Marie Curie People April 2013

People Marie Curie

Marie Curie Cancer Care’s newspaper for staff and volunteers

Great Daffodil Appeal – page 3 and centre spread

April 2013

GP partnership to improve care Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Royal College of General Practitioners have entered a threeyear partnership to improve the end of life care provided to patients by GPs. Director of Policy and Public Affairs Imelda Redmond is leading the project at Marie Curie.

She said: “Almost everybody has a GP, and GPs play an essential role in caring for patients at the end of their lives – especially those who are cared for at home.

“We are aiming to improve end of life care for all patient groups, and that means working effectively with GPs. One of the most exciting things about this project is that it will cut across several other major themes which the Royal College already focuses on – including dementia, cancer, rare diseases and COPD.” APPOINTMENT One of the first steps will be the appointment of a clinical lead – a GP – who will work parttime with the college and Marie Curie.

“This will be a leadership role in end of life care for general practice,” Imelda said.

“The new lead will work from the college, championing training for GPs and developing a strategy for engaging clinical commissioning groups in end of life care.”

One of the new clinical lead’s first tasks will be to run a survey of GPs. “We want to start the project by finding out how GPs think we can best use our resources to help them to care for people with end of life needs,” Imelda said.

The new clinical lead will develop a range of initiatives to improve care for patients.

Ensuring better pain control for patients who are being cared for in their homes is likely to be a high priority.

“GPs are particularly important in pain management, and in helping ensure that patients have the right level of controlled drugs,” Imelda said. “We know that pain control is an area of weakness for people dying at home.”

In the VOICES survey of bereaved people across England, pain relief was reported as being provided ‘completely, all of the time’ most frequently among those in hospices (62%) and least frequently among those at home (17%).

SURVEY However, Marie Curie Cancer Care’s own user survey suggests that 91% of carers of Marie Curie Nursing Service patients reported pain control as excellent or very good.

“If there is an overall strategy to enable people to die in their place of choice, there’s a need to improve the level of pain control they receive at home to that of hospices. We want to help make that possible, and we need to involve GPs,” Imelda said.

The Royal College of General Practitioners The RCGP 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.

Have your say on our new strategy – see page 7

£1 million supporters

Santander staff are celebrating the announcement that they have raised a record £1 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care. They reached the total after one year of fundraising by staff and customers across the UK Pictured (foreground, l-r) are Head of Retail Distribution and Intermediaries Santander Charlotte Hogg; Marie Curie Director of Fundraising Fabian French; and Santander and Marie Curie staff; with (right) Marie Curie Nurse Teresa Doonan.

Dancing on ice stars shine – see page 15

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Join a very special walk for a very special reason Do it for the fresh air, for the atmosphere, for the stunning views, for the gorgeous venues, for the funds, for the friends, for the laughter, for the tears, for the nurses on the road, for the patients back home, for the buzz at the beginning, for the fireworks at the end... Whatever your reason, Walk Ten. Our special 10k twilight walk takes place from 20 July – 7 September at 17 handpicked locations across the UK. Sign up today at mariecurie.org.uk/walkten or call 0845 052 4184 to find out more.

Be part of something great Get out your best china and fill up the biscuit tin: our annual Blooming Great Tea Party is back. We’re launching the fun-filled – and crumb-filled – event this month, and inviting everyone to host a tea party in June or July. This could be at home with friends and family, or at work with colleagues… anything goes and anyone can join in. So please, sign up to host your own tea party, and encourage everyone you know to take part too. Remember – every cup of tea and slice of cake will make a difference. mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty

Say a big thank you to your volunteers From 1–7 June, staff across our charity will be taking part in national Volunteers’ Week, to celebrate those who do so much for so many.

And now’s the perfect time to think about what you could do to thank your volunteers. Need some inspiration? How about organising a themed party, tea dance, barbecue or quiz? You could even invite a local celebrity to present Loyalty Awards. Remember – you don’t have to break the bank. And our Community Involvement colleagues will be on hand to give you all the resources you need, from Loyalty Awards to thank-you cards. To find out more, email Ivona at ivona.gordon@mariecurie.org.uk

Do something different to make a difference Prise yourself away from your desk and take part in the ultimate outof-office adventure: the Great Escape Challenge. Make up a group of four with your team at Marie Curie, and join us for an adrenalinefilled weekend on 17–19 May in north Yorkshire. Hike, bike and kayak as you take on 10 unique challenges against teams from across the UK. Then enjoy a well-deserved, roof-raising party at the finish line. Contact Gemma Howell on 020 7599 7316 to register your team now – or just tell her if you’re interested in volunteering to help over the weekend. It all makes a difference.

Step up for a mountain challenge Imagine you’re at the top of Ben Nevis. It’s a lovely sunny day. You can see for miles. And you don’t have to think about catching a train, conference calls or looming deadlines... This is the great outdoors – and it’s yours to explore on a Marie Curie mountain challenge. Whether it’s trekking the five highest peaks in England, or exploring the picturesque moorland of Dartmoor, we’re bound to have something for you. So soak up the scenery, take in the fresh air, and challenge yourself against the best Britain has to offer. Sign up today at mariecurie.org.uk/mountain or call 0845 052 4184 to find out more.

Rapid sale for former hospice The former Marie Curie Hospice, Solihull building has been sold to retirement property developer McCarthy & Stone – just six weeks after services were transferred to the new Marie Curie Hospice for the West Midlands.

It is likely to be converted into residential retirement homes.

Interim Project Director Simon Whelan said: “When we have an empty building, we have a responsibility to sell it and to get the best value for it, under the Charities Act. “Obviously, former hospices are places that staff, volunteers and patients have many memories of – but as long as an empty building remains on our books, the charity has to pay Council Tax and insurance, and there are security costs. These expenses quickly mount up.

“Selling a building after just six weeks, and getting the money in for Marie Curie to benefit patients and

families is very good news - and the price exceeded our expectations.”

The Marie Curie Hospice, Solihull was originally built as two houses in the Victorian era.

It was subsequently converted into a prep school.

The Marie Curie Memorial Foundation bought the building, and opened it as Warren Pearl Marie Curie Home in 1965 (it was named after the Lusitania survivor and philanthropist). All subsequent Marie Curie Homes (later hospices) were purpose-built.

Originally, Warren Pearl Marie Curie Home provided residential care for cancer patients, with cover from local GPs. However, the building was not

Sold – the former hospice

well suited to the provision of increasingly specialist palliative and hospice care, which the charity focused on from the 1980s onwards.

Replacing the old building has long been a priority for the charity – and the new Marie Curie Hospice for the West Midlands is now enabling staff and volunteers to provide specialist care in a state-of-the-art building.

Charity looks at core services Marie Curie Cancer Care is looking at the range of core services it offers to the NHS in preparation for the next round of commissioning.

There is some local variation in services, as well as a range of one-off projects, and managers are seeking to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

Director of Services Caroline Hamblett said: “We are asking what services should make up our core offering, with a view to understanding the costs and ensuring we

are appropriately competitive.

“Our trustees will be making decisions on this in July, and they need to do so based on a full understanding of the various options. It’s important to emphasise that we have a quality standard, and we will ensure that it is maintained,” she said.

The charity currently offers a range of standard nursing options to NHS commissioners, including Planned variable, Planned guaranteed, Multi visit and Rapid Response.

