices are what helps shape St Nicholas Hospice Care as an organisation.Across the charity we may all have very different roles and responsibilities, but we all work towards what is at the heart of what our Hospice does - ensuring that everyone has the best experiences in the final chapters of their lives.In the working practices section of the survey staff, both permanent and fixed-term, as well as volunteers were asked their views on elements of our working practices. As you can see from the chart when asked

if the existing processes and procedures we have help everyone to carry out their roles effectively the results for staff (permanent and fixed-term) and volunteers were similar, and when compared with the results from 2015 the number of us agreeing with this statement in 2016 had increased from 61 per cent to 69 per cent. However the results do show that our staff and volunteers feel more could be done to improve our impact on the environment, and we could look at the way our supporters’ time and money is used more closely and better share this information.

The results also suggest that staff and volunteers maybe unaware of how performance issues are handled. This might be because it is not always visable or because we need to do some work around making sure these processes are understood by everyone. The chart above shows there has been a reduction in the total number of disagrees when staff were asked if poor performance was dealt witheffectively from 19 per cent to 15 per cent when the results are compared to the year before.

4 January 2017


Size is the only difference as network shares Hospice newsYou may have noticed something very different about this edition of network – we have shrunk.We have decided that with a new year beginning it was the perfect time for us to make a change and produce network as an A5 magazine. The reason behind this change is simple - as an organisation last year we all found out that there would be a reduction in the amount of NHS grant funding we receive, so as a team the Marketing and Communications Department haa been looking at ways we can reduce the amount of money we are spending. One way we believe we can lower costs is by reducing

the size of network to A5 and by not printing as many hard copies as we currently do. This will also help us save paper and printing ink, making the magazine as environmentally friendly as it can be. Making sure all our staff and volunteers know about all of the Hospice’s news is important to us and we would encourage everyone to share their news and pictures with us, we hope you will agree our smaller network is still full of news, but if you have any ideas or suggestions you would like to share with us then please get in touch! Aaron Bridgeforth, Marketing and CommunicationsManager.

Doctors, nurses and paramedics are under a lot of pressure and as a result they have asked us to help them by making people aware of other services they could use. The number of people being seen in Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments and at GP surgeries is going up. While this isn’t unusual for the winter months, we can help ease pressures by using other services, when appropriate to do so.• Pharmacies are open for long hours including evenings and weekends and can help with lots of conditions and you don’t need an appointment to speak with the pharmacist.• If you are not sure what to do, call 111 for free. It is a 24/7 service.• The Wellbeing Suffolk Service also offers support if you feel stressed or depressed. Call them on 0300 123 1781. If you do have an emergency, always call 999.

In a break from their usual activities our House Clearance Team had a busy start to the New Year thanks to their Christmas tree collection service.The team of six had their hands full as they picked up more than 100 trees in just two days raising £900. All the trees which have been collected, the biggest being 14ft, have been taken to Culford Waste, where thanks to the firm’s generosity they were recycled at no charge.

Ease pressure

Festive firs yield hundreds for us



HR have rolled out a new employee self certification form. As usual a doctor’s certificate must be provided for all sickness absences of more than seven days (including weekends). The new form can be found on the shared drive and unless you do not have regular access to a PC should be completed electronically. This change will help the team work towards going paperless, and help reduce paper costs.

Battle of the Knights is our new event for 2017, taking place on 19 March at The Playground, in Barrow. Packed with plenty of fun, Battle of the Knights is a new challenge event that will consist of a 4-kilometre run followed by 25 obstacles over an additional kilometre. We need volunteers to help with signing in participants, road marshalling, obstacle marshalling and car parking. Please get in touch with Charlie De-Moore, Jenny Smith or Emma Clements from our Fundraising Team for further information.

Help needed

New forms

Two Hospice daredevils soared

Lucy Kayne, the Hospice’s Digital Commnications Officer and Rachel Card Hospice Corporate Fundraiser proved they had heads for heights by undertaking a challenge of their own.Having been inspired by our supporters’

experiences the daredevils braved tandem skydives, jumping from a plane at a height of 13,000ft and freefalling through the sky at 120mph before gliding down to the ground in a parachute. Together they raised £1,041.

