March 2017 | Issue 176
network
internal magazine for staff and volunteers
Welcome to network
in this issue
Hello: Bank Hospice Nurse, Victoria Mayes; Community
3 Organisational news
Support Team Manager, Gemma Lockyer; Warehouse
5 Our values
Margaret Bartholomew, Carrol Sadler and Lorraine
8 Meet the team
Assistant, Gareth Thomas; Crafts Volunteers, Claire Morris,
Bedford; Volunteer Receptionist, Christine Barber; Shop
Volunteer, Angie Underdown; Day Hospice Volunteer,
Kathleen McNeill; Complementary Therapist, Alison Rookes
The next Network
deadline is Friday, 7 April.
Please email all your
stories, pictures and news
to Katie Anderson at
[email protected].
uk
Our poster pooch Buster Boo
Handsome hound Buster Boo has
proved he is the top dog as he
is revealed as the winner of our
Paws in the Park poster pooch
competition.
Buster Boo, British Bulldog, age 2,
beat-off stiff competition from 510
other dogs to become the face of
Paws in the Park 2017.
Buster Boo and his owner Katie
Dumican were invited to the
Hospice for a photo-shoot.
Katie said: “I was extremely happy
to win. I really didn’t expect it;
it came as a complete shock.
Buster is perfect in my eyes he has
a gorgeous face, he has a cheeky
but very loving personality and
makes me smile
every day. I’m
very excited to
see his chops on
the posters and
banners he has a
gorgeous face.”
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March 2017
and Volunteer Administrator, Susan Barker.
Goodbye: Relief Shop Manager, Terence Burrett;
Hospice Neighbours Administrator, Nicola Hurd; Shop
Volunteers, Rosemary Downes, Shirley Felton and Chantel
Fosker; Fundraising Volunteer, Emilia Jewell; Finance
Volunteer, Elisette Moreira; Catering Volunteers, Phyllis Daly,
Janet Fallaize, Jillian Lindsell and David Harwood who also
leaves his position as Volunteer Fundraising Administrator.
Changes: Shreena Vyas, Speciality Registrar, has
finished her placement and is now working on the bank.
Senior manager on-call
Debra Garside - 24 March from 5pm to 27 March at 9am
Sue Allison - 27 March from 9am to 31 March
Georgina Bissell - 31 March to 7 April
Pippa Wilding - 7 April to 14 April
Barbara Gale -14 April to 9am on 15 April (Good Friday)
Sue Allison -15 April to 9am on 16 April
Victoria Barber- 16 April (Easter Sunday) to 9am on 17 April
(Easter Monday)
Rachel Spencer - 17 April to 9am on April 18
Staff Support Counsellor
Julie Dansie on 01787 228334
Organisational news
Could you be a Hospice Neighbour?
Bishops’ visit
Our Hospice is in need of more people to be a good
neighbour in their community.
The Hospice Neighbours initiative which started in 2010 has
proved extremely successful, but to make sure the service
continues to grow more volunteers are needed.
With this in mind, next month, the Hospice will be holding two
information sessions for those interested in the role.
Glenn Hubbard, Hospice Neighbours Manager, said: “Hospice
Neighbours are there to provide a little extra help and support
to those in our community coping with illness.
“That support could be anything, it could be companionship,
running errands, walking the dog, or helping around the house
and garden. Being a Hospice Neighbour is about being a
good neighbour, offering support to those who need it.”
Kym Jackson became a Hospice Neighbour in Thetford about
two-years-ago.
Kym said: “I had always wanted to volunteer but just didn’t
know what to do. I had often thought about doing the
soup-runs at night, but then I saw an advert on Facebook for
Hospice Neighbours and I just signed up. I like the idea of it
and it fits in around my work. I have always just wanted to give
something back.”
The information sessions will take place on:
Tuesday, 25 April from 10am to 11.30pm at the Hyndman
Centre, Hospital Road, Bury St Edmunds.
Wednesday, 26 April from 7pm to 8.30pm, at the
Hospice, Hardwick Lane, Bury St Edmunds.
You don’t have to book to attend, but if you would like more
information please call 01284 719638.
