Marie Curie People September 2014

People Marie Curie

Marie Curie Cancer Care’s newspaper for staff and volunteers

SEPTEMBER 2013

KEEP ON WALKING

CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS

THE DAFFODIL PROJECT

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Scenic strolls set to raise thousands of pounds for charity

How Cardiff’s Research Centre is improving the patient experience

Helping school children understand terminal illness

PROGRESS ON NEW GP PARTNERSHIP New appointments for three-year project will support training for GPs in providing end-of-life care Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Royal College of GPs are planning to offer GPs tools and training in end-of-life care as part of their three-year partnership.

While plans are at an early stage, the two organisations want to give GPs practical help and support to improve the care on offer to terminally ill and dying patients.

The partnership has appointed Dr Peter Nightingale, a GP from Lancaster, as clinical lead for the project. Working with him will be Dr Adam Firth, a GP from Manchester. They will be championing training for GPs and helping Clinical Commissioning Groups to commission effective end-of-life care.

IMPORTANT ROLE Peter said: “GPs have an important role in end-of-life care and a great opportunity to use their new power and influence to commission services which better meet the needs of patients and are more efficient for the NHS. “We know that the predicted death rate is going to rise and there won’t be enough specialist palliative care teams to cope.

Patients will be in their 80s and 90s, with a lot of co-morbidities. More people are likely to die in the community, under the care of GPs. We need to plan for this.

“The King’s Fund has provided us with advice on what GPs should be commissioning to ensure patients get good end-of-life care. There is a need for services to support patients through rapid hospital discharge;

GPs are still the people patients want to talk to about advance care planning and other difficult topics DR PETER NIGHTINGALE

The Royal College of GPs This is the professional membership body for family doctors in the UK. It was founded in 1952, and has 46,000 members, making it the largest of the Medical Royal Colleges.

It represents and supports GPs on issues including licensing, education, training, research and clinical standards.

rapid-response palliative community services to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions; properly coordinated care, ideally using electronic palliative care coordination systems; and a 24/7 palliative care service for patients at home.

“GPs are still the people patients want to talk to about advance care planning and other difficult topics. We have an important role in making sure the right drugs are available at the right time. We need to provide proactive care rather than reactive care – making sure the right things are in place in advance, rather than reacting as problems crop up.

“I am delighted to be working in this new role – Marie Curie and the Royal College of GPs are a really powerful partnership. I’m also excited by the prospect of Marie Curie broadening its horizons. We want to take the lessons that we have learned from cancer care and apply them to help people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart failure and other terminal illnesses.”

STEERING GROUP The two organisations are setting up an expert steering group, which will involve key organisations in the field, including the National Council for Palliative Care, Macmillan Cancer Support and Help the Hospices. They are also planning joint

STAR-STUDDED EVENT: Hugh Grant meets Marie Curie Nurses (from left) Catherine Le Roy, Penny Stevenson, Sally Osborn and Meg Scoble

STARS SHINE AT MIDSUMMER PARTY Royalty, celebrities and patrons of the arts turned out in style at the Masterpiece Midsummer Party in aid of Marie Curie. Hosted by Marie Curie Ambassador Heather Kerzner, the glittering event at The Royal Hospital Chelsea raised an incredible £840,000. SEE PAGE 3

roadshows to promote end-of-life care and looking at a range of tools with the potential to help GPs to improve the care they provide.

Marie Curie’s Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Imelda Redmond, who is leading the project, said: “These appointments will move this initiative forward rapidly. GPs play a vital role in end-of-life care and if we want more patients to die in their place of choice, we need to be sure that general practice is supporting them to do so.

“We are particularly keen to improve training for out-of-hours GPs, who face a number of real challenges. These GPs are usually called out at short notice, which means they might not know their patients

well. It’s also often difficult to access the right medication at night.”

The project was set up following the VOICES survey of bereaved people across England.

This reported that pain relief was provided “completely, all the time” most frequently for patients in hospices and least frequently for patients at home1.

“There is a gap between people’s desire and what can actually be achieved at the moment,” said Imelda.

“This partnership is about closing that gap.”

Marie Curie Cancer Care’s own user survey (2012) suggests that a high percentage of patients rate the relief of pain provided by the Marie Curie Nursing Service as very good (67%) or good (24%).

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News

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THINGS YOU CAN DO THIS MONTH

1. REFRESH YOUR AUTUMN WARDROBE – STARTING FROM £3 As the leaves start to fall and the nights draw in, get ready for autumn with some great deals on wardrobe essentials. Perhaps you need some new boots. Maybe a pair of trousers. Or what about a lovely, warm fleece? In your local Marie Curie shop, autumn wear starts from just £3. So pop along this month, and know that you’ll be helping us provide hands-on care and emotional support to people with terminal illnesses in your local area. But if you’ve already got all you need to stay toasty this autumn, how about getting ahead of the festive frenzy and buying your Christmas cards now? There’s an array of beautiful, festive designs available to buy from the Marie Curie online shop. You’ll be sure to find the perfect card and all profits go to supporting the work our nurses and hospices do. Just visit: shop.mariecurie.org.uk 2. SIGN UP NOW TO WALK TEN THIS MONTH Pack your picnic basket, round up your friends and family, and sign up to Walk Ten. Our final three events in Cheshire’s Tatton Park, Northamptonshire’s Althorp House and Omagh’s Ulster American Folk Park, take place on 7 September – so don’t miss out on the opportunity to see your local area in a whole new light. And remember – all the money you raise will help support the vital work of your local Marie Curie Nurses. Sign up today at mariecurie.org.uk/walkten or by calling 0845 052 4184.

3. PLAY BINGO FOR MARIE CURIE NURSES Fancy a flutter? Support our wonderful nurses by playing bingo, the lottery and raffles online – and you could be one of our lucky winners. Bingo is a fun, new way to support Marie Curie and there are great prizes on offer too. Find out more and join in at ticketyboo.com 4. MAKE SURE YOU’RE WORD PERFECT Did you know we have a writing style guide here at Marie Curie? This is a mine of information about everything from common mistakes to terms that relate specifically to our charity. And it’ll help you make sure your writing is as consistent as it is onbrand. To get your copy of our handy style guide, visit our intranet and head to the Communications section of the Document Libraries.

5. SIGN UP TO TREK THE MIGHTY HIMALAYAS With their snow-capped peaks and sun-drenched slopes, the Himalayas are a whole other world.

And now’s your chance to explore them on the Marie Curie Nepal Himalayas trek. As you work or volunteer for our charity, we wanted you to be the first to hear about this rare opportunity to get away from the everyday and experience something extraordinary. To sign up or learn about our full range of overseas challenges, call 0845 052 4184 or head to mariecurie.org.uk/overseas

People Marie Curie

Marie Curie People is the charity’s official newspaper for staff and volunteers. It is published monthly.

CHILDCARE VOUCHERS SCHEME UNDER WAY Marie Curie has introduced a new scheme that enables employees to make significant savings on childcare vouchers.

It enables parents and guardians who are employees of the charity to give up part of their salary in exchange for childcare vouchers. They pay no tax on the part of the salary that they give up.

The scheme is open to employees who are working parents or guardians, provided that the childcare voucher value selected does not reduce their pay to below the National Minimum Wage or Lower Earnings Limit.

A parent or guardian is someone who maintains a child or stepchild (wholly or partly) at their expense or who has parental responsibility for a child who resides with them.

Grandparents, unless legal guardians, are not eligible to receive childcare vouchers.

introduce this new scheme, which will benefit the many working parents at Marie Curie. It’s also important for the charity that good reliable childcare is accessible to our employees.”

Business Partner HR Services Ceri Evans said: “We are pleased to be working with Allsave, which offered the best childcare voucher scheme for the charity.

“The vouchers are not just for nursery care – they can be used to pay for other forms of childcare, including after-school clubs and summer camps. So parents can save up throughout the year and use them to cover a period of concentrated expense.

You may use as many childcare providers as you like, as long as you advise Allsave of their details.

BENEFITS: The new childcare voucher scheme is open to Marie Curie employees who are parents or guardians

ACCESSIBILITY “The scheme is accessible to people who do everything online and to people who don’t – there are options to get the vouchers ranging from virtual accounts to postal accounts.

Technology shouldn’t be an impediment for anyone.”

Employees taking advantage of the scheme need to sign a contract to receive tax and National Insurance free childcare vouchers, which usually lasts for at least a year.

Within the contract period, they may only withdraw from the scheme if they experience a life-changing event in their family.

SCHEME SELECTION The charity has selected the childcare voucher scheme provided by Allsave (visit allsaveuk.com). Vouchers can be used for payment of registered childcare for a child until the first September following the child’s 15th birthday (or 16th birthday if disabled).

Director of Services Caroline Hamblett said: “We are delighted to

FOR MORE INFORMATION • Visit the documents library of the Marie Curie intranet • Visit allsaveuk.com • Phone Allsave on 01253 339100 •S peak to your manager if you are not online

Feedback from patients in care survey is highly positive Almost all patients and relatives cared “The survey is just one part of a much for by Marie Curie rated the services bigger piece of work on patient and they received as good or very good in carer feedback, that will further tease the charity’s annual user survey. out and deepen our understanding of A total of 612 patients or relatives their experiences. Because people are so cared for by the Marie Curie Nursing positive, it’s difficult to identify Service and the Marie Curie actions from the ratings that we Hospice services took part, receive. The qualitative data – with 99% of respondents what they’ve actually said – Percentage of giving the charity a positive has now been analysed and patients and relatives that’s where we will identify rating. In total, the survey rating Marie Curie reached 18% more people where there are things we than last year. can improve on.” good or very good.

Marie Curie’s Assistant The survey was carried Director of Caring and Patient out entirely by volunteer Engagement, Gerry Mahaffey, said: interviewers. Volunteers from the “It’s very much a snapshot of services Zurich Community Trust telephoned over a two-week period. It gives us an Marie Curie Nursing Service and hospice indication of patient satisfaction, but not outpatients, day therapy patients and detail of exactly what’s happening. community patients over three nights.

Editor: Nick Moulton Writers: Clair Whitefield, Lara Jennings, Angela Burton, Ana Malinovic Designers: Artful Dog Publishing and Marie Curie Creative Services Repro by: Selsey Press

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Printed by: Mortons Managed & distributed by: CDL Circulation: 6,500 Marie Curie People is now available online: issuu.com/mcccp/docs/marie_curie_sept

“The involvement of volunteers who work for Zurich means we get very experienced telephone interviewers. Some of them had been involved in previous years, and we also had some new recruits.

