December

December 2014

Issue 151

Merry Christm as!

12 pages of yo ur festive news an d seasonal messa ges

Organisational and general news Contents

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Hello:

Light up a Life in Bury

THREE

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Our volunteering stars

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Festive messages from the Hospice

FIVE

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Goodbye:

Becky Herbert, Bank Healthcare Assistant; John Midgley, IT Project Manager; Aideen Roberts, Receptionist; Juliet Thomason, Hospice Neighbour; Daryll Tarbin, Shop Volunteer; Sarah Healy, Shop Volunteer

Fundraising news

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Debbie Wyatt, Ward Administrator; Dan Taylor, Hospice Nurse; Pauline Betts, Hospice Senior Nurse; Michelle Sharpe, Volunteer Sylvan Ward Carer; Carole Hearn, Hospice Neighbour; Olivia Monson, Volunteer Sylvan Ward Kitchen Assistant; Chloe Isles, Volunteer eBay Administrator; Maureen Yould, Shop Volunteer; Susan Brightwell, Volunteer Sylvan Ward Carer; Michelle Hoggett, Volunteer Weekend Receptionist; Suzanne Flack, Shop Volunteer; Denise Ball, Volunteer Receptionist; Archie Stewart, Shop Volunteer

Changes:

Brenna Greer, from Bank Occupational Therapist to Hospice Occupational Therapist

Boys in Blue visit

TEN

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Retail round-up

Tree on show

ELEVEN

ue v e r s a m t s hri

A selection of poems from our Writing Group went on display in St Edmundsbury Cathedral Cloisters at a Christmas Tree Festival from 10-14 December.

Thank you to the Writing Group, Cheryl Owen and Cheryl Mann for their help in creating the beautiful decorations for the tree at short notice.

C

g ill be takin as Revue w tm s ri h C l day The annua n on Thurs dbury Gree ra B in e c la p on. er, from no r 18 Decemb on for you s p a inking c th r u yo t e G nces! t performa tton know departmen or Tracy Su w zi u K i n n e J take part.

Please let you wish to if t c a r u yo the title of

Senior manager on call Moira Welham Mandy Wilson Pippa Wilding Jane Doughty Julie Roy Kevin Clements Debra Garside Barbara Gale Kevin Clements Jackie Saunders Pippa Wilding Jackie Saunders Julie Roy Kevin Clements Jane Doughty

15-19 December 19-21 December 21-22 December 22-24 December 24-26 December 26-27 December 27-29 December 29-30 December 30-31 December 31 December – 1 January 1-2 January 2-9 January 9-16 January 16-23 January 23-30 January

Mary Staveley

01284 705407

December 2014

Youngsters from Westley Middle School will be visiting the Hospice on Thursday 18 December.

They will be singing and signing carols from 10.45am-11.45am in Bradbury Green. Everyone is welcome.

line is ork dead w t e N t x The ne ary. ay 7 Janu stories, d s e n d e W r ail all you Please em ne ws to nd pictures a iman at camille. err Camille B nh.org.uk @st n berrima

Staff support counsellors 2

Sing and sign . . .

Festive soirée

We will be holding a Christmas Soirée on 22 December from 5.30-9.30pm, in Bradbury Green. A light buffet and seasonal music will be provided but it’s mainly a chance for staff across the hospice to socialise.

To help give an idea of numbers, please add your name to one of the lists posted in each department.

Organisational and general news

Light up a Life in Bury St Edmunds A hushed congregation gathered to remember those who have died at our Bury St Edmunds Light up a Life service and ceremony on Sunday.

The well-attended service of prayers and remembrance was held at St Mary’s Church before a candlelit procession from the church to Angel Hill for the Light up a Life ceremony.