The Hospice was pleased
to welcome the Rt Revd
Martin Seeley, Bishop
of St Edmundsbury and
Ipswich, and the Rt Revd
Dr Mike Harrison, Bishop
of Dunwich on Friday, 10
March. The pair stopped
off as part of their Lent
Pilgrimage, a journey which
saw them walk 70 miles
across Suffolk to meet
communities and discover
the challenges they face.
After sharing evening
prayers with, staff,
volunteers, those being
cared for by the hospice
and their loved ones the
Bishops had the chance
to chat to everyone about
their pilgrimage and enjoy
refreshments provided by
the Catering Team.
Reflective practice training session takes place
Ten members of staff have
recently completed a reflective
practice training session, which
aimed to give participants
the tools to facilitate reflective
practice sessions for
colleagues. Reflective practice
is essential for clinical staff,
but there are also those from
other Hospice teams who
can benefit from the training,
for example fundraising,
administration and facilities.
Managers can identify the staff
they think may need access
to a small reflective practice
group. Those who have already
had the opportunity to train in
reflective practice will work to
ensure that these needs are
met.
The initiative will be launched in
the coming months, but if you
have any questions or want
to learn more about reflective
practice contact David
Rushton or Julia Dansie.
vwww.stnicholashospicecare.org.uk
3
What’s behind service design
Our charity is focussed on making the changes it needs to make to ensure Hospice
services continue to provide the very best experiences for those across our community in
the final chapters of their lives.
We have now decided on a name for this ongoing process, which best describes what we
need to achieve, Listen Learn Adapt:
Listen:
to what our community says about their experiences of dying, death
and bereavement, particularly the experiences of those who have not
received Hospice support.
Learn:
use the information gathered to gain an overall view on what people
have said and explore ideas that could lead to better experiences.
Adapt:
work with staff, partners, the people we care for their families and
others to develop a sustainable service model.
The what, the why and the when?
What are we going to do?
The simple answer is that we are going to start creating a Hospice service model that will
meet the needs of our community now and in the future. To do that we need people to tell us
about their experiences of dying, death and bereavement, we also need independent help to
review our services. We need a fresh pair of eyes.
Why are we doing this?
• The demand for our services is growing and we need to reach more people in our
community.
• We are facing funding challenges. There will be a £236, 243 reduction in the amount we
receive from the West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group in the coming years and it is
becoming more difficult to fundraise.
• We are spending more than we are bringing in. Currently we are funding this gap with the
charity’s reserves but this cannot continue.
When will this start?
It started with the away days and over the next few months we’ll start the listening process.
Our first exercise is to refresh the Hospice’s values. Over the page the Chairman of our Board
of Trustees Charles Simpson shares how we are looking at our values and using this process.
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March 2017
Our Values
If St Nicholas Hospice
Care was a
person what would they be like and what
values would you expect them to have?
This is the question Charles Simpson, the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, needs us to answer
What do our values do?
Why change?
Our core values create the foundation for
everything we do. They guide the way we work
together to care for our people and support their
loved ones. Our values, which are rooted in the
charity’s early days, have created our culture
and are a combination of all our actions,
behaviours and decisions. In many ways values
set expectations, the expectations the charity
has as an employer of its employees and
volunteers, but most importantly the
expectations our community has of us, it is often
the ‘how’ we do something as well as the ‘what’
we do that makes a difference. Our
current values are: leadership,
communication, teamwork, quality,
resilience, developing, respect, equality,
learning and integrity.
Our existing values and the behaviours they
inspire have stood us in good stead for a
number of years. To develop in the future we
need to ensure that the values we have
underpin and inform the services we
provide to our community.
Just as they can change over time, values can
often have different meanings to different
people. It is important that all of our volunteers
and staff feel a connection to our values, which
is why we want you to have a say on what our
values should be.
We would like everyone, volunteers, staff, those
who use our services and their loved ones, to let
us know what they think the values which form
the cornerstones of our Hospice should be.
What you need to do
We are giving everyone the
chance to give their thoughts,
which you can do from today.
To start this process boards,
along with chalk have been
placed in Bradbury Green and
at the Burton Centre. We want
everyone to write on them the
values they feel the Hospice
would have if they were a
person.
