Prince of Wales Hospice by Black_inc

JUNE 2016

Celebrating a year of fundraising with Marks & Spencer Food for thought Many of you will have noticed the yummy treats that have been appearing in the staff kitchen.

arlier this month, we invited colleagues and fundraising volunteers from the Marks & Spencer Pontefract store to a very special celebration event, where we toasted their incredible fundraising efforts.

Staff at the store chose The Prince of Wales Hospice as their Charity of the Year for 2015/2016. Through bake sales, bag packing, raffles and other fundraising activities, they raised over £12,800, beating their initial £10,000 target. This year the Marks & Spencer team

can’t wait to do it all again, and have chosen the Hospice as their charity of the year for 2016/2017. In a speech made at the celebration event, M&S Manager, Mandy Chippendale gushed with pride about her team’s achievement. She said: “It’s been a big team effort, I’m really proud we’ve achieved that £10,000 and I’m really proud we crept over the Castleford store!” “This year it’s great that we will be doing it all again and we’ve committed £25,000 over the two years - that is what we WILL achieve.”

These have been donated by Marks and Spencer, as part of their surplus food initiative. The scheme aims to reduce food waste from stores by a fifth by 2020, and involves redistributing fruit, vegetables, bread, cakes and groceries that are nearing their expiry date to local charities. The kitchen uses most of the donated food to prepare meals for patients, which is helping to reduce catering costs. Anything left over, or not suitable, is then put in the staff kitchen. If there’s anything that takes your fancy, help yourself. However, we would really appreciate it if you could make a small donation for the items you take – thank you!

Cyclothon Success!

Spring Afternoon Tea

British weather is known for its unpredictability; however we weren’t quite expecting to swap sunshine for snow at our Spring Afternoon Tea! Our guests enjoyed their fizz and scones in a winter wonderland, after Rogerthorpe Manor was covered in a blanket of snow. Despite the bad weather, the event was a great success and raised over £2,000 for the Hospice!

Over 500 cyclists donned their lycra and rode through the Yorkshire countryside for our 22nd annual Cyclothon, including our very own Julie Tuke (Finance) and Trustee Ruth Roche!

Doosan Day of Community Service Now the weather’s picking up we’re getting plenty of use out of our new greenhouse, which was kindly supplied and built by employees at engineering firm, Doosan Babcock. The team from Ferrybridge C and Eggborough Power Station joined 2

Julie, who completed the 50 mile route, said: “This is the fourteenth year I’ve done the Cyclothon and it was lovely to see so many people turn out for such a great cause. It was a beautiful day, with a fantastic atmosphere and a great scenic route; we even saw a baby deer in the fields!” This year’s event, attracted more cyclists than ever before, with over 200 riders signing up on the day. We’re still totalling the money raised, but so far we’ve raised over £12,500 !

us back in March to mark the fourth ‘Doosan Day of Community Service’ a world-wide initiative which involves over 10,000 Doosan Babcock employees volunteering their time and resources to projects in their local communities. We’re growing fresh vegetables in the greenhouse, which will be used to prepare meals for patients. Last year, the team got their hands dirty and built an allotment in the Hospice gardens.

A special thank you to all at Diva Classic Ladieswear for putting on a fabulous show, and to Michelle’s Flowers and Pat Laycock for dressing our tables beautifully.

Day Therapy 1940’s style!

Day Therapy was transformed into a 1940s Tea Dance last month, complete with war time bingo and wonderful singing from the lovely Lancashire Belle. As you can see, patients, staff and volunteers all got into the spirit with fancy dress from the era. We particularly love those nurses’ costumes, Sandra and Vicky!

JUNE 2016

Refurb update Michelle crowned queen of enthusiasm Each month in the fundraising team we choose a positive team value and nominate a team member who best displays this attribute. Last month we picked enthusiasm.

The Incare refurbishment is well underway and is progressing quickly - we already have a new roof on the conservatory!

We agreed that the kind of behaviours which demonstrate enthusiasm are: • Celebrating successes • Using positive language • Eagerness • Being supportive of others

Allotment Volunteers We recently welcomed allotment volunteers Catherine and Colin to the Hospice. The pair will maintain the allotment by planting and harvesting fresh fruit and vegetables, which will be used in the Hospice kitchen for patient and staff meals. This will reduce the need to buy in from external sources, meaning we can spend more money on patient care. Many fruit and vegetables have already been planted including potatoes, onions, strawberries and rhubarb. We can’t wait to taste them when they’re ready! We’re on the lookout for green recycling boxes that bottles used to go in, as they’re perfect for planting carrots and potatoes in! If you have one spare please bring it in!

ou can keep up to date with the transformation by checking the refurbishment board in reception regularly. We’re posting weekly photos of the changes and adding details of any disruptions you need to know about.