The Rev Canon Malcolm Rogers, of St Mary’s Church, said: “Tonight is special because it is the 30th anniversary of the Hospice and I know Charles (Amoah) wanted me to say thank you for your continued support of the Hospice. It is really lovely to have Charles leading the service as he is coming to the end of his service at the Hospice at the end of this month. Thank you Charles for the ministry you have given – you have served so many people in your work as Hospice Chaplain.”

The Rev Charles Amoah said: “I have enjoyed the support of this community while working at the Hospice. I lost my mum at the end of last year so this Light up a Life service is very special to me. I ask you to remember me in your prayers as I return to Ghana to try to start a hospice there.”

Charles moved from Ghana in 2008 to join the Hospice.

Readings were given by Volunteer Chaplains the Rev Sue Nutt and the Rev Mark Hunt, carols were sung and a candle of remembrance was lit by our President Canon Richard Norburn. A minute’s silence in remembrance of those who have died was also observed.

Following the service members of the congregation walked in a candlelit procession to Angel Hill. There, the Salvation Army band played when carols were sung, before the names of those being remembered were read out.

We did it!

Beds update

After weeks of campaigning and a day of voting, we won £50,000 of lottery money in the People’s Millions competition.

Our Garden of Life appeal was televised on the ITV Anglia News on 26 November, with viewers asked to vote either for us or an Age UK Norfolk project.

We won the most votes on the day, clinching the £50,000 funding. A film crew visited the Hospice on 27 November to hand over a cheque.

Barbara Gale, Chief Executive, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won this money.

The Garden of Life will make an enormous difference to people using the Burton Centre.

“I’d like to thank everyone who voted for us as their support means we can now start work on the garden. We are very grateful.”

The Garden of Life project will see an outdoor space at our Burton Centre transformed into a therapeutic and tranquil area.

We recently experienced a significant shortage of registered nurses available to staff the ward and were not able to admit as many patients as we would have wanted to.

I am pleased to announce new nurses have been appointed and will start soon.

Following discussions with staff across First Contact, Sylvan Ward, the Community Team and senior managers, we can now increase the numbers of beds available for patients.

We now have six beds available and over the next few weeks we will begin to use as many beds as patients and families need, as long as we have safe staffing levels.

If you have questions, please talk to Debra Garside, Dr Sarah Mollart or Jackie Saunders. stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 3

Awards news

Amazing awards!

Three of our volunteers were finalists in the annual St Edmund’s Day awards, presented by Bury St Edmunds Town Council last month.

Annette Cane, Michael Golston and Sally Palmer were nominated for their hard work and dedication.

I, along with Kay Newman, would like to congratulate them for their win and say thank you for the time they contribute to the Hospice.

Emma Izod

Pictures courtesy of Bury St Edmunds Town Council

Two of our Hospice Neighbours were recognised at the Stars of Suffolk ceremony held at Suffolk New College, in Ipswich.

Anna Hayes, Hospice Neighbour for Brandon, won Volunteer of the Year – receiving a plaque and voucher for Clarice House – while Lorraine Galvin, Thetford Hospice Neighbour, was also nominated and received a bottle of Champagne as runner up.

Kay Newman, Hospice Neighbours Co-ordinator, said: “I am very proud of them both, they have excelled beyond their role as Hospice Neighbours.

However, without the goodwill of all our Hospice Neighbours and their fantastic help we would not have such a wonderful service, supporting patients with companionship and practical help.”

Our Hospice Neighbours service has won the Hospice UK and NGS (National Garden Scheme) Innovation in Volunteering Award.

The presentation was made at the Hospice UK annual conference, at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, last month.

Barbara Gale, our Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to have won this award and for the Hospice Neighbours team to

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receive this recognition.

“This accolade reflects the commitment and enthusiasm of more than 140 Hospice Neighbours volunteers as well as the drive and passion of the small but mighty team which leads the service.”

The Hospice UK Awards recognise standout projects that demonstrate innovation in hospices, as well as honouring dedicated hospice volunteers and staff.

