Forest Holme Hospice - Summer Newsletter 2022

News Summer 2022

Charity Number 1038021

Mindfulness Coaching supporting staff wellbeing and self-care (page 20)

Dear Friends

Chief Executive, Anne Currie Holme family. Who knows we might even get some sunshine this year!

As you will read in the newsletter, we continue to be blown away by all the fundraising activities and donations undertaken for the hospice during a challenging time for many. All these achievements help to provide the best care possible by the hospice teams for patients and their families within our community. Your kindness helps to make that difference. Thank you.

Welcome to the Summer edition of our newsletter. I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Angie Smith to her new role as Chair of Trustees for the Charity and wish her every success. Angie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of the health and social care sectors to the role. She is very keen to ensure that as we begin to emerge from the pandemic that the opportunities and lessons learnt from the last two years help to shape our organisation for the future to help meet the growing demands on Forest Holme’s services.

We are very pleased to be planning a refurbishment of Forest Holme. The hospice itself has not been decorated since 2013 with some of the rooms being untouched since the hospice was originally built in 1993. There is not only an obvious visible need for refurbishment due to significant wear and tear, but a practical need for more patient friendly facilities, functionality and overall space for the growing palliative and end-of-life care service. Our Board of Trustees have therefore allocated £400,000 towards the cost of the refurbishment with the hope It is really heartening to see so many that we can raise a similar about on top of events and fundraising activities return to that for the changes to be made. Watch the calendar. We really have missed them. this space…

One of the most important days of the As well as the refurbishment, the Charity year for us is our Tie a Yellow Ribbon is very proud to commit to funding 16 event at the Hospice on June 16. We different members of staff within the would like to invite you join us this year inpatient ward, community, hospital, for a moment of quiet reflection whilst admin, education, therapy and counselling catching up with the rest of the Forest teams within the hospice.

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The number of roles has grown significantly over the last few years and your support of Forest Holme has enabled the Charity to fund these additional staff posts. We will be featuring some of these new roles in future newsletters.

For the first time ever, our annual expenditure will be over £1 million pounds. At the start of a new financial year, there is always some trepidation as to where all of this money might possibly come from. How do we plan for it? How do we make the best use of our resources?

Where do we spend your money to make the greatest impact for patients and their families? How do we know we are meeting a need? What things are we not doing that we should be doing?

All these questions have to be considered and we really value your input with this.

By sharing your story on Care Opinion, taking time to give us feedback and or being a critical friend, it can really help us to deliver what really matters to people at the end-of-life. Our Board of Trustees and Charity team are very committed to getting this right working alongside our colleagues in the NHS, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any thoughts on improvements that could be made. We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you again for your unwavering support.

With best wishes, Anne

Contents 2. Welcome / Contents 4. In Memory 6. Charity Update 8. Pop-In Group 9. Challenge Yourself 10. Hospice News 12. Fundraising For Forest Holme 15. Tie A Yellow Ribbon 18. A message from the new Chair 20. Meet The Mindfulness Coach 23. Care Opinion

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If you would like to update your preference, please get in touch by calling the charity office on 01202 670644 or email unsubscribe@forestholmehospice.org.uk

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In Memory Of Carole Ann Blackmore

My Mother, Carole Ann Blackmore, decided that she wanted no further proactive treatment in March 2020, and we were referred to Forest Holme and the palliative care team.

Initially things did not change much, but we all knew what was coming and Mum’s home-care specialist palliative nurse, Hazel Mack, made sure we had all the information we needed at our fingertips; most important of all was the 24/7 number to call to speak to someone at the hospice whenever we needed to.

Mum was first admitted to the hospice to balance the meds and strengthen her up a bit. She was incredibly impressed with the care she received from the calm and efficient staff as well as the homely atmosphere of the hospice.

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Once back home things settled back into a nice rhythm, but the 24-hour helpline continued to be invaluable. It is amazing how much more in control you feel when you know there will be a calming voice on the phone anytime you need to talk through questions about medication or general care.

by Sean Blackmore One such call happened after an accidental overdose. The ambulance crew arrived swiftly and with the best intentions were determined to rush Mum to Poole General Hospital. Mum was distressed at the prospect of going anywhere other than Forest Holme. A quick phone call to the Forest Holme team and things were arranged. The ambulance was diverted, Mum arrived safely and within a couple of hours was relaxed and happy once more.

Despite the presence of Covid, the team at Forest Holme encouraged visiting and supplied any PPE that we were missing.

Any questions were met with as much or as little information as was needed. Care was given to every one of us, not just Mum.

Mum died peacefully at home (in February 2021), something I am sure would not have happened without the ongoing support of the team at Forest Holme.