Jackie Booth, Head of Service Design (East, London & South), delivered an excellent training session for them.”

Hospice in-patients were interviewed by members of the hospices’ regular volunteer teams. “We asked people about pain relief and the emotional and spiritual support they were receiving,” Gerry said. “The topline figures are very good in all areas, but there is no room for complacency as we can always do better.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION The survey results will be published online at the end of September

MARIE CURIE PEOPLE NEEDS YOUR NEWS. Send stories to Editor Nick Moulton, Creative Services, Marie Curie Cancer Care, 89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TP. Email nick.moulton@mariecurie.org.uk or phone me on 020 7599 7706 and I’ll draft a story from your call.

September 2013 People 3

Celebrities

Made In Chelsea stars Mark-Francis Vandelli and Victoria Baker-Harber, with Gift Library founder Caroline Stanbury

Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes with partner Nefer Suvio

Property tycoon Scot Young and girlfriend Noelle Reno

MADE IN MIDSUMMER PR guru Matthew Freud with Marie Curie Ambassador and event host Heather Kerzner

TV presenter and actress Donna Air

Former England footballer Sol Campbell and wife Fiona Barratt

The Masterpiece Midsummer Party in July held in aid of Marie Curie, raised an amazing £840,000.

Marie Curie Ambassador Heather Kerzner hosted the evening as part of the Masterpiece London fair held at The Royal Hospital Chelsea. Royalty and some of the nation’s most glamorous celebrities attended the star-studded event. Well-known faces included Sarah Ferguson with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Ronnie Wood, Caprice, Donna Air and Marie Curie Ambassador Hugh Grant.

Marie Curie Nurses and volunteers were also in attendance, encouraging guests to bid and donate.

Funds were raised through a silent auction, a live auction, raffle ticket sales and pledges from guests.

Lucy Sargent, Marie Curie Head of Major Gifts and Special Events, said: “We want to thank everyone who donated so generously, and thank Masterpiece and our host Heather Kerzner for making the event a shining success.

The money raised will help to fund 42,000 hours of free nursing care for terminally ill people in their own homes.”

Princess Beatrice, Sarah Ferguson and Princess Eugenie

Model Caprice Bourret

Actress Tina Hobley with husband Oliver Wheeler

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, with wife Sally Wood

4 People September 2013

Policy CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S VIEW

Remaining fit for purpose I hope everyone has had the chance to enjoy what has been a really lovely summer. I have always felt September is the start of a new year and, given it is the start of my second year at Marie Curie, I feel that more than ever. So it is a good time to update you on what we are doing, looking forward not just for the next three years (the 2014/2017 strategic plan), but beyond that, too. We don’t have a crystal ball, but we know the likely trends and have certain expectations of ourselves as an organisation.

All organisations need to look forward to make sure we remain fit for purpose – and we are no exception. Our caring services will remain core to what we do – but can we help more people directly or indirectly?

Let me start with some facts around end of life.

As the baby boomer population ages, the number of people dying will increase. The success of cancer treatments means fewer people will die of cancer and more will die with a number of conditions, including the long-term effects of some cancer treatments. So by 2019, it is likely only 50% of the people we care for will have cancer.

As an organisation, we try to put patients and their families at the heart of what we do and we will continue to do this. Perhaps we have tended to be a bit paternalistic, like many organisations, in the past and assumed we are the experts. But as we listen more, the good news is that much of what we do in terms of direct care is exactly what people want.

But they are also saying they have other needs, such as help navigating their way through all the different sources of information and support. Should or could we help with this? It could benefit far more people than those we directly care for. Ultimately we are about helping people have a “good end of life” so what does that mean for how we make a real difference over the next five to 10 years?

The purpose of the 14/17 strategic plan is to start preparing for our future journey. Our direction of travel was set by Council (Trustees) in November.

Your input is shaping our plans, as are those of patients and carers and the partners we work with.

Council heard your feedback in July and we divided the topics into 11 work streams, with draft costs, to look at in more detail and to take back to them to discuss in September. Thanks to everyone involved in the working groups.

The Executive Directors are looking at these proposals over the next few weeks and will start to suggest priorities. The ideas will be scored against direct or indirect impact on patients and carers among a number of measures and presented to Council in September. Council will not be deciding anything at that meeting as more detailed work will be needed for decisions, but we hope they will approve the direction of travel.

One crucial building block is the fundraising strategy agreed last year, aiming to raise an extra £10 million a year. That ambition from our fundraising colleagues is mirrored by our ambition for how best to use the money to help people achieve a good end of life. Council will also be hearing from the brand agency who are looking at whether being defined as a cancer charity is fit for the future. I will update you regularly.

Dr Jane Collins Chief Executive

NEW QUALITY REPORT SETS OUT CARE PRIORITIES Marie Curie has published its Quality Account report for 2012-13.

The statutory document is required by the Department of Health and takes account of the quality of care provided by the charity. It describes the quality priorities that Marie Curie will be focusing on in 2013/14 and provides information on the quality improvements it made during 2012/13.

Assistant Director of Quality Assurance Ruth Liley said: “This year’s Quality Account is much more comprehensive than ever before. We’ve also set ourselves challenging targets for next year, including how we will record and report information. We have already started work on next year’s report to make sure that it is as comprehensive and informative as possible. We anticipate changes to the format next year, as NHS England has indicated that it wants reports to be easily compared by the public.”

SETTING TARGETS: Ruth Liley

FOR MORE INFORMATION Read the Quality Account online at mariecurie.org.uk/qualityaccount. The report is also published on the NHS Choices website for patients and families to see.

Sentinel now used to report incidents charity-wide All departments of Marie Curie are now using the Sentinel database to report and record incidents, complaints and near-misses.

Previously, the database was used primarily across the charity’s caring services, where 1,054 incidents and 45 complaints were logged in the first quarter of the financial year.

Assistant Director of Quality Assurance Ruth Liley said: “We are a big organisation, and having a high number of incidents recorded indicates that we have a good reporting culture which enables us to learn and improve.

“Analysing the type of incidents helps to inform us where work to improve things is required. For example, we

know that patient falls is a consistent theme for the hospices.

“Because we care for many people who are frail, we will never eliminate falls completely, but we should be putting measures in place to reduce the likelihood of a fall occurring. Measures such as a low-rise bed should reduce the impact if a fall does occur.”

Liverpool Care Pathway to be phased out in line with review Marie Curie will withdraw the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP) over the next six to 12 months, in line with the recommendations of the Department of Health’s independent review of the pathway.

Medical Director Dr Bill Noble confirmed that use of the LCP would be phased out at the charity’s hospices and by the Marie Curie Nursing Service.

Bill said: “As the report says, when it is operated by well-trained clinical teams, the LCP works well. Our staff will be supported to use it during the withdrawal period while we develop the end-of-life care plans that are intended to be part of improving the standard of palliative care throughout the health service.

“While we acknowledge that the LCP, when used properly, has helped thousands of patients have a dignified death, we accept that there are too many

instances of bad end-of-life care in hospital settings. In my experience as a palliative care physician, the best endof-life care happens when it is tailored to the individual patient.”

The government’s review found that, in the right hands and when operated by well-trained, well-resourced and sensitive clinical teams, the LCP does help patients have a dignified and pain-free death. But its findings also included cases of poor practice, and poor quality care of the individual, with families and carers not being properly engaged in the patient’s care.

Because of these failings in its use, the review recommended that the LCP should be phased out.

The report also makes a further 43 recommendations, including the introduction of personalised end-of-life care plans and availability of specialist palliative care around the clock.

HIGH STANDARDS: Dr Bill Noble believes the best end-of-life care is tailored to the patient

FOR MORE INFORMATION Read the report online at www.gov.uk/government/publications/ review-of-liverpool-care-pathway-fordying-patients

September 2013 People 5

News

Yellow jersey for Marie Curie as Tour comes to the UK Marie Curie has been named as the official world and being associated with such charity partner for the Tour de France a prestigious, well-respected event Grand Départ 2014 in the UK. is fantastic.

The Tour de France, the biggest annual “We look forward to working in sporting event in the world, has been partnership with the Tour de France brought to the UK by the tourism agency organisers, as well as the many Welcome to Yorkshire. organisations who will help bring this The first two stages of the Grand Départ global sporting event to the UK. The vital will run through Yorkshire with stage one funds it will raise will enable us to provide travelling from Leeds to Harrogate and free care to people with terminal illnesses stage two from York to Sheffield. in their own homes and in our The final stage will run from nine hospices.”

Cambridge to London, Tour de France Director where it will finish in one Christian Prudhomme said: Total distance of the of London’s most iconic “It is an honour for Le Tour three stages of the locations, The Mall. to partner with Marie Curie Grand Départ, from This is the first time a as the official charity of the Leeds to London. charity has been selected 2014 Tour de France Grand to be the official partner of Départ. We hope we can help the Grand Départ of the Tour de them raise vital additional funds France. The 2014 race begins on 5 and to continue the amazing work of their 6 July in Yorkshire, before heading nurses and hospices.” south on 7 July when it will then move Cheryl Barrett, Project Manager of the on to France.

Tour de France Grand Départ Partnership, Marie Curie Chief Executive Dr Jane said: “There’s been a huge level of interest Collins said: “This is a great honour from supporters already; we’re developing for Marie Curie. The Tour de France is a fundraising strategy and will release the most famous cycling race in the details soon.”

560km

THE WHEEL DEAL: Launching the official partnership are (front, left to right) Marie Curie Nurse Louise Bryan, Bernard Hinault, Tour de France Ambassador and five times winner of the Tour de France and Marie Curie Nurse Carol Call; (back, from left) Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme and Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire Gary Verity

New report calls for improved care for BAME groups The end-of-life care needs of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities are varied, growing and overall not adequately met, according to a new report.

The study, Palliative and End of Life Care for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups in the UK, was commissioned by Marie Curie Cancer Care and Public Health England from the Cicely Saunders Institute at King’s College London.

This systematic review identified a lack of knowledge about services; misunderstandings and mistrust (due to previous experiences of discrimination); and service providers’ lack of cultural sensitivity as some of the reasons for low uptake of end-of-life care by BAME communities. The report states these issues can in part be addressed by improving communication with patients and families.

While the report acknowledges that better training is needed for health and social care professionals to enable them to provide appropriate care to BAME groups, it also notes the importance of avoiding assumptions and stereotypes and listening to patients and their families about their preferences at the end of life.