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

Editor: Nick Moulton Writer: Lara Jennings Designers: Open Associates Ltd and Marie Curie Creative Services Repro by: Selsey Press Printed by: Mortons Managed & distributed by: CDL Circulation: 6,500

Marie Curie People needs your news.

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

Marie Curie is looking at the care services it offers

APRIL 2013

Your daff ideas needed for future Marie Curie Cancer Care has launched a new project to develop a five-year strategic plan for the Great Daffodil Appeal.

Head of Fundraising Campaigns Tracey Murray is leading the project, which aims to achieve a huge increase in the amount of money and awareness raised by the appeal.

She said: “We are aiming to develop a new vision to take us from 2015 to 2020 and give us a plan to achieve that growth. We want to know all the ideas you’ve had about the appeal to help develop the plan. We want ground-breaking ideas; ideas that will make a small change which add up across the country; things you’ve seen other charities or businesses do; and ideas that have been tried previously but now may be a better time to test again.”

The project will run throughout 2013. The first phase is information gathering with a workshop being held in April.

Tracey is working with a small consultancy to review the external market.

To get in touch with Tracey and the team, visit the new intranet page, email: gdavision@mariecurie.org.uk or write to her at 89 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, London, SE1 7TP Hannah Leckie launches the Great Daffodil Appeal 2013 in Wales

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Chief Executive Dr Jane Collins writes: By the time you read this, you will have heard that our new Director of Nursing is Dee Sissons. I am absolutely delighted that she brings her experience in both cancer care and palliative care, as director of an independent hospice, in running community services and then over the last few years as Director of Nursing in a busy NHS Trust. She has just the experience which will help us continue to develop and improve how we care for patients and their families.

As I said in last month’s column, it would be easy to be complacent because of the very positive feedback we receive.

It would be easy to say what a good job we are doing and of course we usually are. But it would be wrong for two reasons.

Firstly if we want to be the very best provider of end of life care services, and that is absolutely my vision which is also shared

by Council and the Executive team, then we have to always look at how we can do better.

If we want to be the best, we have to look at how we can continuously improve by using best up-to-date practice, listening to patients and their families and delivering care that is of the quality we would want for our own families. Secondly we know from complaints and incidents that there are things we need to do better. The ambition

We sign clinical trials petition

to be the best was part of the reason for creating the role Dee is going into.

Being an organisation that wants to continuously improve – and this doesn’t just apply to our caring services but the whole of Marie Curie – is not about asking people to work harder but supporting people to do the best possible job they can every day. I am so impressed with how committed you are to Marie Curie.

I see one of my most important roles is to make sure I support you to do the best job possible.

So we are investing in leadership development across Marie Curie and in clinical leadership in caring services. We are also investing in our structures to be better able to support staff.

The area managers who will be appointed in April will play a key role in making sure that staff have more opportunities

for development and training.

They will also focus on what best looks like in terms of service delivery in your area. There will be differences not just in the four countries, but in areas of England too. They will be supported by the expertise of our excellent service redesign and business development colleagues.

But how will we know we are improving? We will need to measure what we are doing now and track progress. We are lucky to have access to a lot of data, but as an executive team we are looking at how it is presented and used, of which more in a future column. As I nearly complete my first six months can I thank you all for being so welcoming. There is a huge amount I have learnt already and of course still much to learn by coming out to meet more of you. Lincolnshire next week!

The campaign calls for all clinical trials to be registered and fully reported

Marie Curie Cancer Care has signed up to the alltrials petition, which is campaigning for the publication of the results of all clinical trials.

In a statement supporting the petition, the charity said: “Marie Curie Cancer Care is pleased to sign the AllTrials petition calling for greater transparency in clinical trials. Publicly available trial results, whether positive or negative, will lead to better clinical decisions and better quality of care. This closely aligns with the charity’s aim of putting patients and families first.”

The campaign calls for all clinical trials past and present to be registered, and the full methods and the results reported. At present, thousands of clinical trials have not reported their results; some have not even been registered.

Information on what was done and what was found in these trials could be lost to doctors and researchers.

Other medical charities which have signed up include Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Parkinson’s UK and the Wellcome Trust.

Major organisations backing the petition include the Royal Statistical Society, NICE, the Medical Research Council, the Cochrane Collaboration and the Association of Medical Research Charities.

All Trials Registered, All Results Reported is an initiative of Sense About Science, Bad Science, BMJ, James Lind Initiative, the Centre for Evidence-based Medicine and others from research, patient groups and medicine.

• For more details of the campaign see www.alltrials.net

Funding of cancer research ends

The new Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology at Warwick University – home to many former Marie Curie scientists

Marie Curie Cancer Care’s three-year funding for research into the causes and treatments of cancer for teams at UK universities runs out on 1 April 2013. From this date, all research work funded by the charity will be focussed on end of life care.

From its earliest days until 2009, Marie Curie Cancer Care’s research programme was primarily concerned with cancer research.

Between 1976 and 2009, this work was carried out at the Marie Curie Research Institute in Oxted, Surrey. From the 1980s, it focussed on how cells work and what goes wrong in cancer.

In 2009, the charity’s trustees decided to refocus Marie Curie’s research on work directly connected with end of life care, and to place less emphasis on scientific research into cancer.

The charity agreed to fund seven of the research groups which worked at the Marie Curie Research Institute for three years at new institutions.

The seven groups transferred their work to UK universities, and the research institute closed in 2010.

The building was later sold by the charity.

Over the last three years, the seven

former Marie Curie groups have successfully established themselves at Warwick University, Imperial College, Sussex University and UCL, where they continue to publish highquality work.

For details of current research carried out by several former Marie Curie Research institute groups at Warwick University (now working as the Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology), visit mechanochemistry.org Animal testing Marie Curie Cancer Care’s ethical statement on animal testing has changed with effect from 1 April 2013, to reflect the fact that the charity no longer funds biomedical science.

The statement is as follows: Marie Curie Cancer Care carries out research into better ways of caring for terminally ill people (palliative care research). The charity does not carry out or fund any research involving animals.

Marie Curie Cancer Care is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), which represents UK charities in all fields of medical and health research.

Ruth to lead on community involvement Three Marie Curie teams have been brought together to create a new directorate of Community Involvement.

Volunteering; patient and family engagement; and the charity’s central Marie Curie Helper team are now operating under Director of Community Involvement Ruth Bravery (formerly Director of Volunteering).

Volunteering includes the charity’s volunteering centre in Pontypool, as well as the volunteering management and development team. Patient and family engagement is a team of three led by Gerry Mahaffey. There are three people in the Marie Curie Central team, which is led by Tracey Prentice.

Ruth said: “I am excited to be leading these three excellent teams together under one directorate – they are a natural fit with one another – all focussed on involving people with the charity.

“We consulted with colleagues about a new title, and Community Involvement was widely felt to describe our current activities. It is a title used by a number of other charities.”

APRIL 2013

with a terminal illness and their families.”

Sarah said: “This hospice provides invaluable support for local families.

By taking part in the event and raising money for the charity, we can help the charity continue to provide that support, while increasing awareness of its work. The event is entry level so it’s a chance for anyone who has been inspired by the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games or is a keen enthusiast looking for an amazing course. I hope we can encourage people to sign up, take on the challenge and raise money for

such a good cause.”