My wife and I would like to extend our thanks to the whole team that looked after us all so well. We hope our donation of £999 helps the Hospice to continue giving excellent care to those who need it.

For me, Forest Holme really was our 4th 999 Emergency Service.

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Charity Update

Congratulations to 'Hidden Heroes' Karen Hesketh, Dave Manns and Jill Biles (above and right) who were nominated by their fellow volunteers to receive a stay at one of a selection of hotels across the UK courtesy of our partnership with volunteer-recognition charity Room to Reward.

Joe (above) from Room to Reward very kindly came to our recent volunteers 'Thank You' Coffee Morning (left) at Rick Stein in Sandbanks to surprise our winners.

Stewart at Pondtek - who regularly maintains our courtyard pond - has started a new venture called Pondbox, which is a pond food subscription service.

You can find it at Pondbox.co.uk and they provide a box every two months that includes fish food and pond advice and they have given this service to the hospice complete free, with tips that will be useful to the volunteers that look after our pond.

Rachel (right) from the company recently delivered our first box.

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Charity Update The hospice had a lovely surprise from Stewarts Garden Centres (right) , who delivered this blooming huge donation of beautiful flowers and plants for our hospice garden and staff.

A big thank you to 15-year-old Ewan Barents (left), a pupil at Corfe Hills School, who completed one week's work experience with the fundraising team and was presented with a certificate by his Auntie Vanessa from the Hospital Palliative Care Team.

After nine years of dedicated service on the Board, the Charity would like to thank Dr Stephen Kirkham (right) for his vast contribution to the life-enhancing work of the hospice, first as a clinician and then latterly as our Chair of Trustees.

We wish Stephen a very happy retirement and we are delighted to welcome Angie as our new Chair. (see p18) The charity also recently said goodbye to our fundraiser Charlie (right), who after five years as a fundraiser at Forest Holme Hospice has moved on to start a new adventure at MYTIME Young Carers.

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Pop-In Bereavement Group

Following a bereavement Forest Holme Hospice Charity offers a light in the dark by inviting anyone who has lost a loved-one supported by Forest Holme Hospice to our monthly Pop-In Bereavement Group. By providing a support network and safe place to explore the feelings of grief, we aim to ensure that happiness can grow from loss and sadness.

The Pop-in Group meet between 2pm – 4pm at SML Church Centre (opposite St Mary’s Church), Longfleet Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 2JD. If you are interested in attending, please call 01202 670644 or simply pop-in on one of the dates below.

The dates for 2022/23 are as follows:

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June 6th and 9th

November 7th and 10th

July 4th and 14th

December 5th and 8th

August 1st and 11th

January 9th and 12th (2023)

September 5th and 8th

February 6th and 9th (2023)

October 3rd and 13th

March 6th and 9th (2023)

“I've learnt the importance of end-of-life care and how to have difficult conversations.'' ''The passion of the end-of-life nurses giving the talk was very inspiring.''

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Hospice News We are delighted to announce our new Ward Sister Team, with Kate (far left) joining Forest Holme from the Older People Services at University Hospitals Dorset, where she was Matron, while Claire has now returned from maternity leave.

We were sad to say goodbye to Emma (above, centre), who has moved on from the Hospital Palliative Care Team to be an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Complex Frailty, assessing and reviewing patients in the community in the Christchurch locality.

Emma started in 2016 on the Specialist Palliative Care developmental role, which is funded by the Charity, and is a position she credits with helping to “flourish her career”.

A warm welcome to Liz Wareing (left), who has recently joined the counselling team in a role funded by the Charity.

Liz has a huge wealth of experience in Mental Health Nursing and Family Therapies, including 20 years in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

HSC Clinical Psychology Student, Mimmi Perren (above, right) has also joined the counselling team at Forest Holme every Friday until December.

Mimmi has worked in healthcare since 1990 as a Macmillan Cancer Support worker before changing her career direction in 2015.

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Hospice News

Meet the latest addition (above) on the ward - the Jolly Trolley - a Charity funded drinks trolley serving favourite tipples for our patients to enjoy during their stay.

Charity volunteer and supporter Tiff (left) kindly made and donated individual art therapy packs for patients in lieu of Mother's Day presents as Tiff's mum was under Forest Holme’s care in 2016.

With funding from both Forest Holme Hospice Charity and the Macmillan Caring Locally Charity, we are now able to offer these new comfort packs (above) to relatives of end-of-life patients across University Hospitals Dorset. Each pack will have a little note inside to say where the bag and products have been supplied from.

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Fundraising For Forest Holme afternoon. It was an emotional but happy time and ended with Des getting a standing ovation and an arch of arms and hugs. It was very emotional.