Over the past few weeks we’ve had to turn the water supply off for short periods. In the coming weeks there may be further disruption to water, heating and electricity. We’re working with the contractors to ensure this is kept to a minimum during working hours, and we’ll make sure there is plenty of notice. We’re currently finalising a timetable

of activities for staff that will be affected by the closure of the Incare ward. We will give out printed copies to staff when available, and the timetable will also be displayed on the refurbishment notice board. We know parking is difficult at the moment, but please don’t use the disabled parking bays in the visitors parking unless you are actually registered disabled and have the appropriate badge displayed. Also, when the staff car park is full could you please consider parking on the roads (especially at busy times) rather than taking up a visitor’s parking space and inconveniencing our visitors. 3

JUNE 2016

The Staff Survey - what happened next ? Many of you took part in the staff survey last autumn. You suggested lots of areas for improvement, from better communication to a nicer working environment. But what happened next? Well, quite a lot actually. This is what’s already been achieved and what’s planned over the coming months: Staff pay

A pay review is underway, including comparing our pay and terms and conditions to similar organisations.

Staff well being, values and behaviour

Stress management training was made available to all staff in March. A new employee assistance programme is being launched to help you with work and personal problems, to improve your health and well-being. HR policies and procedures are being made more user friendly and accessible. The Employee Handbook is being re-written.

Management

Hospice team leaders will attend leadership development training in mid-June. Retail management and team development will be considered after. The appraisal system is being improved, so you get more feedback about what you do and how you do it. This will also help address poor performance.

Work environment

Refurbishment of older portacabin offices is complete. Incare refurbishment, including nurses station / offices is underway.

Training and development

Training and external shadowing opportunities will take place during the Incare refurbishment. E-learning modules are being considered for later in the year.

Many of you will be involved in making one or more of these improvements - thank you for your contributions. Together they make for changes on quite an impressive scale!

What about communication? Most of the comments from the staff survey centred around communication. Some of you want more information about SMT and Trustees, more organisational information, more face to face communication and wanted SMT to be better informed about what you think. We’ve already reintroduced PoW WoW which will be monthly from this edition. To make further improvements that will work and meet your needs, a staff group has been set up. In May the group looked at how we can improve communication within our own teams. 4

Four priorities for change were identified, for consideration by SMT. • Introduce team meetings, wherever practicable • Everyone to have the opportunity of one to ones with their manager • More creative use of noticeboards in team areas • Look at developing a staff-only social media site The next meeting will look at communication between teams. Do you share your team’s news, successes, challenges? Do you know what other teams are up to? What do you want to know? Give your suggestions to one of the reps* before 15 June.

The Board are monitoring all these changes and ensuring the momentum is maintained so we continue to evolve to make the Hospice an even better place to work. Martin Ward, Lindsay Hamer, Laura Bennett *REPS: Martin Ward (Chair), Laura Thorpe, Martina Teal, Janet Lewington, Helen Woolford, Jo Benson , Jo Major Angela Sibbit, Lindsay Hamer, Tracy Carr, Jillian Evans, Emma Briggs, Julie Tuke, Angela Hutchinson, Diane Peters, Laura Bennett. If there’s no rep from your area, why not become one? See Martin Ward for details.

Carol’s corner

New starters Nursing pay review As part of an ongoing hospicewide pay review, it was identified that our pay for nurses is less attractive than equivalent positions in neighbouring hospices and the NHS.

Anne Giblin

Individual Giving Officer

Chris Ward

Assistant Head of Retail

Wit and wisdom courtesy of Carol Flatters, Lead Receptionist at the Hospice.

To address this and also to allow us to recruit the additional nurses we need, the Board of Trustees has agreed a change to nursing salaries. This includes starting new nurses on an appropriate point in the pay band to reflect their skills and background. Annual increments will continue, finances permitting. This is part of a wider pay-review, the findings of which will be discussed by the Board in the next few weeks, then shared with all colleagues. David Stewart, Chief Executive

Susan Lynch

Health Care Assistant

Record achievement Last months’ LP record sale at the Castleford furniture shop raised an impressive £1000 for the Hospice.