Participants can enter now at www.etapemercia.co.uk. A total of 400 free places will be available to those willing to raise £250 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. General entry is £63.

Over 3,500 cyclists will be able to compete in the Etape Mercia, which starts and finishes at Oulton Race Track (used by the British Superbike Championship) and takes in some of the county’s best-known sites, such as Beeston Castle, Little Switzerland, Delamere Forest, Shropshire Union Canal and the Cheshire Ridge.

First Belfast helpers recruited T h e f i r s t i n fo r m a t i o n s e s s i o n for potential Marie Curie Helper v o l u n t e e r s i n t h e B e l fa s t a n d Downpatrick areas in Nor thern Ireland is set to take place later this month. The charity has been seeking to recruit potential Helper volunteers since February.

Janis McCulla, Manager of the Helper Service for Northern Ireland, joined the charity in January. She said: “We are asking people to give us a minimum of three hours a week for a year. Those three hours can make a huge difference to someone with a terminal illness. For example, it’s possible for a Marie Curie Helper volunteer to take someone for a coffee, visit a garden centre or stay with someone and allow their carer to go out for a short break.

“Advertising for volunteers has

included word of mouth, online and through leaflets and other printed material – one lady called after seeing a leaflet in a shopping c e n t r e . O ur f un d rais ing t eam are also being very helpful and encouraging Fundraising Groups to tell people who might be interested in the role.”

Following the information session Janis will meet all potential Helper volunteers on a one-to-one basis for a selection meeting. “This is an opportunity to discuss the volunteer’s skills, experience and interests as well as afford people the opportunity to ask further questions about the Helper service,” she said.

All successfully appointed volunteers are then invited onto a two day training event which will take place in April. The purpose of

Janis McCulla

the training is to provide volunteers with a clear understanding of the benefits and boundaries of the role, develop communication skills, understand the importance of confidentiality and inform about some of the signs and symptoms at end of life. Ongoing support will also be an important part of ensuring that all Helper volunteers are fully equipped to undertake their role.

Have your say online Marie Curie Cancer Care also recently launched new web strategy pages as part of the development of its new strategic plan.

The first stage of developing the plan is consultation – and there are opportunities for staff and volunteers to give their views.

The pages are available to all Marie Curie staff and volunteers with access to the internet (you do not need a Marie Curie account). See the pages at mariecurie.org.uk/plan17 They include a survey, a timeline of stages in development of the plan and a pack to help managers discuss the plan with their teams.

TS T GHIGH OU S TH IN

Staff and patients at the Marie Curie Hospice, Liverpool recently welcomed Great Britain’s most decorated Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, as the cyclist promoted the Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Mercia. The new cycling event is set to be held in the northwest on 18 August 2013.

Hospice Manager Diane Barker introduced nurses and patients to Sarah, who chatted about the Olympics and the new cycling event itself. Diane said: “It was wonderful to introduce Sarah to everyone at the hospice and show her the vital services we provide to people living

Marie Curie Cancer Care is to run a series of 23 events at which staff and volunteers can contribute to the charity’s strategy for 2014-17.

The events will be held at Marie Curie Hospices and major offices, right across the UK. Director of Policy and Public Affairs Imelda Redmond said: “These events will give people an opportunity to contribute and to discuss their views on how we can best help patients and families over the next three years. If you are interested in attending, email the strategy team. We are aiming to reach as many parts of the UK as we possibly can.

“I do understand that not everyone will be able to make it to an event. However, we still want your contribution. We want to know what you think is the best way to help terminally ill patients and families, and what you think Marie Curie’s role should be in that.

“This is not about the detail of how care or the charity should be managed – it’s all about the patients and families that we are here to serve. Think about your answer, and then email it to us.”

Respond to Imelda’s question by emailing strategy@mariecurie. org.uk Or write to Imelda Redmond at Marie Curie Cancer Care – Strategy, 89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 9TP.

SA Y

Patient Theresa Ferguson, Sarah Storey DBE and Marie Curie Nurse Lorna Richardson

Have your say at strategy events

HA VE YO UR

Dame Sarah Storey visits Marie Curie Hospice, Liverpool

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A budget for more care and fundraising Marie Curie Cancer Care’s trustees have approved a deficit budget for 2013/14 which sees an expansion in care and in specific areas of fundraising. The charity has budgeted to spend £40.2 million on home nursing (against 37.6 million this year) and £37.1 million on hospices (against £36 million this year). The deficit is budgeted as £6.1 million.

“The setting of a deficit budget is not due to any anticipated drop in performance. It is due to cost pressures on ‘business as usual’ and investment in growth,” Finance Director Andrew Whitehead said.

“We expect an increase of 8.6% in the number of home nursing patients we will care for this year.

“There is some uncertainty as the NHS in England is changing, and

we are being commissioned by new Clinical Commissioning Groups from the beginning of the year. But this increase is based on the existing commitments that we have secured.”

The charity is facing a number of cost pressures which will require additional spending.

“The cost of operating hospices will increase by 3%, which includes the impact of operating the West Midlands hospice at full capacity.

The Patient Services structure is being strengthened and we are investing in policy and public affairs and continuing to invest in donor recruitment. Our IT costs are also projected to increase for some of the more advanced systems we require,” Andrew said.

Trustees are confident that the

charity can continue to meet its financial targets through growth in fundraising – particularly donor recruitment.

“Setting a deficit budget is not something our trustees do lightly, but the charity’s reserves are strong, and we are investing in fundraising which should lead to additional money coming in in future,” Andrew said.

“We are undertaking a major programme of investment in donor recruitment, with a view to increasing the number of people who support the charity through monthly direct debits. This strategy is working – funds from donors giving regularly to the charity will have increased to £3 million by the start of the new financial year. And there is an opportunity to increase

this further, so trustees have committed more investment in this area for this year.”

There are other areas of significant success which should ensure that the charity’s income will continue to grow.

“Our increased lottery income; more income from a range of fundraising activities; and a higher level of shops income, all mean that we should see increased income in the future,” Andrew said.

The financial year 2012/13 ended on 31 March 2013 – after this edition of Marie Curie People went to print.

“The current year-end forecast for fundraising in 2013/13 is positive,” Andrew said. “This should stand us in good stead for 2013/14.”

Andrew Whitehead

MSPs attend showcase Parliament event

Pictured(l-r) at the event are Regional Events Manager for Scotland Isobel Paul, Legacy Advisor (Scotland and Northern Ireland) Emily Hogg, Head of Community Fundraising Scotland and Northern Ireland Paul Thompson, Community Palliative Care Nurse Specialist Fiona Minto, Fundraising Group Development Manager (Scotland and Northern Ireland) David Grout, Regional Events Fundraiser Kirsty Potter and Edinburgh Hospice Manager Emily Montgomery

Marie Curie Cancer Care ran an event at the Scottish parliament to showcase the work of the charity. A total of 45 MSPs from all parties attended.

Legacy Advisor (Northern Ireland and Scotland) Emily Hogg organised the event. She said: “The idea was that we showcase our work by having different stations manned by different

representatives.

“So we had stations representing Marie Curie nursing and hospice services and how to access them; community fundraising (including major gifts and corporate fundraising); Fundraising Groups; events; gifts in Wills; and volunteering “There was also the chance for

MSPs to have their photo taken by volunteer photographer Robert Hind wearing a daffodil and with a Marie Curie Nurse.