Report author Dr Jonathan Koffman,

The challenge for us all now is how we ensure that end-of-life care is appropriate and accessible for all DR IAN GITTENS

>1.3m

By 2026 there will be over 1.3 million people from BAME groups aged 65 and over.

from King’s College London, said: “Our study highlights some of the issues people from BAME groups and their families face during advanced disease and at the end of life that prevent them from accessing vital services which can significantly improve the quality of their lives.

“Service providers should take into account the issues raised by this report and review how well their palliative care services are meeting the needs of the community.”

In England and Wales, it is predicted that by 2026 there will be more than 1.3 million people from BAME groups aged 65 and over, compared with just over half a million in 2001. By 2026, almost half a million will be aged 70 and over.

Dr Ian Gittens, Marie Curie’s Diversity Project Manager, said: “With progress now being made in ensuring access to care is not influenced only by a person’s clinical diagnosis, we need to recognise that ethnic, cultural and other differences can impact on all aspects of health and the uptake of healthcare.

“The challenge for us all now is how we ensure that end-of-life care is appropriate and accessible for everyone.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION The report, Palliative and End of Life Care for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Groups in the UK: Demographic Profile and the Current State of Palliative and End of Life Care Provision is available from mariecurie.org.uk/diversity

Redesigning end-of-life care in the Lothians A programme to review and improve care for patients and families with palliative and end–oflife care needs across Edinburgh and the Lothians is under way.

The Lothian palliative care redesign programme is being managed by Marie Curie Cancer Care in partnership with NHS Lothian and other local partners.

The aim of the two-year programme is to examine challenges in delivering effective palliative and end-of-life care before improving existing services and implementing new services to address the needs of the local community.

Dawn Tame-Battell, Assistant Director of Patient Services and Programme Sponsor for Marie Curie, said: “By working in close partnership with NHS Lothian and other local care providers, we will be able to examine existing care services and needs, before designing, piloting and evaluating new service improvements. Using this approach, we can focus on localised and sustainable solutions that address issues and barriers across the entire system of service delivery.”

In previous redesign exercises led by Marie Curie, services delivered as part of the programme include hospice day services; out-of-hours nursing and GP care; support for care home staff; fast track discharge to help more patients have a home death; Helper services; care coordination providing a single point of access for organising integrated health and social care services and packages of care.

The overall aim of the programme is to progress the community-based model of end-of-life care currently in place across Lothian – maximising the time spent in people’s preferred place of care, minimising avoidable emergency admissions and supporting choice of place of death where possible.

6 People September 2013

Research

SPIRITUAL BELIEFS ARE NOT LINKED TO DEPRESSION, NEW RESEARCH SAYS Terminally ill patients’ levels of religious and spiritual belief do not affect their levels of anxiety or depression, and their level of spiritual belief increases slightly as death approaches. These are the findings of a new paper1 from the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit at UCL. The researchers interviewed a total of 170 terminally ill patients – almost all with cancer – and asked the patients a set of standard questions about their spiritual beliefs and values.

Dr Louise Jones said: “We used a scale that we developed at the Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead, which measures spiritual belief. It doesn’t matter what people believe in – it’s designed to cover all kinds of belief – and it’s more about patients’ core beliefs than religious practice.”

The researchers also used a standard questionnaire to measure the patients’ levels of anxiety and depression, and looked at their medication for pain control, anxiety and depression.

The patients were interviewed three times – at the point they became involved in the study, and then three and 10 weeks later.

“We found that spiritual belief was unrelated to patients’ levels of anxiety and depression and their need for

“We think that they are not the same thing. If you have a strong sense of wellbeing, then your scores for anxiety and depression are good. But they don’t bear any relationship to your spirituality score.

“So spiritual care is not just about the psychological welfare of the patient. It’s about something else, and if someone has spiritual welfare needs, we need to think beyond anxiety and depression. It’s about some other existential dimension, and strong spiritual belief may make people more reflective. That might not calm you down – it could make you question things.”

The study was funded by Marie Curie and Cancer Research UK. Researchers worked with 170 patients living at home in North London who accessed specialist palliative care services, 97% of whom had cancer.

RESEARCHING BELIEF: Dr Louise Jones

psychotropic (anti-anxiety) drugs. There was a trend for belief to go up as death got nearer, and this approaches statistical significance,” Louise said.

The finding that spiritual belief is not linked to psychological wellbeing has important implications for both spiritual and psychological care.

“A lot of people talk about spiritual belief as being the same as or similar to wellbeing,” Louise said.

The research unit at UCL also recently carried out a Cochrane Review on spirituality and religious interventions for adults approaching the end of life.

Reviewers identified five randomised controlled trials in the field. They concluded that such interventions are under-evaluated, and noted that the paucity of quality research indicates a need for more rigorous studies.

Cochrane Reviews bring together all the research evidence on a particular topic and evaluate it for its quality and reliability.

Where appropriate, researchers may combine evidence from multiple studies to draw more reliable conclusions.

many researchers and funding bodies to achieve its ultimate goal of finding better ways of caring for patients and treating symptoms.

We want to make sure we keep track of the difference our funding makes and we look forward to being able to tell you some success stories in the future.

“The advantage of Researchfish is that a lot of other charities use it and universities are also asking their staff to fill out these forms. Therefore, it will not require too much effort on our researchers’ part to keep us informed of their results.”

In an agreement negotiated with the Association of Medical Research Charities, the Medical Research Council, which developed the system, will pay any charges for the initial three years.

REFERENCE: King M, Jones L, Barnes K, Low J, Walker C, Wilkinson S, Mason C, Sutherland J, Tookman A. Measuring spiritual belief: development and standardization of a Beliefs and Values Scale. Psychol Med. 2006 Mar;36(3):417-25. Epub 2005 Nov 17.

Michael King, Henry Llewellyn, Baptiste Leurent, Faye Owen, Gerard Leavey, Adrian Tookman and Louise Jones. Spiritual beliefs near the end of life: a prospective cohort study of people with cancer receiving palliative care. Psychooncology. 2013 Jun 17. doi: 10.1002/pon.3313.

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New look and feel for annual reports

Marie Curie signs up to Researchfish Marie Curie Cancer Care has signed up to Researchfish – a system which measures the impact of research studies by linking research publications and other outputs of research to their original funding.

Researchfish will enable the charity to keep track of the long-term impact of its research investment, not just in terms of academic publications, but how our research has influenced policy and practice in the UK and beyond.

Head of Research Sabine Best said: “As well as logging any publications arising from their original work, Researchfish will help us to identify new results, follow-on studies funded by other organisations, and changes in policy or practice that the research funding contributed to.

“Research is a long-term investment and often requires joint efforts from

The Beliefs and Values Scale was developed by Marie Curie researchers with people receiving palliative care and also people in the community who were not sick, to obtain a validated and reliable measure of spiritual belief, irrespective of religious belief. People are asked to rate (1-5) how strongly they agreed with 20 statements, including the following: l I believe I have a spirit or soul that can survive my death. l I believe in a personal God. l I believe meditation has value. l Although I cannot always understand, I believe everything happens for a reason. l I am a religious person. l At least once in my life, I have had an intense spiritual experience. l I believe that there is a heaven. l I believe the human spirit is immortal. l I believe prayer has value.

COCHRANE REVIEW

We found that spiritual belief was unrelated to patients’ levels of anxiety and depression and their need for psychotropic (anti-anxiety) drugs DR LOUISE JONES

The Beliefs and Values Scale

KEEPING TRACK: Sabine Best

Marie Curie’s Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13 and Impact Report 2013 are taking on a new style.

For the first year, these documents – available from early September – will be produced in different formats to better meet the needs of all the charity’s stakeholders.

The Annual Report and Accounts will be a business document in a concise professional format, while the Impact Report will showcase the charity’s achievements in print, audio and video.

Head of Creative Services Mark Whatham said: “We audited the use of the printed version of the Annual Report and Accounts and, as such, will be reducing the print run, which will save the charity money. It will still be available on our website and published online using the same platform as Marie Curie People.

“Using an online multimedia approach for the Impact Report means we can appeal to a much wider audience than if we used a traditional booklet. People will be able to interact with it via social media, and having a media-rich report that’s shareable online will be a great promotional tool for the charity. Files will also be available to download and there will be a printed summary.”

September 2013 People 7

News

Volunteers are getting younger People applying to volunteer for Marie Curie are younger than many colleagues realise – and the average age of volunteers has gone down significantly in recent years.

Volunteering Development Manager Wendy Halley looked at the age profile of applicants to become volunteers over the past two years. She found that 62% of applicants are under 45, and 51% are under 35. Just 11% were over 65.

“There has been a massive shift in the last two years in terms of who is volunteering,” she said. “It’s a change in the sector, and it’s a change for the charity.”

The change is important, Wendy says, because different age profiles tend to have different expectations of volunteering.

“Younger people are more likely to be interested in developing skills for their CVs, so typically short-term project work and office work is more valued by them. We’re seeing that people who don’t necessarily have a close affinity with the charity can contribute a great deal.

“Even the term volunteering can be an issue with the younger age group.

‘Get involved’ better reflects the kind of involvement that they are looking for.”

One of the aims of the charity’s new

Volunteer breakdown

62%

51%

11%

are under 45

are under 35

are over 65

A diversity of experience has benefits for our teams.

Young people like working with older people and vice-versa WENDY HALLEY

volunteering web pages is to show the full range of volunteering opportunities to potential volunteers.

The charity is continuing to attract the same number of older volunteers – and continues to value their contribution.

“A diversity of experience has benefits for our teams. Young people like working with older people and viceversa,” Wendy said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on volunteering, please visit mariecurie.org.uk/volunteer

YOUTHFUL CONTRIBUTIONS (left to right): Bryony Potter (21), Ellie Wharton (21) and Kanyin Sanusi (24) – all volunteers taking part in Marie Curie’s internship programme. Bryony and Ellie are involved with service development in Liverpool, while Kanyin is gaining experience in marketing in London.

Internships are open to people of all ages, but are particularly popular with students, graduates and people changing careers.

New family suite in Newcastle offers ‘home from home’ feeling A new family suite at the Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle is the first of its kind in the north-east. The Lindisfarne suite is a purpose-designed, self-contained area including a bedroom, en-suite bathroom, living area, kitchenette and garden. It allows one family to spend vital time together when someone is seriously ill.

Director of Nursing Dee Sissons officially opened the suite at an event attended by hospice staff, volunteers, patients, relatives and local supporters.

Hospice Manager Helen Forrow said:

PRIVACY: Families are able to spend vital time together

“We regularly have young families at the hospice and although we have facilities for relatives to stay in the same room as a loved one, it can be difficult to accommodate a number of people wanting to stay with one patient.