Over the coming weeks boards
will also visit our shops, where
we hope people will do the
same. You can also share
your thoughts by emailing
[email protected], or by
filling in our online form at
www.stnicholashospice.org.uk/
values
You will be able to share your
thoughts until April 18.
On April 27 your views will
be shared with our Board of
Trustees. From this summary
they will work to refine our core
values.
vwww.stnicholashospicecare.org.uk
5
Fundraising news
Our supporters
One of our volunteers hopes
eye-catching art will help
raise awareness.
Celia Gordon, who has been
a volunteer for more than
three years, has been busy
organising an art exhibition
and sale which will pack
Tuddenham St Mary with
artistic delights.
On Saturday, 6 May and
Sunday, 7 May the village’s
St Mary’s Church will be
opening its doors for the
occasion which will raise
funds for the Hospice and
The Friends of Tuddenham
Church.
Celia, who volunteers on the
Sylvan Ward every
Wednesday, has led a team
to organise the event, which
is the second of its kind.
Celia explains: “The Hospice
offers essential support to
people locally and it deserves
as much help as possible to
keep its vital services
available to the community.
“It is important to get many
more people to know and
understand that the Hospice
is dependent upon
fundraising events and
donations to keep it going. It
is amazing how many people
I come across who think it is
an NHS service not requiring
any further finance.”
With more than 30 artists
already agreeing to submit
their work of varying styles
and mediums, and with a
generous percentage being
split between the two
charities it is hoped the
artistic occasion will once
again prove to be a
fundraising hit. Admission
to the exhibition is free and
it is open from 10.30am to
3.30pm both days.
Friends Kerry Farrant and Emma
Williams, who both lost parents to
cancer have raised £13,033.70, with
their My Mum My Dad fundraising
campaign.
The pair, who both live in Haverhill,
decided to split the money with
£6,516.85 each going to the Hospice and Addenbrooke’s
cancer ward.
Emma lost her mum Patricia Redpath to cancer four-years-ago,
while Kerry’s dad Sam Stewart passed away due to the disease
in September, 2015. Mr Stewart received care and support from
the Hospice at home.
To raise the funds Emma and Kerry held numerous events, from
bingo nights to family fun days, across 2016, all of which were
well supported.
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March 2017
A much-loved family man
will be remembered by
his loved ones when they
take to the sky in a bid to
raise funds in his memory.
Michael Cutts, known
to many as Cuttsy, was
diagnosed with a rare form
of stomach cancer last
September.
Following the 50-year-old’s
death in January, his wife
Ada supported by friends
has decided to take a leap
of faith on September 24 in
a bid to raise funds for the
Hospice which supported
Michael and his loved ones.
The
Haverhill
Lions
Club has
donated
a share of
the £3,000
raised during their
pre-Christmas fundraising
activities to the Hospice.
They welcomed 620
children and their families
to the Santa’s Grotto they
built at Strumer Nurseries
and Garden Centre. They
donated £1,000 to us.
Putting pen to paper
Supporting people through
the written word
Finding understanding and
comfort through the written
word is at the heart of one of
the Hospice’s support groups.
Now in its fifth year and
having celebrated the
launch of its fourth booklet,
the Hospice’s Writing Group
is continuing to give people
the chance to stretch their
imaginations while inspiring
them to try new things.
A small celebration marked
the launch of the group’s
most recent booklet, with
Chief Executive Barbara
Gale attending to share in
the group’s success.
Over the years the group
have achieved many things
– but their proudest team
June Horsfall, one of the group’s
founder members joined while
her husband Alf was being cared
for by the Hospice. She shares
her story.
“That first week there were
just three of us. June a patient
on the ward who ‘wanted to
do something normal for a
while’. Roy Salt, a Hospice
day therapy patient who was
also a volunteer and artist. And
then there was me, another
June, carer to my husband
Alf, a Hospice day patient. As
reluctant and apprehensive as
I was that first week, it turned
out to be the best thing I could
effort remains the booklets
they have created.
The booklet’s cover reflects
the group’s history and
achievement - the pen is in
memory of Roy a founder
member and the only person to use a
fountain pen, while the
words on the back cover
‘we share laughter and
tears’, ‘we don’t judge, just
care’ were chosen from the
work done by the group in
2012.