“We were not trying to sign MSPs up to anything or trying to get them to engage in fundraising (as per Parliament rules) – but we were educating them about the

opportunities and areas the public could get involved with to support the charity.

“Following the event several MSPs have requested hospice tours; many are interested in helping in their local areas, especially in the setting up of fundraising groups; one MSP has already submitted a motion

regarding Fundraising Groups; and there is also interest in helping the charity encourage gifts in Wills. Press releases are going out in MSPs the local constituencies following the event to heighten our profile.”

The event was sponsored by Mary Scanlon MSP, Conservative MSP for Highlands and Islands.

We find brains of Bristol A total of 19 teams from local businesses and organisations took part in Marie Curie’s Bristol Brain Game at the Bristol Hotel.

Comedian Mark Olver took on the role of quizmaster. Celebrity supporters presenting rounds or entertaining on the night included actor Tristan Gemmill (Casualty), fashion designer Gilly Woo, Heart Breakfast presenters Ed Troy and Paulina, Bristol Rovers player Fabian Broghammer, singer Marc Dillon and chef Dean Edwards.

The biggest star of the night was local Marie Curie Nurse Catherine Le Roy who explained to competitors just what the money raised would mean for the people she supports to fulfil their wish to die at home.

She spoke of what Marie Curie care means to almost 200 families in the Bristol area who benefit from the charity’s support each year.

Winners of the event were the Marie Curie VIP team.

Corporate Development Volunteer Julie Baldwin said: “It went really well – we’ve raised over £18,000 so far, and money is still coming in. We had a great new venue, and really amazing donated prizes for the raffle and auction.

“The highlight was the Lord Mayor doing the Macarena. Now we’re looking forward to running the next one and making it bigger and better – people have already said they want to take part.”

New bond from Leeds society Leeds Building Society is offering a new 18 Month Fixed Rate Bond that benefits Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The savings bond will pay customers 2.00% a year, while a sum equivalent to 0.10% of the money saved in the bond will be donated to the charity by the building society.

Customers need £100 to open the account, which can be done in a branch, online or by post.

Corporate Development Manager Martin O’Gara said: “Leeds Building Society has supported Marie Curie Cancer Care for many years with a range of cause-related financial products and a great deal of fundraising. We are delighted that this new bond will benefit the charity.”

Leeds Building Society has raised and donated more than £200,000 to Marie Curie since 2002.

For more details, visit www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/ mariecurie, call 08451 960 784 or call in to your local branch.

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Spring joy

Marie Curie Cancer Care benefited from the concert The Joy of Spring at the Methodist Church, Farnborough, Surrey.

The audience enjoyed a performance by the Lydian Singers.

Sci-fi fundraising

Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of three charities that will benefit from the annual Corsham SciFi day on 27 April. Guests at the event, at Corsham School, will include Anjli Mohindra, of the Sarah Jane Adventures, and Brian Muir, designer of Darth Vader’s helmet.

Tough run

Supporter Paul Stout completed a 12-hour overnight run in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Despite sub-zero temperatures, Paul completed continuous laps of Greenham, Common, Newbury, in memory of friend Alice Gudgeon. Paul is carrying out a series of charity runs this year.

Greyhound help

Stars of the Bristol Brain Game. Photo by Jon Craig

New sustainability advisor Marie Curie Cancer Care’s new Sustainability Advisor – Melissa Maynard – has joined the charity from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, where she is Strategic Communications Advisor and Head of Public Engagement.

At Marie Curie she will be helping the charity to ensure that it is as environmentally sustainable as possible, while still carrying out its work effectively.

“That’s important first because we have a responsibility to those who give us money to use it in the best possible way and get value for money. The efficient use of resources can make a significant difference to our cost base,” she said.

Initially the project will involve benchmarking how the sustainable the charity’s current operations are.

“I’ll be working across the organisation, bringing together a team of people representing all departments. We’ll be looking at all the different operations we have and what we can do in the short, medium and long term,” Melissa said.

How people across the charity travel – particularly by car - when

on business will come under particular scrutiny. Melissa plans to work with the IT team to find different ways of working to reduce mileage.

She also plans to look at include the charity’s use of energy and choice of energy suppliers; carbon emissions; water usage; waste procedures; lighting; and all other areas of the business.

“As an organisation that prides itself as being considerate and valuing quality of life, we have a responsibility to make sure that we minimise the impact our activities have on the environment, locally and globally,” she said.

“Any changes we make need to make economic sense. But by doing so, we will reflect our wider values, and the concerns of the communities we work in.

“Society has high expectations that organisations should take responsibility for the wider impact of their activity, and increasingly our donors have expectations that the organisations they support will meet minimum sustainability standards.

Marie Curie Cancer Care is set to benefit from a series of Easter-themed activities at Monmore Green Greyhound Track, Wolverhampton on 1 April. Admission to the track will be free, and entertainment will include stalls and competitions. There will also be a dozen dog races.

Kung fu dancing

Peterhead Marie Curie Fundraising Group organised a kung fu disco, with bellydancers, martial arts demonstrations and dancing.

The group also recently ran a football gala event.

Home help Melissa Maynard

It’s a really exciting project and I hope everyone will get involved.”

At the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Melissa has recently completed a community energy strategy, which will support local initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of domestic and business buildings and help local communities take control of their energy bills.

Melissa is also a director of Energy Alton - a local community energy group, which helps local people become more energy efficient.

A property developer made a donation to support Marie Curie for every home sold in a development throughout March. David Wilson Homes pledged to give £500 to Marie Curie for every property sold at its development in Quorn, Leicestershire.

NI bikers

Bikers in Northern Ireland benefited Marie Curie Cancer Care at the 20th anniversary Ballymena Easter Egg Run. The event kicked off at Downtown F u r n i t u r e o n Pe n n y r i d g e Industrial Estate and ended at Ballymena Showground.

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Scribblers’ picnic

Marie Curie Cancer Care was one of five charities to receive a cheque for £2,000 from Scribblers’ Picnic – a Stirlingbased charity which organises musical events for cancer charities. This year’s Scribbler’s Picnic charity festival and fun day takes place on 12 May at Stirling Rugby Club.

Soup and pud

A soup and pudding lunch held at Uig Village Hall, West Highland, benefited Marie Curie Cancer Care. The event included a table sale and raffle.

Sounds good

Hartlepool Ukulele Group belted out tunes for shoppers at the entrance to Tesco in Belle Vue Way. The group raised £173 for Marie Curie.

Keiran opens event

Clarets star Keiran Trippier opened a Great Daffodil Appeal fundraising event at Smithson F a r m , B u r n l e y. T h e d a y included a farmers’ market, hog roast and bouncy castle.

New group

Marie Curie Cancer Care’s new Prescot and Rainhill Fundraising Group on Merseyside raised £2,500 from a Great Daffodil Appeal collection before they were officially launched. The group are planning further their activities for the coming year.

Cliff tribute

A Cliff Richard tribute night organised by supporter Joyce Cripps raised more than £2,000 for Marie Curie and a local charity. More than 200 people packed into Birchward High School hall in Bishop’s Stortford to hear top Cliff impersonator Jimmy Jermain perform the bachelor boy’s hits, including Living Doll, Devil Woman and The Young Ones. A raffle with 40 prizes contributed £605 to the final total. Joyce is a member of the local Marie Curie Fundraising Group.