I would suggest anyone facing their death to think about doing this; it really is amazing. And as Des said he can join in and take these memories with him.

We had collection boxes and raised £240 for Forest Holme.

Our thanks are to Forest Holme and especially Mandi, his care nurse who is there for us anytime.

Des Cross has an aggressive form of cancer, so made the unusual decision to host his Wake before he died. His wife Christine tells the story.

Des Cross, my husband and soul mate of 39 years, was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in November 2019. At that time the Consultants hoped that he would have at least 10 years of life to enjoy but sadly that’s not going to be. We were told at Christmas 2021 that all options for treatments had been exhausted and this cancer was aggressive and charging on.

Des always said that he doesn’t want a full on funeral, he wanted to see everyone and enjoy his own Wake, so the idea of an Awake Wake was born. On the March 12th this happened as family and friends came from far and wide to see Des, share memories and enjoy the 12

Des is clinging on but time is very short now. He will be coming back when the time gets closer.

Fundraising For Forest Holme

Franke Chivers raised over £2,500 for Forest Holme through a 24hr charity live stream on a social media platform and explains below what it involved and why she did it.

rolled in.

My mum was diagnosed with stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer last year. She lives in Poole but I have lived in Canada for two and a half years and due to immigration and Covid I was unable to I'm a streamer over on the platform see her. I am still yet to see her again, so I ‘Twitch’. I stream video games with or wanted to do something where I felt I was without friends/viewers and also stream helping in some way. I asked if she could just chatting with my viewers. So for the pick a charity for me to raise money for first few hours of the charity 24 hour and she couldn't stop telling me how stream that’s pretty much what I did; chat incredible Forest Holme Hospice is, so I and game with a bunch of people. was sold on doing everything I could to The event managed to raise over £2,500 make a difference. for Forest Holme Hospice during this 24 My sister last year also raised some hour period and we have a few more money for you through a raffle event and donations still to come in but goals were my brother will be doing some kind of well and truly smashed. We started off event at some point soon too which is with £500 being our target to hit and had amazing. to keep increasing it as the donations 13

Fundraising For Forest Holme

We love these photographs of Chrissy and Nick that were taken during the Brighton Marathon. The photographs capture so many emotions; pain, determination, support, dedication, and elation.

Chrissy, despite being pregnant and suffering from sciatic pain, ran for 7 hrs 29 mins to ensure that she crossed the finish line!

Since 2012 the Burkmar family have been tirelessly fundraising in memory of Nick’s mum Mandie, who was cared for by the team at Forest Holme.

Mandies legacy has helped to ensure that other families in a similar position receive the highest level of care and support following a terminal diagnosis.

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A message from the new Chair to manage those funds. The function of the Board of Trustees is to ensure governance of the funds, to authorise spend and to agree the strategic direction of the charity in line with our mission and values. We are very fortunate to have committed and talented Trustees who have volunteered to bring their own skills and knowledge to the Board. The Board has a key role in supporting the Chief Executive.

I am interested in working with our volunteers who are the life blood of the I am honoured and delighted to be Charity. They give their time and energy appointed as the new Chair of Trustees of to raise money and we are very grateful Forest Holme Hospice Charity. I have been for their continuing support especially a Trustee since September 2018 and Vice after the last couple of years when we Chair since September 2021. I would like have all struggled with the impact of to give a big thank you to Stephen who covid. A big thank you to all of them for has stepped down as Chair at the end of their loyalty. his term of appointment. ‘Thank you’ is not big enough to recognise his huge Our aim is to be an excellent employer in contribution to Forest Holme since its the third sector. We intend to grow and inception thirty years ago. I have big boots develop our fundraising team who have to fill, and I will do my best to continue his worked very hard to maintain our income. legacy. I wish Stephen and Maureen the It is thanks to them, and all our very best in the future. supporters, that we are in a stable Before I retired my career was as a social worker working for the Local Authority and the NHS. When I became a Trustee, I felt I knew a lot about health and social care but very little about the business of running a charity – and it is a business.

The business of the charity is to raise funds and to have the processes in place 18

financial position moving towards 2022/2023. Different ways of working, including working from home and a bigger online presence have proved a challenge and an opportunity for us all.

What are my hopes for the future? I am pleased that we have plans for some refurbishment of the Hospice to improve

A message from the new Chair the environment for patients and families. I hope, with the support of Anne and the Board, to ensure the prudent use of funds, to provide good governance so everyone has confidence in the Charity and to continuously improve the end of life experience for everyone Forest Holme cares for.

I wish you all a very happy Spring and Summer and the chance to rest and relax in the sun.

