Welcome

welcome to our annual review for 2020/21

A message from our Chair and Chief Executive

Jamie Matheson | Chairman

Martin Cawley | CEO

We’re with you lies at the heart of what we do, for people living with cancer.

Last year presented exceptional circumstances. The devastating impact of Covid-19 is undeniable. It has affected everything we do as an organisation and the people we support.

For people with cancer, it meant that our direct, face-to-face support had to be suspended and adapted with digital-led sessions, group work programmes and telephone calls to help reduce anxieties and uncertainty for our patients. Many of our key fundraising events had to be cancelled or postponed and our income decreased. Despite this, we managed to continue to deliver the most impact for the people we support.

From the moment the pandemic hit, and during the first lockdowns, we made immediate changes to the way we work. In the beginning we had to unfortunately furlough many of our staff, introduce safer, more agile and responsive practices into our workplace, and adapt key services. These were difficult decisions, but were vital as our income and planned investment plans dramatically changed.

Our commitment remained intact and we are now putting plans in place to recover, restore and strengthen our cancer services. We are proud that new services have evolved, reaching more people to help them to get the support they deserve. Our new Befriending Service, led by trained staff and a team of amazing volunteers, has played a vitally important role. Our digital transformation project was also completed during this time. Dedicated sections were created on our website with up-to-date information in direct response to Covid-19, which included a new personalised online space called My Light. This area offers support to family and friends, healthcare professionals and signposts to services across Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

Despite the challenges, we have proved to be resilient and found innovative ways of fundraising. We have invested in services and awarded support grants for new care initiatives and pioneering research projects with The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre - our charitable investment has reached over £2.6 million pounds. We received significant funding through exciting initiatives with forward-thinking organisations. These funds will help with recovery from Covid-19 and meet current and future challenges for people living with cancer.

The review of 2020/21 celebrates the work which has been undertaken by Beatson Cancer Charity. This includes the variety and scale of the work, our strategic approach, the skills and commitment of our staff and the ways we invest in a better future for patients and their families. We hope you enjoy finding out more about all this in the following pages.