Fancy dress

Goldilocks, Dennis the Menace and the Artful Dodger teamed up to raise £250 for Marie Curie at Leigh CE Junior School, Greater Manchester.

Pupils and staff dressed up as fictional characters for World Book Day and donated £1 each.

Guide advises on care for homeless people Marie Curie Cancer Care and homelessness charity St Mungo’s have produced a guide to caring for homeless people at the end of life.

The new resource pack, particularly aimed at front-line workers in shelters, projects and hostels, is the latest product of a long-running collaboration to improve end of life care for homeless people. It was prompted by a recommendation arising from the findings of the joint project and research work looking at the palliative care needs of homeless people who die of liver failure.

It tackles many of the issues faced by homeless people approaching the end of life and those who work with them, including the difficulties in communication between hostel workers and medical and nursing staff, and some of the challenges posed by confidentiality.

It was written by St Mungo’s Palliative Care Services Coordinator Peter Kennedy, former Marie Curie Project Manager Wendy Greenish and former Marie Curie Intern Christina Sarafi. The pack was launched at the Homelessness and Exclusion conference in London Peter Kennedy said: “This has

been a work in progress for a while – it’s a resource that provides useful information and tools. It offers advice to frontline staff and those working with homeless people on how to equip themselves with relevant knowledge and skills to support provision of end of life care in hostels and projects.

“Frontline staff working with homeless people know their clients, and more likely to detect notable changes in their health and general well-being as they occur. They understand the challenges that their clients experience when it comes to accessing services, and the obstacles when it comes to care been provided in their hostels or projects.

“I hope this resource will allow them to become more confident and assertive when communicating their concerns with health and social care services, as well as enabling them to be realistic in their expectations of what these services can offer. The pack may also help health and social care professionals understand more of the important role of frontline staff when it comes to getting clients to engage with services, and about the environments they live in.

St Mungo’s Palliative Care Service Manager Peter Kennedy and Service Design Manger Chloe Longmore

“The aim is to move towards better continuity of care for people who are homeless, where services are streamlined to meet their specific needs. It’s also about helping staff take care of themselves – they often assume responsibilities that are not theirs. The pack helps them to address their own anxieties and

worries. I hope that it will ultimately benefit clients and enable them to spend longer in projects that might not otherwise be able to manage their care.”

The resource is available through the St Mungo’s website: mungos.org. uk/endoflifecare and at Marie Curie www.mariecurie.org.uk/stmungos

Dee is new Director of Equality info to be released Nursing longer head The current Director of Patient Safety and Experience, and Chief Nurse, at Bolton NHS Trust is to join Marie Curie as Director of Nursing.

Dee Sissons will have board-level responsibility for the professional leadership of the charity’s nurses, allied health professionals, healthcare assistants and clinical support workers. She will start at Marie Curie on 1 July.

Her role will provide strategic nursing leadership Dee Sissons to ensure, develop and deliver a consistently highquality, cost-effective nursing service for patients and their families.

Working with the Medical Director (who is responsible for clinical governance and compliance) and the Director of Services (who is responsible for the delivery of services), Dee will be responsible for the standard of care delivered – ensuring it meets all regulatory requirements in all four countries.

Dee brings with her a wealth of experience in nursing leadership that will be crucial as the charity develops its new Strategic Plan for 2014-17.

Before joining Bolton NHS Trust, Dee was Executive Director of Nursing and Quality with NHS Nottingham City.

Dee has worked as a director of nursing at an independent hospice and as a clinical nurse specialist (lung cancer and palliative care). She was a lead for end of life care with her strategic health authority. She also spent five years as Network Lead Nurse at North Trent, with responsibility for quality of care for cancer and palliative care services.

Dee said: “I’m delighted to be joining Marie Curie Cancer Care. It brings my career full-circle, back into an area that I am really passionate about.

“I’ll be going out to meet people across the organisation with the charity’s new Medical Director, and I’m really looking forward to meeting all our nurses, allied health professionals, healthcare assistants and clinical support workers.”

Marie Curie Cancer Care and the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network are set to release the results Dr Ian Gittens o f a m a j o r intelligence gathering project on how to better meet the end of life care needs of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

The results and implications will be presented at a national workshop event at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London on April 10.

The project group’s report will look at the current position for people from minority backgrounds in accessing end of life service provision and the quality of care they receive. It identifies key enablers for planning and delivering end of life care services in diverse communities.

Marie Curie’s project partners were the Department for Health, Help the Hospices, the National Council for Palliative Care, South West Public Health Authority, Leicester Social Care Development, and the Race Equality Foundation.

Senior Project Manager Dr Ian Gittens said: “The group carried out an analysis of systematic reviews, and a quantitative analysis of the 2011 census, along with projections to predict future levels of need.

“We know that there will be an increase in the number of people from minority ethnic groups who will need end of life care up to 2026. This is partly because of the age profile of the future population – cancer and many other terminal illnesses are much more prevalent in older people.

“However, we are aware that some people from minorities are not engaging with the services that are available for a variety of reasons.

“Research in this field to date suggests a lack of awareness of the needs of different communities on the part of some service providers and barriers associated with a lack of knowledge about end of life care services and how to access them.

“The event will look at what the next step should be – asking what do we need to do in the future.

The workshop sessions will help us to identify and agree priorities for communities, policy makers, commissioners and service delivery organisations.”

APRIL 2013

9

Watch our new video promoting Fundraising Groups online Marie Curie Cancer Care has produced a new video to help form new Fundraising Groups. The threeminute video – now available on the charity’s website at www.mariecurie. org.uk/groups – showcases six Fundraising Groups planning and organising events and talking about why they support the charity.

Fundraising Group Programme Manager Sacha Glasgow-Smith said: “We have created the video to inspire people to join a Fundraising Group or to start their own. Existing groups can use it for recruitment, as can fundraisers through their social media networks and at talks.

“It has taken several months to shoot, because we needed to visit events and travel widely in England and Scotland. Groups are included from Devon to Glasgow. But the results are fantastic.

“I really enjoyed making the video – it was wonderful to visit so many groups, and hear members’ stories.

Visiting a cattle auction was a real highlight, too – I had never been to one.”

Filming and editing were carried out by InPoint productions.

Watch the video now at www. mariecurie.org.uk/groups to see the world’s first Marie Curie branded calf and find out more about Fundraising Groups at Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Play video >

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Fundraising Groups can sell our raffle tickets Marie Curie Fundraising Groups in England, Scotland and Wales are now able to sell the charity’s licensed raffle tickets and get the income attributed to their fundraising total.

Previously the charity had discouraged Fundraising Groups from running any raffle for which a licence is required. All raffles with cash prizes or for which tickets are sold in advance need a licence.

Head of Fundraising Volunteering Sophie Kinsman said: “We do not encourage Fundraising Groups to organise their own licensed raffles, because it’s massively complex. There’s a lot of regulation and administration and, if someone makes a mistake, it could have an impact on Marie Curie’s own raffle licence.

“But we have devised a process by which groups can obtain Marie Curie’s own raffle tickets to sell.

“There are good cash

prizes for winners, so it’s a really attractive raffle to be able to offer people. And Marie Curie holds the licence, carries out all the admin and carries out the draw. All the Fundraising Groups have to do is sell the tickets and make sure they are returned on time.”