Festive messages

To Jo Bye and the vo lunteers at both Thetford sh ops: Merry Christmas and a H appy New Year.

Thank you all for m aking my first year with the Hospi ce so enjoyable.

I look forward to m any more.

Dave Willis, Thetfo rd Shop Manager

Seasons Greetings to Paul Devine and his team : A thank you for all the help throughout the year .

Sarah Bilal and the Brandon shop volunteer team

I would like to wish all my volunteers a Happy Christmas and exce llent New Year. A big thank yo u for all their hard work, particul arly during the refurbishment this year (I am hiring them out as pa inters next).

Merry Christmas and a Happy

Linda Sadler, St John ’s

I write at the end of another excellent year for St Nicholas Hospice Care.

Our 30th anniversary year has seen the opening of our first outreach service at the Burton Centre, in Haverhill, a record-breaking year for our fundraising department and, above all,the fact that we are helping, day by day and week by week, more people than ever before.

The service redesign is well under way, but it has not been without its problems, not least the shortage of staff in the clinical areas and the difficulties in recruiting new colleagues. What has been clear to the trustees has been the determination and commitment of all departments, as we have undertaken the changes, to retain the quality of the care we provide to patients, families and carers.

Shop Manager

Street

Members of the Hospice team look back at 2014 and ahead to next year

As we grow what is a large and complex organisation it is the strength of the teamwork from all areas within the Hospice which shines through. We are so fortunate to have a workforce and an amazing army of volunteers who combine to produce an ethos of love, care and positivity, which underpins all you do to assist those we seek to serve.

A bereaved daughter wrote recently to us: “Your staff didn’t just do a job; you all cared as if my mum was part of your family too.”

The trustees join me in thanking you all – staff and volunteers in all departments – for all that you do. We wish you, your families and friends a joyful Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Adrian Williams

Chairman of the Board of Trustees

stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 5

Festive messages

To all in the Retail Department: Merry Christmas and thanks for all your hard work this year Ian Daniels, Head of Retail

On behalf of the Fundraising and Marketing Department, I would like to thank all of our volunteers, supporters and donors who have helped us so much in 2014.

This year has seen record amounts of money raised from our community activity such as Girls Night Out, the Towergate Accumulator Challenge, Classic and Sports Cars by the Lake and so many other events.

Thank you all so much for everything you do to help St Nicholas Hospice Care. It is only through your kindness that we are able to develop our services and care for more people.

Kevin C lements

Director of Fundraising & Marketing

We wish all the Hospice family peace and joy at Christmas.

We appreciate the ongoing care and commitment everyone shows as they go the extra mile to help those we seek to serve.

This has not been an easy year, with many changes and developments, but change is the sign of life in everything whether it is a tree or a person or an organisation. It is also what Christmas is really all about – God changing the human situation by sending his son to live among us so we might know his nature of love and share in his full life. May you experience that life both with your families and friends and at work this Christmas and in the New Year.

God bless.

Richard and Joyce Norburn 6

December 2014

Festive messages

very Wishing you a as and Merry Christm 2015. all the best for

s, Jackie Saunder r es Directo Clinical Servic

In 2014, our 30th anniversary year, the Hospice has co ntinued to give a valued and treasur ed service to the local community.

I would like to than k everyone for their continued commitm ent and hard work, as well as all those wh o work hard to ra ise funds on our beha lf. Without the supp ort of our staff, volun teers and commun ity , we would not be able to do the work we do .

The demand for ou r services has cont inued to increase, so as a team we have wo rked hard to develop an d ensure we can continue to help th ose who need us .

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, with thoughts for all th ose who are worki ng throughout this fes tive season.

Bar bara Gale

Chief Executive

From the Hospice Neighbours Team:

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 7

Fundraising news

Festive Forest Challenge success A fundraising event with a little seasonal style is estimated to have raised more than £3,000.

The second Festive Forest Challenge was held on 29 November and saw more than 200 runners and walkers set off from West Stow for a range of routes through the forest.