Iwona Mahamed Registered Nurse

Adele Willis

er Assistant Shop Manag Pontefract shop

Dawn Moxon

Shop Manager Normanton shop

Is yours a winning ticket?

A huge thank you to shop volunteer, Dave for all his hard work pricing the records. Dave volunteers his time every week valuing the records, to ensure we’re selling them at a competitive price. If you have any records you would like to donate, please call the store on 01977 556836.

Pastures new After working for the Hospice for almost 2 years, Mehdi Namini, Cook, decided it was time for him to hang up his oven gloves and retire. Thank you Mehdi for your continued commitment during your time at the Hospice and good luck for the future.

So the saying goes ‘you have to be in it to win it!’ Don’t forget to pick up your raffle tickets from reception for just £1 each. We have loads of lovely prizes on offer including perfume, alcohol, sweet treats and much more! The raffle will be drawn on Wednesday 15 June good luck! 5

Getting to know you

Sad news

This month we caught up with Events and Community Fundraising Assistant, Alice Coggan. It’s with great sadness we announce that longstanding volunteers’ John Askew and Len, husband of Jean Riley, passed away last month. John volunteered in the Hospice kitchen for over 20 years and retired from his position at the end of last year. Len, also volunteered at the Hospice for over 20 years and passed away at the Hospice. Both gentlemen will be sadly missed by many.

Help is just a call away! Alice Coggan Events & Community Fundraising Assistant

QUESTION: Do you have any pets? ANSWER: Yes, I have a very fluffy cat called Luca. QUESTION: What makes you smile? ANSWER: My niece and nephew...and gin. QUESTION: What’s your greatest achievement? ANSWER: Navigating my way around Europe for a month last summer. QUESTION: Name one thing you’ve always wanted to do. ANSWER: Be accepted into Hogwarts. QUESTION: Tell us something that people don’t know about you. ANSWER: I spent a summer volunteering in Greece saving sea turtles. 6

We’ve signed up for a new employee benefit which is available to all staff a 24/7 confidential counselling helpline. We know sometimes life can get you down. If you want to talk about a problem, but don’t know who to turn to, you can speak in confidence to an advisor over the phone. Whether it’s relationship difficulties, stress and anxiety or a health problem, this service can help. They’ll answer your questions as quickly as possible and will also refer you to the most appropriate source of support, including counselling, legal and financial. From 1 June you can access this service by calling free phone 0800 083 3375.

JUNE 2016

Dying Matters week... We supported Dying Matters Awareness Week, which ran from 9 -15 May. The aim of the week was to highlight the importance of talking about dying, death and bereavement. It encouraged people to discuss their wishes with their loved ones about issues such as; power of attorney, their will and signing up to become an organ donor.

To encourage people to talk about the subject, we created a ‘before I die board’ and asked patients, staff and visitors to add their message to a cloud on the board. Thanks to everyone who took part!

Complementary therapies Did you know Reiki can reduce stress and promote restful sleep? We can now offer complementary therapy appointments to staff for treatments including Reiki, aromatherapy and massage. To secure your appointment, simply fill in a referral form available from Complementary Therapist, Martina. Please note: approval from your Line Manager is required.

Business mileage With effect from 1 June 2016 all claims for business mileage will be paid at 40p per mile, an increase of 14% on the previous 35p per mile.

Staff Fundraisers

! w Wo Our staff really are incredible, so many of you have committed to completing a fundraising challenge on behalf of the Hospice. Take a peek below at who’s doing what... Rachel Curran completed the Leeds half Marathon congratulations! Julie Tuke and Ruth Roche completed the Cyclothon well done! Julie Bullen, is completing a bike ride with a difference Lindsey Moulding, Jo Schofield, Trish Daniels and Tracy Carr are set to take on the Bubble Fun Run

We’ve had a special delivery!

Interior Goods Direct Limited has kindly sent us some beautiful hand crafted syringe driver bags, to help our patients conceal their medical equipment. These have been hand stitched by their staff, in their own spare time, using material donated by the company thank you! Above is a picture of our nurses modelling the fun and funky designs!

Congratulations Jill! A huge well done to Jill for passing her level 3 award in Healthier Food and Special Diets for Hospice Caterers with flying colours! Here’s a snap of her with her certificate.

Amanda Darley, Emma Bridge, Trish Daniels and Laura Bennett have pledged to complete the Great North Run June Gill and Elaine Murthick are doing the Kerala Trek Tracey Mearns is running the Sheffield 10km Katharine Widdowson is running the Leeds 10km Alice Coggan is doing the Tough Mudder challenge

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