Robbie Buscombe, the charity’s lottery and raffle promoter, said “We are very pleased to be able to offer this option to Fundraising Groups in England, Scotland and Wales.

Unfortunately we do not have a licence in Northern Ireland, so we are not able to offer this to Fundraising Groups there.”

Marie Curie Fundraising Groups throughout the UK will continue to organise small raffles at events, for which no licence is needed. For most raffles in which all tickets are sold at an event and the draw takes place there, no licence is needed.

For full guidance see the Marie Curie intranet.

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Case management support for dementia patients in Wales Marie Curie Cancer Care is introducing new case management support for patients with dementia who have palliative care needs in South West Wales.

Three senior nurses will work in Hywel Dda Health Board, which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

Acting Regional Manager for the Marie Curie Nursing Service in Wales Helen Davies is managing the service. She said: “Their role will be to make sure that people who have palliative care needs and also have dementia get all the care that is available to them. The senior nurses will be responsible for the case management of this particular group of patients.

“They’ll be in the community, working closely with GPs, District Nurses, Community Psychiatric Nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary team, attending meetings about palliative care patients, and linking closely with care homes – a lot of patients with dementia live in care homes. They’ll be helping identify patients who fit the criteria for the service. Patients will receive care from local dementia and palliative care services as appropriate.”

The senior nurses will help ensure people with palliative care needs and dementia get the care they need (stock photo)

The new service is jointly funded by Marie Curie and Hywel Dda Health Board.

“We are recruiting nurses at the moment,” Helen said. “This is a new role – it’s about equity of care.”

The service is set to start operating in early summer.

10

APRIL 2013

Great Daffodil Appeal brave March weat Thousands of volunteers have turned up to collect for the Great Daffodil Appeal, despite cold, wet weather in early March.

At the time of writing, the number of collectors was heading for a new record, and more than £750,000 had been banked from street collections alone. The charity also has a record 70,000 unmanned boxes in shops, businesses, workplaces, schools, pubs, cafes and places of worship across the UK. Senior Fundraising Product Manager Sophie Mackinder said: “We are optimistic about the Great Daffodil Appeal, despite the weather.

Our volunteers have been wonderful, turning out in some really grim conditions, and we are seeing a lot of generous donations. We are very grateful to everyone for turning out to collect. We have really been helped by the national TV advertising campaign and the PR drive to ensure that daffodils were prominent throughout the media.”

A drive by Marie Curie’s PR team ensured that more than 20 football managers appeared on TV wearing Marie Curie daffodils. The charity sent daffodils to all Premiere League, Scottish Premiere League and Championship managers, with a request to wear them for media interviews.

Managers sporting daffodils on screen included Harry Redknapp (QPR), Paul Lambert (Aston Villa), Roberto Mancini (Manchester City), Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool), Sam Allardyce (West Ham). Roberto Martinez (Wigan), Chris Hutton (Norwich) and Martin Jol (Fulham).

Other media highlights of the Great Daffodil Appeal included Marie Curie Nurse Ann Brady being interviewed on ITV’s Daybreak.

Evie Miller supports the appeal outside the Titanic Exhibition Building in Belfast

Eaton Golf club get in the swing in Norwich

Harry Rednapp faces the post match interview sporting a Marie Curie daffodil

Debbie Morran raffles a giant cupcake in Inverness

APRIL 2013

ppeal volunteers weather Michelle Bate with a fundraising cow at Reddish Vale Farm in Stockport

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Homeserve Chief Executive Jonathan King and colleague Chris Turner as Tweetie Pie take part in Wear Something Yellow to Work in Walsall

Becky Hulme and Gertrude the fundraising pony

Danielle Larner and her daughter Lillyanna wrapped up for a street collection

12

APRIL 2013

Individual INNOVATION Back in the 1950s, a new charity began using a new method of fundraising.

Writing directly to potential supporters, explaining the work of the charity, and asking them for money was at the time an innovative approach – and it proved a very successful one from the earliest days of the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation.

In the early days, the charity was able to bring in significant sums with a series of inventive direct-mail appeals – ranging from a “namesakes” appeal (in which the charity wrote to people in the phone book who shared a surname and asked them to contribute to an appeal) to the use of celebrity supporters to write appeal letters (BBC radio star Wilfred Pickles proved very popular).

These days, Individual Giving (which incorporates direct marketing) is a huge operation, and a key part of the charity’s fundraising strategy. It’s also as innovative as ever, as Head of Individual Giving Richard Yorke told us.

Spring/Summer 2013

“It's amazing to think this all came from donations!" step inside the new Marie Curie Hospice, West Midlands – the hospice you built

Your Marie Curie Cancer

£120,000 grant for gaming site

(Above) Richard Yorke and (below) old and new appeals

Care Magazine

Thank you everyone

How you made the Great daffodil Appeal and Text santa better than ever

Could

ybaoreuit? to From sponsored skinny dipping you're finding cycling Coast to Coast – Marie more and more ways to support Curie Cancer Care

Also inside Real-life supporter stories; sign up for the Blooming Great Tea Party; enter the Shine On crossword competition; and much, much more!

“Individual Giving is split into two parts. One part is about gaining mainly small donations from a lot of people – it covers direct debits, standing orders, payroll giving and cash donations. The other is about gaining very large gifts from not many people.” Richard said.

“Our work includes different techniques such as direct mail, telemarketing, face-to-face fundraising, and door-to-door fundraising, as well as lotteries and other gaming activities.”

Individual giving is very much about numbers – both big and small.

Shaving half a penny off the cost of a mailing, or persuading the average donor to give an extra 20p makes a big difference when communicating with 500,000 people.

“This is a very analytical part of fundraising – it’s very much about segmentation, targeting and projecting across large numbers of people,” Richard said. “When we interview people for jobs, we always give them a spreadsheet test.

RESULTS “We monitor results very closely.

We compare different mailings all the time – we constantly test different wordings and packs. Does a new pack bring in a different donation compared with the cost of producing it? We look at the attrition rates – how many regular donors drop out – against average value and work out how much net we’re making and return on investment.

“There is a creative element to it in terms of writing copy and designing mailing packs and telephone scripts – and our regular giving fundraisers and legacy advisors have excellent communications skills, as they talk directly to members of the public.”

While the charity continues to welcome all gifts and any supporters, Richard’s top priority is to recruit more supporters to sign up to make a

monthly gift to the charity.

“We would always prefer to have people making a committed gift.

They tend to stick with the charity – it’s regular money coming in each month, and we don’t have to spend as much money mailing them.

“Last year, we raised just over £19 million; we’re going to raise £23 million this year, and next year just over £30 million. By the end of the strategic period 2011-14, we should be up to £34 million. “ We a r e a c h i e v i n g t h a t b y recruiting lots of new committed givers – we have 136,000 now, and we’re aiming to get to 200,000. We are spending significantly more to recruit new donors, and it is paying off, and will pay off even more in two years’ time.

“The main ways we are recruiting committed givers are via the telephone, door to door and through face to face fundraising in supermarkets and on the high street.

“We have an excellent in-house face to face team, who work in supermarkets recruiting regular givers. We also work with agencies which specialise in door to door and street fundraising,” Richard said.

“When we have recruited these people, we aim to communicate with them in a way that maximises the amount that they give to us. Next year, we’ll be focusing on how we communicate with supporters in the most effective way to keep them with us as long as possible.”