Participants could either walk, Nordic walk or run, with many entrants donning festive jumpers and tinsel for the occasion.

The event was organised by personal trainer Kevin Marshall, of Positive Steps PT.

n Haverhill Owls WI members tested their general knowledge at a quiz and raised £169 for us.

The group, which meets every third Wednesday of the month at Haverhill Arts Centre, chose to support the Hospice as a result of the Burton Centre opening in May. Jordan Hughes, Community Fundraiser, met Treasurer Julie Skuce and Speaker Secretary Pat Hainsby to collect the funds.

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Everyone taking part paid £15 to enter, with £12 of the fee coming to the Hospice. Some also gathered sponsorship.

Georgina Bissell, Community Fundraising Manager, said: “It was wonderful to see more than 200 people brave a chilly November morning to take on various running and walking challenges.

“We’d like to thank everyone who took part or helped to make it such a safe and enjoyable event – and particularly Kevin for all his efforts to organise it.”

n When Elizabeth Johnson celebrated her 80th birthday last month, she told party guests not to bring gifts but donations instead.

Her celebrations, at Horringer Community Centre, saw the grand total of £1,500 raised for the Hospice.

“I have had a lot from the Hospice, so I wanted to support it,” said Elizabeth, who handed over the funds at Orchard Open House on 8 December.

n Another cheque handed over to Miranda McCoy, Community Fundraiser, at Orchard Open House was for £1,050.54.

The funds were raised through a lunch held in Great Barton.

It was organised by Christine Wreathall, pictured, Cathy Fordge, Margaret Hodgate and Christine Fitzgerald, who all met through a Hospice bereavement group after their husbands died.

Fundraising news

C ould you help us?

Selfies with Olaf!

A snowman will be melting the hearts of children and parents in aid of the Hospice this weekend.

Olaf, as seen in Disney’s popular animated film Frozen, will visit the Arc shopping centre, Bury St Edmunds, on Saturday 20 December and Sunday 21 December, from 10am-5pm, inviting people of any age to have a selfie taken with him in return for a donation.

Jordan Hughes, St Nicholas Hospice Care Community Fundraiser, said: “We are thrilled Olaf has found time in his calendar to meet Christmas shoppers and hopefully give the Hospice a festive boost.”

n Ashleigh Tilbrook, 20, of Tuddenham, battled through mud and obstacles to raise £1,211.

She completed one marathon and the Nuclear Blackout challenge, which saw her face 31 obstacles in the pitch black with only a head torch to light the way.

“It took three showers to get the dirt out of my hair afterwards,” she said. “Both of my granddads had cancer: my first granddad was at the Hospice for about a month before he died while my other granddad unfortunately died the day he was due to go into the Hospice.”

We need some extra special volunteers to don the famous red suit and help the Hospice this Friday, 19 December.

We are holding a street collection in Bury St Edmunds town centre from 2-5pm.

Anyone who helps us out will be able to masquerade as Father Christmas for all or part of the street collection session, with any help gratefully received.

Volunteers will be asked to hold a collection bucket and in return we will be very grateful and give them mulled wine and mince pies!

To get involved, contact Miranda McCoy, Community Fundraiser, on 01284 715567.

n Four friends who travelled through 12 countries in seven days have handed more than £2,500 to the Hospice Former Mildenhall College of Technology students Brendon Hall, Bobby Luckings, Matthew Gipson and Ashliegh Booth took part in the Motoscape 2014 banger rally in September, raising £2,632.21.

The foursome were inspired to support the Hospice by the care and support

Bobby’s father received at the Hospice before he died of cancer in 1995.

On September 5 – Bobby’s 25th birthday – they set off in their 22-yearold eight-seater Ford Granada. The rally saw them travel from France to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic before arriving back in England. stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 9

Seasonal visitors

Footballers spread festive cheer Four tractor boys visited the Hospice to spend time with patients, staff and volunteers on Tuesday.