“We developed the idea of a suite of rooms which were designed to cater for a family unit and offer them space, privacy and a ‘home from home’ feeling – something we know is very important to families when a loved one is ill.

The Lindisfarne suite will help families maintain a sense of normality and allow us to provide a private, peaceful place suitable for a family to spend time together.”

The family of local sports fanatic Richard Holmes, who died at the hospice recently, were the first to benefit from the new facility.

His mum Linda, a secondary school teacher, talked about how the new suite helped her family: “I was able to lie with

Marie Curie Cancer Care responds to latest survey on bereavement Marie Curie Cancer Care has welcomed the publication of the second National Bereavement Survey (VOICES) – and called for improvements to end-of-life care in all settings.

In the survey, bereaved relatives reported that people who died were much more likely to be ‘always’ treated with respect and dignity in hospices (84% for doctors and 82% for nurses), compared with hospitals, which scored 59% for doctors and 52% for nurses.

Head of Policy Dr Phil McCarvill (right) said: “We only have one opportunity to get end-of-life care right. We should be providing a dignified and respectful death, regardless of setting, location or diagnosis. Services need to learn from this survey, otherwise they risk letting people down at a crucial time and leaving behind memories of loved ones being treated with little dignity or respect.

“The survey reinforces what families have been telling us directly - that their loved ones’ care is affected by where they are cared for and what sort of terminal condition they have and that they do not always get the care they need, or deserve, at the end of their life. For example, it shows that bereaved relatives report those with cancer experienced better care than other terminally ill people.

“Marie Curie’s experience providing home nursing and hospice care as well as our palliative care research has shown us what good end-of-life care looks like for people with all terminal illnesses.

It’s vital we learn from and share good practice from those hospitals, care homes, hospices and care-at-home settings who are getting it right.”

A greater focus on care

HOME FROM HOME: The new suite will create a sense of normality

Richie for four hours before he passed away. The suite gave the whole family the room to be together and to actually be physically close to Richie.

It will be absolutely wonderful for other families to stay there.”

The name Lindisfarne was voted for by staff, patients, relatives and volunteers at the hospice and was inspired by Lindisfarne Castle, a 16th-century castle located on Holy Island.

Dr Phil McCarvill called for continued improvements in care across all settings, including: l more investment in quality palliative care l more training and support for those providing end-of-life care in hospitals l greater focus on quality care for all conditions, noting the difference of experience between those with cancer and other conditions l NHS England continuing to undertake the annual VOICES survey and using the results to drive up standards across all end-of-life care. This should be incorporated into the NHS Outcomes Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

8 People September 2013

News NEWS IN BRIEF TRY HARDS Some 13 rugby teams took part in the Interdean Sevens Tournament, raising £6,500 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

A team from EDF Energy, one of the charity’s corporate partners, took part in the event organised by Interdean Relocation Services alongside a variety of corporate and social teams. The tournament was held at the London Wasps training ground in Acton.

ON THE BALL: The EDF Energy rugby team

FOOTBALL CLUB SUPPORT HOSPICE Cardiff City Football Club has donated £15,000 to the Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff and the Vale. The donation is part of the club’s Thanks a Million campaign.

The club’s owner, Vincent Tan, has pledged Cardiff City will give away £1 million every year to 50 Welsh charities, as long as he remains the majority controlling shareholder and the club remains in the Premier League.

FUNDRAISING TEAM HONOURED Marie Curie’s Kent Regional Fundraising Team has won the first Regional Team of the Quarter Award.

The Maidstone-based team was nominated by Leah Watkins, Head of Regional Fundraising London and the South East, for its members’ great work, including recruiting three Fundraising Groups in the first quarter and exceeding Great Daffodil Appeal income by £20,000.

SCOTCH UNDER THE HAMMER A rare bottle of Macallan whisky raised £4,400 for Marie Curie Cancer Care when it went under the hammer at the Masterpiece Midsummer Party in Chelsea. The Macallan Select Reserve 1948 was donated by distributor Maxxium UK. PEACOCK AWARD-WINNERS ANNOUNCED Congratulations to the winners of Marie Curie’s Peacock Awards: Aisyah Scott, Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead, was the Clinical Award winner, while Senior Healthcare Assistants Phyllis McKirdy and Nadine Archibald, both from Scotland, were joint winners of the Above and Beyond Award. Run for the first time this year, the Peacock Awards celebrate Marie Curie Nurses and the difference they make to patients, families and carers. Aisyah, Phyllis and Nadine will receive their awards and prizes at the charity’s AGM this month.

FIRST CIO FOCUSES ON THREE TOP PRIORITIES Marie Curie’s first Chief Information Officer, Charlie Hooper, is focusing on three top priorities during his first few months.

“The first is about protecting our data, particularly patient data,” he said. “We are a registered healthcare business and have to adhere to various rules about information. We have to make sure that we do that correctly.

“The second is to do with simplification.

Over the last few years, the charity’s systems have become quite complicated.

With the advent of my role, the charity is able to look at how we do things and to simplify where possible.

“The third is about getting the right information to our stakeholders – staff, volunteers, policy makers, patients and carers. We need to get the right messages through the right means to the right people.”

Next on Charlie’s agenda is a new project called Better Connected. This wideranging programme is the follow-up to the digital review. Better Connected’s multichannel vision and supporting strategy will enable Marie Curie to deliver its new 2014/17 strategy and beyond.

“The programme’s aim is to develop how we use our data and systems to achieve

CV: Charlie Hooper l Holds a degree in electronic

engineering l Has worked in information within

the public, financial services and retail sectors l Before joining Marie Curie, he led the Public Sector team in Deloitte’s Enterprise Risk Services Data Analytics practice

PROBLEM-SOLVER: Charlie Hooper

a single view of our audience that will inform communications and activity planning across all channels,” said Charlie.

Charlie, who started his career as an electronic engineer, joined the charity from Deloitte LLP, where he was a Director and led the Public Sector team in Deloitte’s Enterprise Risk Services Data Analytics practice.

Speakers pay tribute to Dr Tate Colleagues from across the field of palliative care paid tribute to Marie Curie’s retiring Medical Adviser, Dr Teresa Tate OBE, at an afternoon of lectures to celebrate her career.

Speakers included Dame Barbara Monroe, Chief Executive of St Christopher’s Hospice, who looked at the future of hospice care; Professor Rob George of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust who spoke about ethical issues in end-of-life care; Dr Fliss Murtagh of King’s College, who spoke about complexity and costs in palliative care; and Dr Martyn Partridge of Imperial College, who gave a chest physician’s take on palliative care.

Speakers also gave their perspectives on Teresa’s contribution to palliative medicine, and recalled their experiences of working with her.

ABSOLUTE COMMITMENT: Dr Teresa Tate OBE

Dame Barbara praised Teresa’s extensive work on committees across the field of palliative care: “Whenever anything important is happening in palliative care, Teresa will be there, keeping it as on-track as possible.”

Current and former Marie Curie colleagues commended Teresa’s contribution to the charity. Former Chief Executive Sir Tom Hughes-Hallett said: “Whenever I had a crisis, I always turned to you. You always listened fairly and gave good advice with total honesty – and honesty is not always comfortable.

“It is very rare that someone puts an organisation before themselves. Teresa does. She has absolute commitment to patients and to Marie Curie. She ensured we never made the popular decision – we made the right decision.

“She can be impatient for one thing only – better patient care. She refuses to accept any compromise on quality.”

Teresa paid tribute to the many colleagues she has worked with over the years. “I am thrilled to see you all,” she said. “Thank you for making it interesting, challenging and rewarding.

I see how amazing all the things the charity has been doing over the years have been. I am leaving a charity that is enthusiastically planning for the next three years. I wish you all well.”

He brings information skills from the public sector, financial services, the media, travel and retail to the charity.

While at Deloitte, he was involved in a project to help Marie Curie to improve its key performance indicators earlier this year.

Charlie welcomes the move from a consultancy to working full-time for one organisation.

“The biggest difference is that I can really get to focus on a few key things, rather than having multiple clients. It’s also about ownership – you own the problems. As a consultant, you’re trying to find a solution to clients’ problems. I wanted to make things change, own those problems and see them through to the end.”

OPENING DAY: Alec Barclay opens the new shop

New Marie Curie Shop opens up in Cleveleys Marie Curie has opened a brand new shop in Cleveleys, near Blackpool.

The new shop was opened by Marie Curie’s Head of Shops, Alec Barclay, and was inundated with bargain hunters and keen supporters of the charity on its first day of business.

Alec said: “We’re very proud of how this new shop looks and we hope that everyone in the area will enjoy shopping there.”

September 2013 People 9

News

Jeanne sails into the record books Marie Curie supporter Jeanne Socrates has completed her round-the-world voyage on 38ft yacht Nereida, breaking two world records.

Jeanne, 70, travelled more than 25,000 nautical miles to become the world’s oldest female solo non-stop unassisted circumnavigator. She is also the first female solo non-stop circumnavigator to start from North America.

She left Victoria Harbour, British Columbia, Canada, on 22 October 2012, and completed her voyage after 259 days alone at sea.

She said: “It was a big relief to get over the finish line. Things went wrong with something on the boat so often, I wondered whether I would manage to finish. From before I rounded Cape Horn, I was slowed down in light winds due to not being able to make full use of the main sail, because of a damaged mast track insert.

“Without doubt, having to climb the mast to sort out the wind instrumentation before Cape Horn was one of the most difficult bits and most of the way around I had little or no wind information.

I often had to pre-empt wind changes, which certainly made things more complicated.”

THIRD ATTEMPT A circumnavigation involves sailing through storms and challenging sea conditions. Solo sailors are always sleep-deprived, as they must keep watch for other ships and constantly monitor

I’d had the knock-down, on almost the same day in January. That was not a good feeling,” she said.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

RECORD-BREAKER: Jeanne Socrates completes her 259-day voyage

conditions, sleeping for short periods in between bursts of activity.

This was Jeanne’s third attempt at a non-stop, solo circumnavigation. In 2009, she set out from the Canaries, but encountered rigging problems which forced her to pull into Cape Town.

Her next non-stop attempt started in October 2010 and ended in January 2011, when Nereida was knocked onto her side west of Cape Horn, badly damaging the boat.

“On this trip, I found myself approaching exactly the same spot where

While she was on her own for more than eight months, Jeanne was never lonely.

When a failure of her IT system left her unable to send or receive emails, a group of radio hams stepped in to keep her in touch with the world.

