Chief Executive’s comment

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Chief Executive’s comments

It was a pleasure to visit Arthur Rank Hospice Charity recently and meet with Sharon Allen OBE, Chief Executive, who has recently joined our Cambridge & South Cambs Chamber committee. Sharon took me on a tour of the hospice and explained the care and support they provide in caring for people living in Cambridgeshire with an advanced serious illness or a life-limited condition, and those in need of end-of-life care.

Their challenge is to raise the funds to keep the hospice running; one way they do this is through their Education & Conference Centre. They offer fully accessible meeting room facilities with flexible space for 90 people theatre style, 60 cabaret or 30 boardroom style. The conference room divides into three sound-proofed meeting or break-out spaces customised to suit your requirements with audio visual facilities and WiFi with in-house hospitality provided. To utilise this space, email venuehire@arhc.org.uk or telephone 01223 675780. Currently, they are running a campaign to sponsor a nurse. Without their nurses they cannot provide the care that patients in the community really need. Due to an ageing population there will be greater demand for hospice services in the future. Over the last year they have cared for 1,203 people living with cancer and supported 237 people with neurological conditions and 432 others with chronic disease such as heart disease. The complexity of patients needs is increasing and adding to the growing need for appropriate skills diversity within their nursing teams. If you can sponsor a nurse, please visit arhc.org.uk/nurses • A gift of £5 a month would contribute to the cost of a nurse’s shift • A gift of £7 a month could fund pain relieving medicine for one patient, carefully dispensed by a trained nurse • A gift of £9 a month over a year could fund travel costs so nurses can be with 10 patients in their own homes, in the final days of life • A gift of £11 a month over a year could help recruit a new nurse, with essential checks and uniform.

I would like to personally congratulate YKTO who are regional winners for the Problem Solver Award in the annual Chamber Awards. This award is for a business that has transformed the market that they operate in, or their product or service, in order to gain a strong position in their market. YTKO is currently delivering the Growth Coaching service, part of the Growth Works programme. Their effective and innovative approach has successfully developed the region’s Growth Coaching market. The Chamber Business Awards is one of the showpiece events in the business calendar, recognising and promoting the best of British business through a series of regional heats, culminating in a campaign to showcase our winning businesses on an international stage. National winners were announced on Thursday 13 October. Finally, we have had some new additions to the Chamber team and Board. I would like to welcome Mariana Garcia who has joined us as Policy & Partnerships Executive. She will be attending Chamber events and committee meetings to meet our members so she can support and update them on policy related matters locally and nationally. On the Board we welcome Steve Dighton, Andrew Silley and Mike Greene. Steve is Chair our Construction & Property Sector group, Andrew is Chair of our Fenland Chamber and Mike is Chair of our Peterborough & Stamford Chamber. I am delighted to see such great people giving up their time to help the Chambers become even stronger and more relevant to our businesses across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Stamford.

VIC ANNELLS Chief Executive

Chamber Patron Members