Individual Giving is also responsible for the charity’s drive to increase the number of donations people make in memory of a loved one.

“We get a lot of in-memory donations by the nature of what we do. That’s always been the case, but we’re looking to increase in-memory to £6 million by 2014.

“We have introduced the new Marie Curie In-Memory funds, which

people can set up online. We are rolling out an in-memory strategy where people can donate to us, and encouraging our staff and volunteers, right across the charity, to talk to potential supporters to set up a fund.”

Legacies remain Marie Curie Cancer Care’s single biggest income stream – totalling £21 million in 2011/12.

Each legacy is worth an average of £20,000.

Obviously, the charity does not benefit immediately a supporter changes their will to make a gift to Marie Curie (on average, eight years pass between a person’s last will and their death) – which means that the charity’s current legacy income does not reflect the work of the current legacies fundraising team.

TARGETED “We are targeted to recruit pledgers – people who tell us that they have made a gift in their wills,” Richard said. “The target this year was 1,050, and we’ve recruited 1,300. Legacy fundraising is different from our other work in some ways. We run legacy events, which are face to face.

However, we also do direct marketing and telemarketing, and we’ve had considerable success in these areas.”

Marie Curie Cancer Care has been running a weekly lottery for 17 years – it has always been a popular and successful means of fundraising.

“This year, we’ve launched a new direct marketing raffle. That will raise over £1 million net profit,” Richard said. “In the medium term, lotteries and other forms of gaming are likely to be a major area of growth – and we have an exciting project underway in this area.”

With further plans for innovative and original ways of raising funds and communicating with supporters, Richard and his team are determined to make sure that charity’s Individual Giving operations continue to be one of the leaders in the field.

Marie Curie Cancer Care has been given a grant of £120,000 to develop its online gaming as an innovative approach to fundraising.

The government money was awarded via Nesta – an independent charity with a mission to help people and organisations bring innovative ideas to life.

The charity will use the funds to develop an integrated online gaming Robbie Buscombe platform.

Individual Giving Manager – Projects and Operations Robbie Buscombe said: “We have to come up with ways of innovating gaming in the third sector. We are collaborating with four commercial organisation to build a new gaming platform that will look, and work, like a commercial site. But it will be branded Marie Curie.

“The plan is to offer all our gaming products, including some new ones. So supporters will be able to take part in our lottery, scratchcards and bingo, as well as crosswords and Sudoko puzzles.

“Nesta are interested in what they can learn from the site, so that they can educate others and advance and improve fundraising across the sector. There’s considerable time pressure – we need to complete the site

by August, so we are approaching the project in smaller bursts running in parallel. But it’s a great opportunity to develop something that will really boost our income.”

Legacy drive sets new record A test of gifts in Wills telemarketing against alongside Marie Curie’s annual gifts in Wills mailing has resulted in the charity’s most successful legacies campaign ever.

A total of 763 people informed the charity that they had included a gift in their Will to Marie Curie already; 346 supporters said they intend to include the charity in their Wills in the future; and 810 people asked for Dan Carter more information about including a gift in their Will.

Individual Giving Manager – Legacies Dan Carter said: “For the Gifts in Wills mailing we tested two letters – a four page letter versus a folder pack, with each being sent to 50,000 warm supporters. The long letter was a soft approach from a Marie Curie colleague who had pledged a legacy to the charity. It outperformed the folder pack so we’ll be rolling out this approach again this year.

“For our Gifts in Wills telemarketing we telephoned 5,000 supporters who received the long letter mailing. We called supporters before they received the letter to ask them if they would be happy to read it. Then we telephoned them again after they had received the letter to ask them if they wanted to support us in this special way.

“The result was a direct marketing and telemarketing integrated approach, which will be followed up by direct contact from our Legacy Advisors.”

Individual Giving Fundraiser – Legacies Kate McGrath said: “It’s important for everyone across the charity to remember that anyone they are in contact with may decide to support the charity with a gift in their Will – now or in future.

“We had done a great deal of background research to understand what persuades people to pledge a gift, and that research went into developing this approach. The research told us that many Marie Curie supporters want to give us a gift in their Wills – they are waiting for us to ask, and trust that we will be there in the future to make the best possible use of their gift.”

To find out more about how you can help spread the gifts in Wills message, contact your regional Legacy Advisor.

APRIL 2013

Gardeners celebrate spring at new West Midlands hospice Some of the nine-strong team of volunteer gardeners at the newly opened Marie Curie Hospice for the West Midlands can be seen marking the official first week of spring by planting spring flowers – primroses, snow drops and daffodils – by the gate leading to the hospice.

Leader of the group Barbara Baker said: “12 years ago at this time we planted the same flowers to mark the opening of the new garden at the old hospice on Warwick Road, Solihull so its a nice symmetry that we are here again outside our new hospice in Marsh Lane planting some primroses, daffodils and snowdrops that we brought with us from the old hospice.

“We hope they will bring some spring cheer to people arriving here for many years to come.”

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Pictured (l-r) are Marie Curie volunteer gardeners Jan Burston, Dora Busby and Barbara Barker

How we’re listening to our Expert Voices Marie Curie Cancer Care’s Expert Voices Group consults people with experience of end of life care about the charity’s work and enables them to participate in the development of its services.

Members of the group are asked to comment on all aspects of the charity’s work.

Assistant Director Carers’ Services, Patient and Family Engagement Gerry Mahaffey said: “This is about listening to the voice of experience. It is invaluable to have a group that we can consult who have experienced end of life care – usually, but not always, from the Marie Curie Nursing Service, Marie Curie Hospices or Marie Curie Helper.

“We want our Expert Voices to be involved throughout the charity, and to use their expertise to shape the charity – whether they are designing services, evaluating our services or supporting the strategic direction of Marie Curie.”

Brian Andrews was one of the first members of the Expert Voices Group.

“The group was set up to tap into volunteers already associated with Marie Curie who had experience of being on the receiving end of end of life care. The charity consults these volunteers, and passes by them ideas and suggestions that the charity is thinking of implementing,” Brian said. “It’s about user experience – not just from a practical, but from an emotional, perspective.”

The group is spread across the UK, with members communicating mainly by email.

Brian Andrews

It is managed by Patients and Families Involvement Manager Claire O’Neill, “Claire will send out an email to the whole group, asking us to look at a paper, project or suggestion. She then takes feedback from anyone who responds, usually individually by email,” Brian said. “We’re usually asked a couple of times a month – it can be a bit feast or famine.”

The group are not generally circulated about others’ feedback, or collective feedback,

which helps ensure that the charity can obtain the opinions of many individuals on suggestions, rather than a single collective view from a group.

“It’s a tremendous idea. I personally believe that if we steer one significant initiative in the right direction, that makes it worthwhile. The important thing is that we’re driving improved outcomes for patients and carers,” Brian said.

Members of the group are also now being asked to help the charity with its programme of internal hospice inspections – by visiting sites with the inspection teams.

“I will be taking part in inspections in Bradford and Newcastle in the near future,” Brian said. “I’ll be an added pair of feet on the ground, with a particular interest in how surveys and feedback are handled.”

Brian, a retired management consultant from Beckenham, Kent, first became involved with Marie Curie as a volunteer member of the charity’s Patient and Carer Feedback Board, offering his professional expertise. He continues to contribute in this role.