“I was on the radio a lot of the time and writing my blog. I knew there were people out there reading it, and I knew there were many people looking out for me and hoping I would make it,” she said. “The radio guys were amazing – they took 1,000 emails for me. I even made contact with three English radio hams from the Pacific.

“I loved being in the Southern Ocean with the albatross, petrels and shearwaters. When the wind got really strong, there were more birds around – they got more uplift from the wind – so I had more company.”

Jeanne’s voyage

HIGH SEAS: Jeanne’s yacht, Nereida

Former teacher and lecturer Jeanne learned to sail 20 years ago. After retirement, she and her husband, George, sailed together for five years. George died of cancer in 2003 and Jeanne continued sailing solo.

She is raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care and asks readers of her blog to support the charity.

“I sent out a message to all of my group when I finished my circumnavigation,” she said. “I’ve just got notification that some guy has given $300. There is a lot of good feeling and a lot of helpful people out there.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION Read about Jeanne’s voyage at svnereida.com. Her JustGiving page is justgiving.com/jeannesocrates

Pension Automatic Enrolment – the latest Pensions Automatic Enrolment started for Marie Curie Cancer Care on 1 June 2013.

In September, in order to fulfil its legal duties, the charity will automatically enrol all eligible employees who have not opted into a qualifying pension scheme.

This means that, for the first time, many employees will see pension contributions on their payslips. Marie Curie has already written to all employees to let them know what is happening.

If you are an eligible employee, you will receive notification advising that you have been put into the Pension Plan and the communication will confirm: • the details of the Pension Plan that has been set up • how you can choose to opt out of the scheme if you want to, but highlighting that if you stay in the pension scheme you will build up your own pension for your retirement • the amounts being paid into the pension every month • the amount the government will also contribute through tax relief • how you can get further information about the Scottish Widows Pension Plan.

There are a lot of myths surrounding pensions and saving that can make people feel confused about what they need to do to fund their retirement. Some common pension myths are busted below.

PENSION MYTHS Myth 1 – It’s not worth saving into a pension.

FALSE. Most people can expect to get back more in retirement than they put in their pension. Most people saving in a workplace pension also benefit from contributions from their employer and the government in the form of tax relief.

Myth 2 – My house will be my pension pot.

BE CAREFUL. Property doesn’t allow you to spread your money across a range of different investments like a pension does, and doesn’t have the same tax advantages.

Myth 3 – My partner will be my pension pot or I will inherit money from my parents.

BE CAREFUL. Inheritances can be uncertain, so it is important to make individual pension provision. Increasing

numbers of people are surviving into their 90s and longer, so your parents may still be alive when you retire. You might also find yourself in a difficult situation where you find out that your partner’s pension is not as good as you thought it was.

Myth 4 – I can only pay in a small amount so it isn’t worth it.

FALSE. Your contribution to your workplace pension will be a percentage of your salary. You’re also likely to benefit from a contribution from your employer and tax relief1 from the government too. Even if you end up with a small overall pension pot, you might be able to take your pension as a cash lump sum as long as your pension savings are no more than a certain amount (currently £18,000).

Myth 5 – I’ll save when I get old or I’m too old to start saving.

FALSE. It is better to start early – usually, the younger you start to save, the bigger your pension will be, as your money has more time to grow. And unless your retirement is a few months away, there’s still time for you to build up some money.

Myth 6 – If my employer shuts down, I lose everything.

FALSE. There was a problem with people losing their pensions when their employer shut down in the past. But this is no longer the case. With most schemes, your pension is looked after by the pension provider, so if your employer goes bust, you won’t lose your pension pot.

Myth 7 – The State Pension will be enough.

BE CAREFUL. The State Pension is a foundation, but for many people, relying on this alone could mean a fall in income at retirement. Saving into a workplace pension means people will have more money to help continue enjoying the things they like when they retire.

Myth 8 – I will win the lottery before I retire.

PROBABLY NOT. Statistically, there is more chance of being struck by lightning than winning the lottery.

Tax relief means some of your money that would have gone to the government as income tax, goes into your workplace pension instead.

1

10 People September 2013

Fundraising

SUPPORTERS T OUT FOR WAL

Up and down the UK, people have been stretching their legs, taking i money for Marie Curie Cancer Care as part of our annual Walk Ten f

HAND IN HAND: The Thaker family enjoying their second Walk Ten at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire

A record number of Marie Curie supporters are taking part in the charity’s Walk Ten events at stunning locations across the UK supported by HomeServe.

As Marie Curie People went to print, 14 events had taken place, with a further three to go by the end of summer.

Fundraising Product Manager Sophie Major said: “We have been very lucky with the weather so far, which means we get more people signing up on the night.

Numbers so far are looking good.”

Walk Ten participants complete a sponsored walk at dusk at a special location, often the grounds of a stately home. As darkness falls, walkers gather for a picnic, with music, entertainment and fireworks at many locations.

At 10pm – the time when many Marie Curie nursing shifts start –

MARCHING ON: Putting their best foot forward for Marie Curie Cancer Care

MAN’S BEST FRIEND: Karl Cooper and Buster the dog were the first to finish the 10k at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire

TWINKLING AT TWIGHLIGHT: Memory lanterns lighting up the night at Harewood House, West Yorkshire

a Marie Curie Nurse talks about her work.

“The talk from the Marie Curie Nurse is very moving, and for most of our walkers it’s the highlight of the evening,” Sophie said. “We are also particularly pleased that a lot of Marie Curie Nurses are taking part in the walks this year, and they are bringing their families. They are wearing special T-shirts that identify them as a Marie Curie Nurse to participants.

“I went to the Hill of Tarvit Walk Ten in Fife. It was a beautiful venue, and there was a very special atmosphere.

It was a wonderful evening for everyone.”

Typically events are attracting around 600-700 participants, around 80 of whom sign up on the night.

Events

10k

Distance covered

£14,000 Average raised per event so far

September 2013 People 11

Fundraising

TURN LK TEN

in the scenery and raising fundraising event Our partner: HomeServe

HomeServe is proud to partner Marie Curie and sponsor Walk Ten for a fourth year. The domestic insurance and repair company has donated £1 million, of which £425,000 will fund the equivalent of 22 Marie Curie Nurses for a year. They have also provided £575,000 of free home emergency cover through their patient policy.

WARMING DOWN: Marie Curie Nurse Dianne Hughes chats with participants after the Walk Ten at Harewood House, West Yorkshire

KINGS OF THE CASTLE: Walkers approaching Castle Howard, Yorkshire

ALL TOGETHER NOW: It was fun for all the family at Harewood House, West Yorkshire

12 People September 2013

Food for thought How do I… interview someone as part of a research project?

Dr Anne Finucane, Clinical Research Facilitator at Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh, provides a seven step guide to interviewing someone for a research project.

A SONG

Do you have an idea for the Food for thought page – a recipe or advice column? Perhaps you would like to feature in our Desert island essentials section? Write to us at people@mariecurie.org.uk

Recipe of the month...

Salmon steaks with chilli, lemon and garlic Simon Carr, Head Chef at Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle I learned to cook at college and spent a couple of years at a top hotel in Brighton. I then spent the next 14 years as a chef on oil rigs, before joining Marie Curie in 2002. The recipe I have chosen is a very simple one to prepare, but a great way to cook salmon, keeping it moist and full of flavour. Be careful when opening the foil parcels on serving. These can be prepared in advance and then chilled until required. They can be cooked in the oven, but with all this sun we have been having, they are also ideal for a barbecue.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS 4 salmon steaks, skin on, weighing about 120-150g each 4 spring onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 100g prawns, raw or cooked Juice of 1 lemon 4 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce Salt and pepper to season

METHOD

STEAK OUT: Simon Carr

I’m more of a TV than a film person. I’d take the West Wing box set over a film any day. If a TV show wasn’t an option then I’d bring High Fidelity, which would have the bonus of extra music to listen to, as well as providing something to satiate my obsession with late 90s/early 00s nostalgia.

Marooned on a desert island, I would have: a) plenty of time, b) no electricity and, therefore, c) no artificial light. So my luxury would definitely be a telescope. I’ve never really got into astronomy properly (though I loved “space” as a child), and I can’t get enough of Stargazing Live on TV. Trying to understand and predict the movement of stars and planets around the sky could keep the maths geek in me occupied for many decades.

A FILM

A LUXURY ITEM

Below are the answers to the Sudoku puzzles on page 19.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For advice please contact Dr Anne Finucane (Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh), Dr Kathy Armour (Marie Cure Hospice, West Midlands) or Dr Noleen McCorry (Marie Curie Hospice, Belfast).

The sensible answer here is a book about astronomy, but that would take the fun out of it. So I’d go for Catch 22, my favourite book of all time. I’m a pretty slow reader, so I think that would keep me going for quite a while.

6. Use a digital recorder to record the interview.

7. Help the interviewee feel comfortable throughout and ensure you thank them afterwards.

Remember, they are the expert doing you a favour.

Sudoku answers

A BOOK

SPACE MAN: Michael Cooke is prepared for a life of stargazing

RECRUITMENT EXPERT: Linsey Winter

I chose Bob Dylan’s What Good Am I?, sung by Tom Jones, for the recent #FinalSong discussion on Twitter to promote Dying Matters Week. It’s the song I’d want to take with me while alive, as well as to be played at my funeral. If I got a whole album, it would be the 47 minutes of perfection that is Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea by PJ Harvey.

WRITE TO US

Imagine you’re marooned on a desert island. What items would you want with you? What song, book or film couldn’t you live without? We asked Michael Cooke, Head of Analytics, to tell us the things he couldn’t live without.

1. Identify your research question.

2. Decide the type of interview you need to undertake: • structured – specific questions that you will ask in a given order • semi-structured – a list of themes to explore, with prompts to help guide the interview.

3. Develop an interview schedule or question guide. Use open questions and dig deeper where appropriate.

Avoid leading questions.

4. Provide your interviewee with a participant information sheet. This will include general information about your study, who is involved, and how material gathered during the interview will be managed (i.e. whether or not the interview material will be anonymised, and who will have access to it).

5. Ask your interviewee to sign a participant consent form just before the interview.

Desert island essentials

1 Place each salmon steak, skin side down, on a piece of foil about 30cm square.

2 Mix together the spring onions, crushed garlic, prawns, sweet chilli and lemon juice and lay on top of the salmon steaks.

Season with salt and cracked black pepper.

3 Bring the sides of the foil up into the middle and make a loose parcel, so the foil is tightly secured in an airtight seal but there is lots of room around the salmon and prawns.