Ipswich Town Football Club defenders Tommy Smith and Tyrone Mings, midfielder Darren Ambrose and striker Balint Bajner were accompanied by ex-player Simon Milton for the festive visit.

The players spent time at the Orchard Centre and handed out gifts bought by the team, including fleece blankets.

They then visited Sylvan Ward, where they were greeted by enthusiastic patients, nurses and nursing assistants.

The players signed autographs and chatted to inpatient and ITFC fan Michael Morris, of Bury. “It made my day,� he said.

In addition to handing over gifts to patients the players handed over food parcels containing groceries for our Catering Team to put to good use. The food parcels were paid for by the players themselves, along with help from East of England Co-Operative Society.

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Retail news

Sixth Christmas fair was strongest yet I would like to say a massive thank you to my great team of volunteers at Mildenhall for helping to make the annual Christmas fair in the shop a roaring success yet again.

This is our sixth year and it just gets stronger and stronger. On the Saturday it was such a lovely sight to see the children’s faces when Santa walked in. As he came through the door I overheard a child saying to his mum ‘That’s not the real Santa, he is far to busy but he has lots of helpers at the moment and they all know him. I think this is a helper’. This young lad was obviously erring on the side of caution as he said it very quietly just in case it was the real Santa Claus and he was offended.

My team and I would like to wish all a merry Christmas and a wonderful 2015.

Karen Beale

Mildenhall Shop Manager

Santa will be at our Hardwick s hop on 22 Decembe r, 10am-4pm, £5

Moving thank you Our web shop is up and running: w ww. stnicholashosp ice careshop.org.u k

A small thank you party and buffet was organised by Ian Daniels, Head of Retail, for volunteers and staff who put in so much hard work to move the old Donation Centre to Chapel Pond Hill.

Barbara Gale, Chief Executive, and Julie Roy, Finance Director, also went along to say thank you.

Our new Donation Centre is now fully operational and taking donations.

It is open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday and from 9am-4pm on Saturdays.

Contact the centre on 01284 731943, or for furniture collections call 01284 747622. stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 11

Behind the Job

Ian Simmons SystmOne Manager

I joined the Hospice in December last year, having worked as a Systm One trainer for the NHS for the previous eight years.

My role here was to set up SystmOne, a system used by all our clinicians which went live in June. SystmOne records patient data and enables us to improve our services, such as our work in the community. It is a nationwide system which, in our catchment area, is used by the Suffolk community teams and half the GPs. It allows different service providers to ‘talk’ to one another to get a bigger picture and to share information – with the permission of the patients, of course. We are able to draw down data from the system and compile statistics to ensure the service we provide continues to improve.

I was born in Maldon, Essex, where I grew up. I am married to Lisa and we have lived in Stowmarket for the past 10 years. We have three sons: Joel, nine, and our twins, Tom and Luke, seven.

I am a die-hard West Ham United fan, as are my three boys, and we have claret and blue blood running through our veins. Several years ago I played football at senior level for both Stowmarket and

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Needham Market, amongst others, and I was at Norwich City’s Centre of Excellence for two years when I was youngster.

As you can imagine our life revolves around football.Our three boys were recently scouted by Norwich City and they are currently at its development centre. They also play for an under 10s and under 7s side, both of which I coach.

I love all sports and keeping fit and I recently completed the Suffolk Whole Hog 12k cross-country obstacle run, raising £420 for the Hospice. I am looking to complete two more in the New Year.

When I was younger I went to Australia for a year, which I found amazing. Now we have the boys, Lisa and I like to holiday in Devon and Cornwall.

We normally spend Christmas round my parent’s house, but this year we are staying at home which will be nice. I’m looking forward to a nice break with my family.

Happy ‘SystmOne’ Christmas to you all!

Interview by Vincent Fallon

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