Gifts in Wills are vital to the Hospice, averaging over £1m a year for the past five years – but they’re not a guaranteed source of income. Their importance is such that all staff and volunteers should know how to discuss the idea of legacy giving with patients and supporters.Nick Duncan will be holding Get Your Legacy Over: How to Discuss Gifts in Wills mini-bites in Treetops on: • Thursday, 9 February from 10am to 10.45am

• Monday, 13 March from 9.30am to 10.15am

How to discuss gifts in Wills

6 January 2017

Thank you!A massive thank you to everyone who has given their time, ideas, money, energy and enthusiasm to support our services over the last month. Here are just a few examples of the generosity shown by our supporters.

Fundraising news

Alongside their family and friends father and daughter Darren and Connie Gibbs launched their Zena 10 fundraising in June 2014, which marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Darren’s partner and Connie’s mother Zena Butcher, 37.The team’s latest fundraising event, a charity ball organised by Zena’s sisters Mandy Smart and Tracey Butcher with Connie, raised £3,000, which means the total raised to date in Zena’s memory is £41,655.97.

A year of fundraising has led to a cash boost for our charity thanks to the efforts of Haverhill’s Royal Exchange Angling Club who raised £700.The club raised the funds by holding a variety of events.

A Tardis, Dalek, Devros and a bunch of Time Lords helped a group of die-hard Doctor Who fans to collect more than £2,000.Aaron Williams, Thomas Seymour, Tuesday Harris, Paul Devine and Wendy Smith pulled out all the stops when they brought the sci-fi hit to life at Bury’s Christmas Fayre.

A night of music from the emerald isle pulled in the pounds as fundraisers hit all the right notes. The Molly Maguires night of live Irish music at the Kirtling Red Lion has raised an estimated £250. The band includes our very own Advanced Practitioner David Rushton.

Emily Garside was spurred on to pull on her running shoes and complete the Dublin Marathon and raise £1,328. Emily is already planning to take part in the Berlin Marathon in September next year.



RAG week

Before Christmas the Hospice held its very first Raising and Giving (RAG) week and everyone got into the spirit of raising funds while having some fun.Teams from across the organisation came up with a series of fundraising activities, which saw everything from a week-long raffle, to St Nic’s very own Choc’Olympics. Competition was fierce

during the ‘big mince pie bake’ but after much deliberation the judges decided there really could only be one winner - congratulations Ray. More than £800 was raised by the Hospice during the week.Our Corporate Fundraisers also encouraged businesses to get involved in the fun while raising funds for the Hospice.

Christmas party fun for all and music at service Fun was had by all at the Burton Centre’s fittingly festive Christmas party last month. The event was enjoyed by 48 attendees from the range of groups the Centre runs. The wonderful Haverhill Choral Society were also in attendance and as usual the occasion featured a great raffle, which raised £52 and various Christmas-themed games were also enjoyed. Before Christmas music filled Bradbury Green during a carol service for our Orchard Centre patients which was enjoyed by many. The occasion, which was led by Rev Mark, featured music by Pamela and friends, including carols and traditional songs as well as a reading.

8 January 2017

Wedding special

Couple tie the knot in front of loved ones during moving service

Surrounded by their family and friends Sue and Mick Randall tied the knot during a special service at the Hospice on Wednesday, 11 January.

The pair, who live in Rickinghall, had been engaged for more than 30 years and decided to marry after Sue was admitted to the Sylvan Ward. Mick had originally suggested the pair get married two days before on Monday, but Sue wanted a little bit more time for the preparations.The happy couple both aged 68, met when they both attended a wedding of mutual friends and took their vows during an intimate ceremony in front of 12 guests. Mick said: “We met in 1969 at a wedding, I was a friend of the groom and Sue was a friend of the bride and

that was it. “Originally we lived in Essex, I am originally from West Ham and Sue is from East Ham and we moved to Rickinghall, and then took over the Newsagents in 2007, which we ran for about nine years. “During our time at the Newsagents we became aware of the Hospice. We had about five different charities we used to support and the Hospice was one of them.”The couple became more personally involved with the Hospice last September when Sue was diagnosed with melanoma having noticed a small mole in the middle of her back.Mick said: “The Hospice has been fabulous. The support we have received has been out of this world. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff and we are so

grateful for their support.”The wedding took place in the family room, and was followed by a reception in Bradbury Green. A buffet, prepared by our Catering Team was enjoyed by guests, as was a cake baked for the occasion.“We have really enjoyed the afternoon – for us it couldn’t have been better. It has meant everything to us to have everyone here to share it,” said Mick. It was a lovely day, we both thoroughly enjoyed it,” added Sue.

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Issue 174 network - St Nicholas Hospice