4 Either place the foil parcels on a baking tray and place in a pre-heated oven (190oC) or directly onto a pre-heated barbecue. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the weight of the fish.

5 Carefully remove the parcels and place on serving plates, being careful not to burn yourself with the steam. Gently prise open the foil parcels and serve immediately either in or out of the foil packages.

Perfect served with new potatoes and green beans, or with a tossed salad.

Fantasy football league kicks off soon Marie Curie is set to launch an online fantasy football league for supporters, staff and volunteers.

For its first year of operation, there will be no charge to play, but those taking part will be asked to make a donation to Marie Curie.

Account Manager Ed Hennessey from the Corporate team said: “Our aim is to expand our fundraising to an audience that we’re not currently reaching – especially men aged 20 plus. This is an innovative way of communicating with supporters and potential supporters. Not many charities are doing it, and a lot of fantasy football sites are pay-to-play. We think we can attract donations if we promote it right.

“When you take part, you pick your team online, and then you get an email at the end of the week giving your score, and a breakdown of which players scored, who got a clean sheet and so on. That’s all done automatically by the online platform – but we can add Marie Curie messages.”

Marie Curie is working with specialist fantasy football company fantasyleague.com on the new game.

“The season’s under way, and we are very keen for Marie Curie People readers to be among the first to try out the new site,” Ed said. “Watch this space for the kick-off.”

September 2013 People 13

News

AT THE HEART OF INFORMATION If you fancy reading Inferno, a Harry Potter novel or Fifty Shades of Grey, don’t ask Marie Curie Librarian Guizhen Wang and her team to lend them to you. But if your reading requirements extend into the specialist palliative care field, they’re the people you need to talk to Guizhen Wang manages a team of two assistant librarians and six volunteers.

They work in two libraries at the charity’s hospices in Newcastle and Glasgow, and also manage a large online library.

Their resources are available to the whole charity.

“We are a hybrid library – both an electronic resource and a print resource.

We would prefer to have an entirely online library, but print is cheaper,” Guizhen said. “If we want to put access to journals online, it’s expensive. The publishers charge us more than for print.”

To ensure that print articles can be rapidly sent to colleagues across the UK, the library service relies on its dedicated team of volunteers.

“If we have a print journal, we scan the contents page and email it to our staff.

Then if someone wants an article, the volunteers scan it and email it to them,” Guizhen said.

“There’s a restriction – people can access one journal article from each issue.

INFORMATION SUPPORT: Former nurse Guizhen Wang runs Marie Curie’s libraries

The library is about updating healthcare professionals’ knowledge and helping them find evidence-based information GUIZHEN WANG

If you need more than one, you need a specific reason, and a different purpose for each article.”

The library centralises all information resources across the charity. It includes more than 2,000 books and around 50 DVDs, the overwhelming majority of which are about patient care and end-of-life care.

“We also have books on managing volunteers, improving your IT skills and administration as well as fundraising and marketing titles,” Guizhen said.

“However, we mainly help healthcare

TRIBUTE: Patient June Archer, with the Elvis artwork created by her late daughter, Susan

50

The number of DVDs across both library sites, on subjects ranging from end-of-life care and leadership to clinical governance and clinical skills assessment

2,000

There are more than 2,000 books, plus 19 palliative care online journals and 37 print journals

2

The number of library sites: Newcastle and Glasgow

9

Number of library staff, comprising one librarian, two assistant librarians and six volunteers

FOR MORE INFORMATION The library is available to all Marie Curie staff. It can be accessed from the charity’s Intranet or from the Learn and Develop website. Or email library@mariecurie.org.uk

The fine art of caring

Painting auctioned in memory of artist Marie Curie Hospice patient June Archer has donated a painting collage of Elvis Presley by her late daughter to be auctioned for the charity.

Susan Archer created the artwork at an A level examination some years ago, gaining an A*.

Susan was then an artist and writer living in Mexico City, but sadly was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning while she was out there.

Her mother, June, said: “We miss her so very much every day and in memory of her short life I would like to donate this

professionals – doctors, nurses, chaplains, physiotherapists and social workers. It’s about updating their knowledge and helping them to find the latest evidencebased information that might benefit patients and carers.”

The library offers a specialised literature search service for healthcare professionals looking for information about a specific topic. The team also support students undertaking a placement with the charity.

“We can search more thoroughly and quicker than they can. For example, yesterday, we had a request from a project manager for information about volunteers in end-of-life care, and the training they would need. Last week, we had a request for information on relationship-based care,” Guizhen said.

Library volunteers include a retired trained librarian (Margaret Gill) who helps run searches and the library’s special interest service. The team replies to all email enquiries about book or journal articles within 24 hours, and books can be posted out to colleagues.

Guizhen used to be a nurse and physiotherapist in China. She arrived in Britain in 2002, holds a masters degree in information management, and worked for the NHS e-library before joining Marie Curie in 2006.

piece of work to the hospice in thanks for the care received.”

Fundraising manager Karen Jones said: “June was very keen that I auction this work in memory of Susan and said that she hoped an Elvis fan would buy this.

A family member who was visiting another patient at the hospice happened to be a huge Elvis fan and won the bidding with £100 so everyone was very pleased.

Thanks to June for the donation of her precious painting. I took a photograph of her in the ward with the painting so she had her own memory of it.”

A new exhibition of artwork by patients at the Marie Curie Hospice, Bradford has opened at Bradford Industrial Museum. The exhibition, which will run until October, includes more than 40 pieces of work, mainly watercolours, completed by patients during art lessons at the hospice.

It was opened by Hospice Patron Christine Hamilton-Stewart.

Patients are currently working on the 2014 calendar which should be on sale in September.

Canal at Bingley by Terry Lee

Capercaillie by David Allison

Kestrel by David Allison

14 People September 2013

Our team

‘ WE CHALLENGE THE ASSUMPTIONS HEALTHCARE POLICY IS BASED ON’

By talking to patients about their experiences, Dr Annmarie Nelson and her team at the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre in Cardiff are discovering that common perceptions about treatment and rehabilitation need to be changed “It’s very important to me that our staff know patients and aren’t just academics,” says Dr Annmarie Nelson, Deputy Director of the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre in Cardiff.

A former hospice nurse, Annmarie is determined that the centre’s work should be driven by the needs of patients and their carers.

“If we recruit someone who hasn’t had patient contact, first thing we do is take them to the hospice and the Velindre Cancer Centre, and show them round.

“Part of our role is to challenge assumptions – including the big assumptions that palliative care policy or healthcare policy is based on. If you actually go and ask people, sometimes the results are very surprising,” she said.

Annmarie works closely with Director of the Centre Dr Anthony Byrne (pictured below), who takes clinical leadership for its programme of work. She handles the dayto-day running of the centre, and around 30-plus research projects, including postgraduate students supervision.

The centre was set up in 2010. There were originally four members of staff – now there are 14, and Annmarie expects there to be 20 by the end of the year.

“Just four of these are paid for by Marie Curie. We apply for funding in national competition and we get grants which include the cost of extra staff to do the projects. Since we started, we’ve been involved in £6 million worth of successful grants, which has brought in a lot of staff,” Annmarie said.

THREE THEMES The centre’s research covers three main themes: rehabilitation, patient experience and thrombosis (blood clots).

“Rehabilitation looks at maintaining function and helping with symptom control. We’re not interested in survival, we’re interested in quality of life. We want to maintain people’s function as well as we can for as long as we can,” Annmarie said.

As part of its rehabilitation work, the centre is running a randomised controlled trial looking at oesophageal cancer (gullet cancer), explained Anthony.

“Normally patients experience difficulty

Part of our role is to challenge the big assumptions that palliative care policy is based on DR ANNMARIE NELSON

sudden event that people assume it is,” Annmarie says. “A recent study that we’ve just done involved interviewing people about pulmonary embolism - they’re more anxious about recurrence of a blood clot than their cancer symptoms.”

EVALUATING SERVICES

RESEARCH: Patient experience is one of the centre’s key themes

in swallowing because their gullet begins to narrow because of a tumour. The usual course of treatment is to have a selfexpanding metal stent inserted to keep the patency of their oesophagus. But what inevitably happens is tumour regrowth.”

The trial will involve one group of patients receiving the usual treatment and a second group the usual treatment plus radiotherapy.

“We think radiotherapy could keep the stent patent for longer,” Anthony continued. “Losing that is a hellish symptom, so, although radiotherapy may only retain the patency of their oesophagus for another six weeks, it’s an extra six weeks with less choking. It’s about giving the best life you can for as long as you can.”

The centre’s work on thrombosis is led by palliative care consultant Dr Simon Noble. The research team suspects that the incidence of thrombosis among palliative care patients is significant and under-recorded.

Annmarie explains: “When you’ve got a patient in a hospice who’s got breathlessness and other symptoms that in a healthy individual would be attributed to a pulmonary embolism, maybe it’s attributed to other features for a cancer diagnosis. We would be interested to find out the true incidence.”

EXPERIENCES Annmarie leads the centre’s research into the experiences of patients and carers, which cuts across its other major themes.

“Every study has got a carer interview alongside it. You can put patients through all sorts of treatments, but it absolutely

impacts on the carer as well, so it’s important to look at how it affects both.

“One of our studies looked at thrombosis prevention. You would assume that patients would prefer to wear surgical stockings to prevent blood clots rather than inject themselves in the stomach every day. In fact, patients prefer to inject themselves because they hated the stockings so much. That study was published in the BMJ.” The team has also looked at patients’ experiences of pulmonary embolism – challenging the perception that it can be ‘not a bad way to go’.

“Absolutely it’s not because these patients can linger, and it’s not the

Profile: Dr Annmarie Nelson Annmarie has been working for the charity since the late 1980s, when she started night shifts as a bank nurse at the Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff and the Vale (formerly known as the Marie Curie Hospice, Penarth).

“I absolutely loved it – handson patient care. Best job I ever had,” she said. “The wealth of experience it’s given me is irreplaceable.

I’ve combined that with the degrees I got while I was working for Marie Curie.”

Her interest in research was encouraged by the former hospice manager and medical director. It led to a research role, then a secondment to the Wales Cancer Trials Unit, where she and Anthony Byrne became scientific leads for palliative care trials. The Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre was formally established in 2010, and is the only UK palliative care research centre that is based in a clinical trials unit.

Supporting the Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff and the Vale by evaluating its services is another key part of the centre’s work. At the moment, the researchers are helping evaluate a new clinic based at a GP practice in Cardiff, which enables patients to see a specialist nurse, and also evaluate the introduction of a key worker to target barriers to accessing services by patients from ethnic minorities.