With best wishes, Angie Smith

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Meet The Mindfulness Coach Lorien Holiday (left) very kindly volunteered to host a series of Mindfulness Coaching Workshops for all Forest Holme staff at the beginning of this year to develop personal growth and encourage self-care across the physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual sides of their lives.

With the eight week course recently concluding, we asked Lorien to tell us more about his coaching and reflect on how the course has benefitted staff wellbeing, especially after the pandemic.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what being a Corporate and Professional Wellbeing Coach involves?

never imagined when I started this next phase of my life. I became a personal trainer and ended up supporting the elderly and infirm with quality-of-life I spent 20 years working in Financial physical movement and activities, working Services and whilst I was professionally with them in their homes and in care successful, I was personally very dissatisfied with my life. It was ultimately homes and ultimately working with some of them up until the last few days of their this dissatisfaction and the prospect of a further 30 years in employment that drove life. This really opened my eyes to human connection and suffering and lead me to me to change careers really with the sole explore the world of mental health in intention of “at least having tried addition to my physical health something else”. qualifications.

It isn’t a noble or altruistic start to the I became a certified coach, supporting story I am afraid… people with physical and mental But opening one door led to so many new wellbeing, focusing on strategies such as possibilities and opportunities which I mindfulness, transformational coaching, 20

Meet The Mindfulness Coach neurolinguistic programming and hypnotherapy to support my clients with their goals.

Programme which is a step by step programme to help bring mindfulness strategies and approaches to aspects of our life which are most difficult. It is a mix of I support people from a wide range of guided mindfulness practices, practical backgrounds and circumstances in finding psychology and simple but effective home solutions to improve their sense of practice invitations. Together we seek to wellbeing. Sometimes that involves helping cultivate a sense of curiosity, kindness and them to work to change the circumstances compassion to the thoughts of our mind in their lives that are not working well for that so often colour our experience. them and sometimes it involves helping to improve their relationship with circumstances that are not so easy to change.

It is a dynamic, problem-solving role that requires curiosity, compassion and empathy.

How did working with Forest Holme come about?

I have long held great respect and admiration for people focusing on quality of care at end of life and supporting the families dealing with this. I know a number of people who have used Forest Holme’s services and I wanted to be able to give something back. I contacted the charity and offered to help and they were kind enough to let me come and show some mindfulness programmes to the team.

Can you explain what’s involved in the staff wellbeing sessions?

We work through the structure of my 8week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

“Lorien is very easy to talk to and has a wealth of knowledge which he is happy to share. The lessons are nice and simple and focus strongly on being kind to yourself and learning to really listen to your body and mind so that you can make changes if they are needed without massive effort.” Staff member

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Meet The Mindfulness Coach “Lorien's encouragement to keep trying mindfulness and to accept that we may find it hard to do at times was so helpful. It meant I didn't feel I had failed at the first hurdle.”

Staff member

note of their mental strength and resilience.

It can feel like we are permanently in a threat environment and so we need to take deliberate action to nourish our minds so that we don’t become overwhelmed.

What advice would you give to anyone who may be considering wellbeing coaching?

What has been the impact and has the feedback been positive?

The feedback from the team has been so wonderful. From simply realising you are not the only one dealing with a particular thought pattern or habitual behaviour, to cultivating a better sense of kindness for their own struggles and needs. Mindfulness helps improve the relationship we have with our thoughts, which can improve all aspects of our lives, reducing stress, improving our relationships and helping us to sleep better.

I am clearly somewhat biased as this is my profession but please take your wellbeing seriously. It is not a weakness to seek support, it takes amazing courage to reach out.

We are so often too ready to sacrifice ourselves but we fail to realise that if we don’t care for ourselves we cannot effectively care for those we love. When we are stressed for too long we can easily become overwhelmed, anxious, angry or depressed and all these have a hugely negative impact on our quality of experience and the lives of those we care most about.

Following the success of Lorien Holiday’s Mindfulness Course, the Charity will be funding an additional 8-week programme Absolutely! The pandemic has really for all members of staff within reinforced the need for people to take more Forest Holme Hospice.

Have you noticed an increase in demand since the pandemic?

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Charity Number 1038021

Contact Us If you would like more information about the care the hospice provides or how to fundraise for us, we would love to hear from you.

Forest Holme Hospice 5 Seldown Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1TS T: 01202 670644 (Charity) T: 0300 019 8147 (Hospice) E: fundraising@forestholmehospice.org.uk Charity No:1038021

w w w. f o r e s t h o l m e h o s p i c e . o r g . u k Forestholme

@ForestHolme

@forestholmehospice

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