• The Writing Group meets
every Friday from 2pm to
4pm. The sessions are free to
attend, but you must book in
advance. Telephone 01284
702525 for information.
have done. However prepared
we think we are for life changes,
I was not. Being Armistice Day
we were warned the fire bell
would ring at 11am for the
two minutes silence. Some
how that eased the tension,
we also heard that the tea and
coffee would follow at 11.15am
and that brought smiles. The
second week I missed, Alf
had radiotherapy so I did my
homework at Addenbrokes.
By the time the group restarted
in 2012 my husband was a
patient on the ward. The nurses
persuaded me to join the group,
Alf was safe in their care, I knew
that, my fear was meeting the
The Writing Group began in
November 2011, supported by
Suffolk Artlink and was intended
to be a four week course. By the
fourth week the members did not
want the group to end and with
an author offering to become a
Hospice Volunteer it restarted
in February 2012. Made-up of
patients, carers and bereaved
people over the years there have
been 33 members of the group,
with memberships varying from
weeks, months and years.
group again after a 12 week
gap, but after a warm welcome
the fear vanished. For two
hours I switched off. That day
set the pattern, I left the ward
three Fridays for those precious
two hours of valuable me time.
My hope is that the writing
group will continue to sustain
members, enabling them to
switch off for a
while,
be themselves
and go home
feeling better
than when they
arrived.”
vwww.stnicholashospicecare.org.uk
7
Say hello to the Education Team
Who’s who
What do we do
The Education Team aims to reach more people in our
community of West Suffolk of South Norfolk to raise
awareness of end-of-life care. This is undertaken by both
formal and informal training sessions for professionals and
the public alike. As well as our formal training to health
and social care professionals we have also delivered
training sessions to groups such as solicitors, the National
Farmers Union, Racing Welfare, funeral directors and the
WI. We do this by offering courses which cover both
specialist and non-specialist subjects in palliative care.
We work closely with the CCG to provide support and
training to 47 care homes to increase the confidence of
staff to support their residents to remain in their
chosen place of residence. This has resulted in new
training programmes, workshops and identification tools
around frailty, infections and falls for care home staff e.g.
the identification ‘of a deteriorating resident’ tool.
(Left to right back row) Sallie Crouch
(Volunteer Admin), Genella Kingham
(Administrator), Celia Gordon (Volunteer
Admin), Jane Creed (RN Clinical Skills
Trainer), Corinne Revens (Clinical
Trainer), Lisa Patterson (Community
Educator)
(Left to right front row) Sally Coldrey (Senior
Educator,) Pippa Wilding (Head of Education
& Outreach), Becky Holt (Assistant
Community Educator), Alison Peacock
(Administrator).
Karen Wilcox is also the team’s volunteer for
front of house external training.
Top fact
After deciding their New Year’s resolution was
to get fitter, the team decided the best way
to do this would be to take on a challenge
together. So after a suggestion from Genella,
they decided to sign up
to Women on Wheels
(WoW). Their aim is to
ride together and all
cross the line together!
If you would like to find out more
about what the Education Department
does you can spent a Day in a
Directorate with them.
What we do in practice
• We provide and co-ordinate a wealth of educational courses which are free for all of the Hospice’s
staff and volunteers to attend.
• We take our training all over the community as we aim to increase the knowledge of end-of-life care.
• We can tailor our sessions to meet the needs of local organisations for example we have been
working with the chaplaincy team to co-ordinate ‘Gravetalk’ sessions to a wide variety of groups where
we encourage people to think and talk about; life, death, society, funerals, and grief.
• We have contracts with the local universities and colleges to provide student education and
placements across the Hospice.
• As part of our outreach work we connect with many local organisations e.g. the Suffolk Connect
Project, which includes Bury and Sudbury Town Connect and Haverhill One.
•We also co-ordinate all research applications to be undertaken at the Hospice ensuring all
appropriate ethical procedures are adhered to.
•We co-ordinate the process of ensuring the Hospice’s clinical guidelines are relevant and up-to-date.
• We act as a resource within Suffolk and beyond signposting people to online materials, tools and
resources.
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March 2017