“We are evaluating how it has been received; what the barriers are to patients from minority groups accessing services; and whether the introduction of the new nursing posts or facilitator posts have made any difference,” Annmarie says.

VITAL VOLUNTEERS One unusual feature of the centre is its involvement of volunteers in research projects, as research partners, to represent the interests of patients. They are supported

by Dr Jim Fitzgibbon, a research partner coordinator, who is also a volunteer and manages a pool of 30 other volunteers.

“Often our research partners have cared for someone with cancer,” said Annmarie.

“They don’t have to have cancer themselves, although a lot have had. We aim to do the best we can with people’s transferrable skills.

“We interview potential research partners and treat them as professionals.

My philosophy is unless you treat them exactly the same as anyone else around the table when you’re discussing really complex issues, then you’re paying lip service and you’re patronising them.”

Recently the centre underwent its first peer review and had all aspects of its work put under the microscope by a team of external experts.

“It was challenging – a full day of interviews about our work, presenting to a panel and answering difficult questions.

But they were nice and constructive, and initial feedback has been encouraging,” Annmarie said.

The team is still awaiting the peer review report.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information about Annmarie’s team, contact Annmarie on nelsonA9@cardiff.ac.uk or Kristen Thomas, Research Administrator on 02920 687175

September 2013 People 15

Focus

Helping children explore issues of health and illness

Schoolchildren are meeting hospice patients to understand more about Marie Curie’s work An innovative scheme run by the Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle is bringing together school children and hospice day patients to explore the issues surrounding death and dying in a supportive and safe environment.

The Daffodil Project is aimed at ten to 11-year-old school children. The children and patients meet once a week for four weeks, over which time the children take part in a range of creative activities. The project’s aim is to break down taboos and encourage discussion around what are often sensitive topics. It also helps children to understand the work that Marie Curie does and what it is like to have a terminal condition.

The project’s theme of death and dying feeds directly into the National Curriculum’s personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) theme of coping with loss, as well as health and illness.

Newcastle hospice day patient Jayne Goodhall said: “I think the project can help the children be less fearful of illness. I think, like adults, children can have preconceived ideas of what somebody with cancer or any terminal illness would look like or act like, and I think they are quite surprised when they come here and see people who can still laugh and still have fun.”

The Daffodil Project began in March 2012, and was the first of its kind in the north-east. Since then, three more sessions have run and more than 50 children have taken part in the project.

Children from Moorside Primary School near Newcastle meet day patients from the Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle (clockwise from above): Day patient Doris Hunter spending time with Tanya and Sana; Malik and Amy talking with Tom Tulip; Tammilee and Norman Armstrong; Primary school pupils, patients and staff together during The Daffodil Project; David and Denisa with Jayne Goodhall; Amy and Afiah

16 People September 2013

Celebration TV star opens garden party with 700-strong crowd attending Thanks go to everyone involved in making this year’s garden party at the Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff and the Vale such a huge success, particularly the many volunteers who gave up their time to run the event.

A beautiful day meant that there were around 700 people who visited throughout the afternoon and enjoyed the many stalls, barbecue and great jazz band, helping raise the fantastic sum of £4,638. The refreshments stall was kindly run by

Roadchef Magor and there was the popular bottle stall run by Penarth Rotary Club.

The garden party was opened by Alex Mills from The Apprentice, who spent the afternoon chatting to everyone and having photos taken.

He told the crowd at the opening that he has a particular reason to support the Marie Curie Hospice as his uncle was cared for there some time ago, so he understands the importance of the fantastic work done there.

FOR THIS WEEK’S TASK...: The Apprentice star Alex Mills meets Marie Curie’s Sarah Hughes and Deborah Hooper

£4,638

The amount raised at the event.

SOMERSET PROJECT EARNS TOP AWARD The Marie Curie Delivering Choice programme in Somerset has won the End of Life Care award at the 2013 Care Integration Awards.

The award recognises organisations at the forefront of offering integrated care to local communities, ensuring health and wellbeing needs are better understood and addressed.

Working in partnership with local NHS, social services and charities, Marie Curie developed a new patient-focused service model giving more terminally ill patients choice in their place of care and death.

Karen Burfitt, Regional Manager for the Marie Curie Nursing Service in the South West, said: “Winning this award is great recognition of the commitment from all the local health and social care organisations to improve end-of-life care in Somerset and North Somerset.

The services have ensured the practical delivery of patient choice as well as provided key support and sensitive care for families and carers.”

Somerset has a particularly large number of residents over the age of 65 and the need for end-of-life care services is high. According to research, 60% of people in the UK would choose to die at home if they were terminally ill. In Somerset, only 22% of people were achieving this, with 19% doing so in North Somerset.

Following the implementation of the new services, an independent evaluation by the University of Bristol found

Marie Curie Nurse Jessie gives thanks to her community as she is awarded MBE Marie Curie Nurse Jessie Colquhoun was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to Healthcare in Ardnamurchan, Argyll.

Jessie, 70, asked that the MBE ceremony be switched from Holyrood House, Edinburgh, to Kilchoan so she could thank the local people and emergency services with whom she has worked for over 36 years.

Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire Donald Cameron of Lochiel made the presentation on behalf of HM The Queen in a marquee at Kilchoan Community Centre.

Speaking in front of a large crowd of local residents in a marquee on the playing fields, he described how Jessie had been a nurse for 50 years, including 36 as a District Nurse on West Ardnamurchan, as well as a school nurse, midwife and much more.

Jessie was the Scottish 2009 Nurse of the Year. She continues to serve local people as a Marie Curie Nurse and one of West Ardnamurchan’s new Emergency Responders.

WINNERS (left to right): Karen Burfitt, Regional Manager for the Marie Curie Nursing Service in the South West; Chair of the North Somerset CCG GP Mary Backhouse; and Managing Director of the South West Commissioning Support Unit Jan Hull

that those receiving the new services developed through the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme were 67% less likely to die in hospital in North Somerset and 80% less likely in Somerset compared to those who did not receive services through the programme.

Emergency admissions to hospital in the last month of life were also 39% lower for service users than for non-users and, in addition, A&E attendees were 30% lower in the last month of life.

Judges for the Care Integration Awards praised the Somerset programme, commenting: “This is an outstanding example of a service redesign which has sustainability and individual care preferences as its cornerstone.”

Patients enjoy a day at the races Patients attending day therapy at the Marie Curie Hospice, Glasgow cheered along with crowds of horseracing fans at a series of racing meetings, thanks to Hamilton Park Racecourse.

Racecourse Chief Executive Vivien Kyles arranged the special days out.

Hospice guests enjoyed a free corporate hospitality box at eight events over the summer. Each was attended by 15-20 patients, family members and carers.

This is the second year running that the racecourse has entertained patients from the hospice.

Regional Major Gift Manager (Scotland) Jenny Seftor said: “It was a really nice thing for the racecourse to do. The patients were able to watch the races and enjoy afternoon tea, with waitress service.”

Vivien is the newest member of the Glasgow Hospice Development Board.

RACE DAY: Patient Kathy Smith with Healthcare Assistant Rosemary Young

50-YEAR SERVICE: Marie Curie Nurse Jessie Colquhoun receives her MBE

Those present included district and community nurses, air ambulance colleagues, local doctors and nurses, home carers, the fire brigade, coastguards and surgeons from Belford Hospital, Fort William.

September 2013 People 17

Fundraising

Irish festival raises a lorryload of cash

TOP OF THE LEAGUE: Five-a-side football winners, United House, and organisers from Pantera Carpentry

Carpenters join in with fundraising Marie Curie benefitted to the tune of help out as a company. The football £3,500, thanks to a five-a-side tournament was a great way of tournament organised by doing that.”

Pantera Carpentry.

Players included Pete and The specialist carpenters other members of Pantera’s became involved with senior management, as The total amount Marie Curie through the well as many of the raised by Pantera charity’s Housebuilder company’s suppliers.

Brain Game – but Marie Curie Head of through fundraising Managing Director Pete Corporate Fundraising activities.

Mills was keen to do more.

Arun Sharma said: “We were He said: “We were inspired delighted with Pantera’s support. by the Marie Curie Nurse’s speech It’s great to extend our relationship with at the Brain Game and we wanted to Housebuilder Brain Game competitors.”

£10,000

A total of 340 lorries took part in a 60-mile convoy around Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, as the Irvinestown Truck Festival raised more than £40,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Now in its 13th year, the event has brought in more than £500,000 for the charity.

The trucks were sent on their way by 2013’s Lady of the Lake Carla Kelly and Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Involvement Arlene Foster MLA. “People here are very generous,” said Arlene, “particularly when it comes to supporting causes like Marie Curie. A big thank you to the people who continue to support this event and, of course, the truckers too, who came out again this year in great numbers.”

The truck festival is part of the Lady of the Lake festival, a ten-day summer festival and carnival in July. It is named after the mythical figure which is said to appear over the waters of Lower Lough Erne.

KEEP ON TRUCKING: Sheena Havlin, Fundraising Manager for the West presents Arlene Foster MLA with a souvenir pendent and CD from the event

Cyclists fly the flag Two Marie Curie supporters completed the gruelling 3,000-mile cycle Race Across America in 7 days and 15 hours. Jamie Slaymaker, the son of Gloucestershire patron Virginia Slaymaker, and his friend James Hammond took on the non-stop race from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland.

The race took them across 12 states, with 170,000 feet of climbing. Including Gift Aid, they raised a total of £21,750.

Thousand-mile challenge for cyclists A team of cyclists took on a bike ride from the front door of LaSer UK’s Belfast office to their head office in Solihull in support of Marie Curie Cancer Care and Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.

The pedal-pushers’ journey took them to Dublin and then to Holyhead by ferry, before passing through Prestatyn and Telford on the way to Solihull. Between the three of them, the total distance covered was almost 1,000 miles.

Sandra Bickerton, Corporate Social Responsibility sponsor at LaSer UK, said: “We are enormously proud of

our people and our three committed cyclists up for this challenge are no exception. We are proud to support some very deserving charities and partners in local education and we encourage teamwork and fun as we help our local communities. As we continue to set big ambitions our people continue to step up to the challenge and we look forward to providing a warm welcome as Kieran, Nick and Noel complete their successful journey in the summer sunshine.”

LaSer UK previously raised £30,000 for the Big Build appeal to construct the new Marie Curie Hospice, Solihull.

Fundraising triathletes put the ‘fast’ in Belfast Three superfit supporters from the Irish Football Association came second in the Belfast Titanic Triathlon relay.

Jonathan McMeekin, Yohann Lacroix and Graeme Beggs covered a 1,500m swim, 40k cycle and 10k run in three hours 24 minutes, raising nearly £400.

Also racing were Marie Curie’s Corporate Development Manager Anne Hannan, who won her age group, and Marie Curie Hospice Development Board Chair Mark Hanna completing his first-ever triathlon.

This event was part of the World Police and Fire Games, and saw 600 triathletes swimming in the river Lagan, cycling around the Titanic Quarter and running laps around Belfast’s City Hall.

TITANIC TRIO (left to right): Fundraisers Jonathan, Yohann and Graeme

IT’S ALL CYCLE-OGICAL (left to right): Karen Braithwaite from Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children, Noel Morrow, Nick Southwell and Kieran McCormick from LaSer UK, and Marie Curie Corporate Development Manager (NI) Anne Hannan

18 People September 2013

Inbox TOP TWEETS

Here is a selection of the top tweets from the past few weeks.

Follow us on @mariecurieuk or tweet using #mariecurieuk Chris Elmore @CPJElmore

Off to visit @mariecurieuk Hospice #Penarth. Cared for my grandfather for his last six weeks earlier in March #amazingplace #alwaysgrateful Dorset Vegan @Dorset_vegan

Fantastic #walkten last night around Beaulieu estate for @MarieCurieuk great buzz, gorgeous views. Thanks to all the organisers and marshals

Inbox

Inbox is Marie Curie People’s forum for your letters and emails. If you’ve a brilliant idea or a question about our work – or if something is bugging you – email mariecuriepeople@mariecurie.org.uk

HAVE A CLEAR-OUT As I’m sure you are aware, our 180 Marie Curie Shops across the UK depend on generous donations of high-quality used items – especially clothing. We also welcome gifts of jewellery, brica-brac, shoes, handbags, fashion accessories and books.

Could I please ask Marie Curie People readers to help stock their local shop?

One bag of clothes will raise around £20 – enabling us to pay for an hour of nursing care in a patient’s home. All you have to do is have a clear-out, and hand your donation over the counter.

If you are a UK tax payer you can

juliebobs @juliebobs

Going to bed tonight leaving my dad in the safe hands of @mariecurieuk #ThankYou

Dave Anderson @Davie_A

@mariecurieuk thanks for the follow, and the service your people give. Seen it first hand. Every day, every hour… x

sign up as a Gift Aid donor and your donation will be worth around 25% more to us.

Could I also thank all readers who are already generously supporting us in this way? You really are making a big difference.

pitch for the partnership.

Please contact Ranjana Sengupta or Arun Sharma in the corporate team if you can help.

Thank you.

Ranjana Sengupta

Alec Barclay

NEWS FROM THE BOTTOM UP

Head of Shops

As always I read my copy of Marie Curie People with great interest.

I was delighted to read of the work our incredible nurses, fundraisers and volunteers support.

I was, however, shocked when opening to Page 3 to see the Sun-like nakedness of some of our supporters.

I wonder if you will be repeating this Page 3 theme and running competitions alongside to guess the bottom?

Thank you for such a memorable edition.

Yours nakedly

FROM WRAGGE TO RICHES? This is an appeal for help from your friends in the Marie Curie corporate team. We would like your support in getting the attention of Wragge & Co from 9 September to 4 October 2013.

Please could you ask your local contacts, volunteers, friends and family to nominate us if they work for Wragge & Co? Every nomination counts!

Wragge & Co are a law firm, with over 1,000 lawyers. The partnership value is £50,000 but we could raise more. Their staff will nominate their charity of choice between 9 September and 4 October.

Nominated charities are then shortlisted by the Charity Committee and invited to

A helpful reminder to any readers who missed last month’s skinny dip coverage.

Brian Curran I’m sure you’ll be delighted to hear that when Marie Curie People reports fundraising stories, we’ll always keep our focus on the bottom line – Ed.

Nick Parry Okeden @NPOkeden

Thank you to the nurses from @mariecurieuk and equipment and service from @MB_Healthcare who made my grandfather’s last few days comfortable.

Rick Stein @Rick_Stein

Lovely early morning swim at Harlyn getting ready for the Padstow to Rock swim on Sunday in aid of @mariecurieuk

FACEBOOK FRIENDS

Followers on Facebook are speaking out about the valuable support from Marie Curie. Follow us at facebook.com/MarieCurieUK Karen Sawyer Sherwood £190 raised at my dad’s funeral (Peter Sawyer) for the WONDERFUL work done by this charity. They are ANGELS. I don’t know how we and our mum would have coped without their help.

They made my dad’s final weeks just a little more bearable. THANKYOU. Louisa Fernando I’m a volunteering supporter & love every minute of it! X :-) Candice Michelle Flynn I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of it [Walk Ten]. I absolutely ache all over now but it was more than worth it to raise some money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. The lanterns look so beautiful, a fitting tribute to those loved ones we lost.

Julie Goodsman Just did the walk at Beaulieu. Really enjoyed it and raised £250.

Feeling pleased with myself as I have ME/CFS so it was a massive challenge for me. X Barbara Pooley The Daffodil Project is a superb idea. It not only helps the patients, but makes children aware that death is not something to be frightened of.

CARING SERVICES

Review will help us better support our Healthcare Assistants In her first column for Marie Curie People, Dee Sissons Director of Nursing, discusses the impact of the Cavendish Review and how it will be used to improve the high quality of care the charity already delivers As the professional lead for nurses and non-medical clinical staff, I want to make sure all our staff have the support they need to deliver safe, compassionate dignified care to our patients. I will be working closely with our Medical Director, Dr Bill Noble, and his colleagues to ensure that everyone receives the best end-of-life care whatever the setting.

Over the past six months, we have seen the publication of several key reports.

These reports will be milestones in the transformation of healthcare. I recommend every professional at least read the summaries of the Keogh, Cavendish and Neuberger reports. I welcome the reports and will be using the experiences of the NHS to test and improve the high quality of care we already deliver.

The common themes across all the reports are culture, clinical leadership and the training and development of staff.

MAKING IMPROVEMENTS: Training and development of staff is a key theme across recent reports

Cut me through the middle and it says ‘Nurse’. It’s really important that I understand the experience of our patients and their families

WRITE TO US

This month, I want to focus on the Cavendish Review, an independent review into Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) and Support Workers in the NHS and social care setting. It sparked a lot of discussion, particularly around levels of training, skills and supervision and whether this group of staff should be registered (no decision, but more debate will follow).

As HCAs are a key part of our workforce, we are using the review to inform how we can make improvements.

Although our staff are experienced and we invest in their development, I would

like to look at how we support staff to further develop and use their skills.

We know from a recent survey that the public have real trust in our HCAs, and we will be looking at how we differentiate between our Registered Nurses and our Healthcare Assistants.

Cut me through the middle and it says “Nurse”. It’s really important that I understand the experience of our patients and their families and the challenges you face. I have spent time working with our nurses. During July, I worked with the Newcastle Rapid Response Team, and in August I worked alongside the nurses at Hampstead and West Midlands Hospice.

I’ve also visited teams in London (Ealing & Hampstead), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Lincoln, Liverpool, Solihull and Cardiff and will be visiting Belfast in October.”

I am always open to feedback or do get in touch if you’d like to hear more about something in particular.

So please email me: CSFeedback@ mariecurie.org.uk. You can also follow what I am up to on Twitter @DeeSissons1.

Do you have a comment about the charity or one of our articles, or a suggestion for a story?

Write to us at mariecuriepeople@mariecurie.org.uk. Comments and letters may be edited.

September 2013 People 19

Noticeboard SUDOKU

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Manisha Patel, PA to Marie Curie’s Director of Community Involvement, married Amit Varsani at Stanmore Temple in London on June 22.

WRITE TO US

Do you have a birth, wedding, civil partnership, retirement or long service to celebrate? Write to us at mariecuriepeople@mariecurie.org.uk

5 9 9 6 7 4 2 7 3 6 9 2 1 9 3 8 4 3 4 6 9 7 8 5 6 2 3

Marie Curie People sudoku sponsored by:

Find the solutions on page 12.

Save £££s with Allsave childcare vouchers Want to make the family budget go further?

Now you can make tax savings on registered childcare costs with Marie Curie’s Allsave childcare vouchers scheme. l Use

for any type of registered childcare – including nurseries, childminders, before- and after-school clubs, holiday camps, summer schools, nannies, sports /drama coaching and even music lessons. l Can be used for children up to 15 years old. l Flexible online system with paper-based alternative. l Open to Marie Curie employees1 who are parents or guardians.

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Anne Hannan Corporate Development Manager Anne Hannan shares tales of prospecting, persistence... and helping the police with their enquiries.

Q: How long have you worked for Marie Curie? 10 years.

Q: How long have you been in your present job? 10 years – although the role and job description have changed during this period.

Q: What did you do before? I worked for Barnardos as a payroll giving fundraiser.

Q: What are the three most important aspects of your job? Prospecting, patience and persistence.

Q: What’s your typical day? The lovely thing about my job is that there is no typical day. It’s that variety that keeps me motivated.

I am generally in work for 7.30am and spend half an hour planning my day and getting focused. My days are either spent in my office researching and prospecting new business leads or I am out and about visiting supporting companies and an endless run of meetings, presentations and conferences.

The aim is always the same – to maximise income for Marie Curie from the corporate sector.

Q: What do you do when you’re not at work? I spend most of my free time outdoors cycling or running. I compete in triathlons during the season. I am an avid reader of crime fiction novels.

Q: When was the last time you laughed?

I laugh every day. It’s good for the soul.

Q: If you were an animal what would you be? A horse – big and bold.

Q: What makes you happy? Sunshine, good friends – and days off!

Q: What makes you sad? Sometimes Northern Ireland and the smallmindedness of some people, the rain and cruelty to children or animals.

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up? A vet.

Q. What’s your favourite pudding? Apple strudel with ice cream Q: What were your favourite childhood TV programmes? Romper Room and The Whirlybirds.

Q: Tell us a fascinating fact about yourself. I was recently stopped in my car and surrounded by police. They said I was driving a stolen vehicle registered to a policeman. It was a number-plate mix-up and eventually I was released.

Q Which five people, alive or dead, would you like to invite to dinner? Lance Armstrong – he would have some great stories. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, who were lost on Everest in 1924.

Donald Trump, who was born on the same day as me – but not the same year.

And Andy Murray – I am not his biggest fan, but would like to find out more about the man.

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