“We have recently been looking at the annual user survey, and at other ways of getting feedback, and how they can be implemented,” he said. “Surveys are an area where I have particular experience.”

Brian became involved with Marie Curie after the charity cared for his wife, Gillian nearly two and a half years ago.

“I found myself volunteering as a result of

The Expert Voices Group is consulted on Marie Curie services (photo to illustrate services)

tragic circumstances,” he said. “Marie Curie looked after her for the last 14 hours of her life. It was such a profound experience that I volunteered to help. Marie Curie tapped into my business expertise, and I’ve been on boards and project groups.

“It’s something my wife would have approved of – she did volunteering for a local hospice in the 1990s. It’s given me the chance to give back for help I had during a difficult time.”

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APRIL 2013

Our ad makes a big impact Marie Curie Cancer Care’s new TV advertising campaign has been making an impact with the public, and sparking discussion on issues around death and dying.

The ad has been appearing on commercial TV channels, and at arthouse cinemas.

It has been viewed more than 45,000 times on YouTube, and a similar number of times on Facebook.

There are more than 1,500 comments on Facebook about the ad.

The ad has also been the subject of articles and comment in the national press, including: pieces in the Times, the Guardian and Mail online, as well as the Sunday Times feature reproduced on page 16. The ad was also mentioned on ITV’s Daybreak.

Great Daffodil Appeal Communications Manager Charlotte Zamboni said: “We have been looking at responses on Facebook, and at the emails and other comments we have received.

“People seem to have understood the message that we are aiming to convey and they have been affected by it on an emotional level. The ad works very well for many people who have lost someone – it strikes a chord that many feel is appropriate.

“Of course, we have had a number of complaints, and we have responded individually to everyone who complained to us. But the overwhelming response has been very positive.

“The ad is reaching many people who have not yet engaged with the concept of end of life – it’s an introduction to thoughts and ideas, and has got people thinking about the issues around end of life. It feels as though it is having a big impact because it is introducing a new way of thinking about a very fundamental topic.”

Comments on the ad:

‘‘

New Marie Curie advert just came on, silences falls in our living room. I look up and both me and my Mum have tears streaming down our face.

’’

‘‘

I am terminally ill with cancer and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my aching heart.

Bless you all x.

’’

Gina Taylor-Dannatt

@e_ashleyy

‘‘

I’m a box co-ordinator and had a few times this week when I have been a little grumpy but this just makes me realise why I’m doing this.

’’

Julie Mcguire

‘We need evidence to address their needs’ Marie Curie Cancer Care is funding a two-year research project investigating the experiences and needs of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people. The project is being led by Dr Kathryn Almack, of the University of Nottingham, who talks about her work.

“The research project is looking at the experiences, needs and concerns of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. And to explore their end of life experiences and concerns about planning for end of life.

“It will be the first study of its kind in the UK, so we’re thrilled that it’s been funded by Marie Curie.

“The equality impact statement consultation for that assessment for the end of life care strategy indicated that sexual orientation and gender identity were likely areas for inequality and discrimination to occur. Yet we have very little evidence about the needs and concerns of this group. So we are hoping to find out more about what their needs and concerns are.

“We plan to start with a survey to get a breadth of data to look at LGBT people’s perceptions and concerns about end of life care, previous experiences of health and social care delivery and any plans they may

have made for future care and end of life care.

“That will be followed up by an interview phase of the project – we’re going to interview 60 people which we will draw from a sample of the survey respondents. That will be more in-depth, exploring people’s lives and concerns and needs around end of life care.

“We’re hoping to provide new evidence about this group of people from the data that we collect and translate that into guidelines for policy makers and service delivery.

“The final phase of the project will be a public engagement workshop.

We will be inviting older LGBT people and those who work with them with the intention of feeding back our findings from the research project and developing a series of guidelines for service providers.

“There’s very little that is known about older LGBT people’s lives. But from what we do know, I think there may be similar issues that they face to heterosexual people particularly around end of life care, getting older, being more vulnerable, frail etc.

“So there will be similar needs, but there will be distinct needs, as well, particularly for an older generation who have lived through times of

Very little is known about the older LGBT people’s lives

criminalisation and pathologisation of sexuality. Trans people’s needs are still very little understood and they still face a lot of discrimination.

“Although I think legislation and societal attitudes have moved on, they’re a generation who have a peer group where there was less tolerance.

They may be very private about their lives, and not want to be fully open about who they are.

“But being able to say who you are

and what’s important to you at end of life is incredibly important. And we need to find ways to make sure that this community feels safe in being able to express who they are and who is important to them in their lives.

“I think end of life care research is very important. Death and dying is something that touches on all our lives. And we know that good end of life care can help patients have a better death, and it can also help the

people left behind into bereavement.

“So it’s important to have the research that will help us better understand the needs of a wide range of people, across different conditions and different populations. And in the case of our research looking specifically at the needs of older LGBT people whose needs have been neglected and are little understood, to have evidence to address their needs.”

APRIL 2013

15

BT runs shops challenge BT ran a Marie Curie Shops Challenge across six shops in Northern Ireland – bringing in a total of £5,000 in trading income and fundraising, with a matched donation from BT boosting the total to £10,000. And BT teams also contributed more than 750 bags of quality stock, which will sell for around £15,000.

The challenge involved six teams competing to see which could boost profits most in a single day of trading and fundraising. BT teams were supported by the shops’ regular managers, who provided advice and support, both before the event and on the day.

Corporate Development Manager Anne Hannan said: “The first part of the challenge was to generate stock by asking colleagues, friends and family. One team phoned around dry cleaning businesses for clothes that had not been picked up, and got a lot of donations.

“The teams then got to set up the

shops as they wanted, aiming to make as much profit as possible over a single day’s trading. They also ran competitions and tombolas.”

The final round of the competition involved an A p p r e n t i c e -style boardroom interview in front of a panel of judges from BT, Business in the Community and Marie Curie.

“It’s been excellent,” Anne said.

“It’s very unusual for one company to provide six teams for a shops challenge – usually these events involve teams from different companies competing. And BT are keen to run another one next year.

“We are very grateful to them for supporting the event, matching the fundraising and for allowing their amazing staff to dedicate so much time and effort to it.”

Results were announced at BT Riverside Tower, Belfast – the Ballyhackers team at Ballyhackamore shop won the event by raising £1,300 on the day.

The winning Ballyhackers team with (front, right) Northern Ireland Shops Manager Clayre Sloan

Survey results: being in a Fundraising Group is ‘excellent’

Yate and Sodbury Fundraising Group in action

A survey of members of Marie Curie Fundraising Groups found that 66% rated their experience as being excellent or very good, and a further 25% rated it as good.

The feedback survey was completed by 122 people – 5% of Fundraising Group members.

Fundraising Group Programme Manager Sacha Glasgow-Smith said: “The results are encouraging – the overwhelming majority (95%) of respondents believe that their group is achieving its aims. Most (75%) think that the level of support provided by Marie Curie is excellent or very good.

“The most enjoyable aspect of being in a group was the cause (31%), closely followed by the social aspect (29%), and raising money (21%). That suggests that the groups are highly committed to the charity and get a lot out of fundraising for us.

“The least popular aspect of fundraising group membership was – predictably – paperwork and bureaucracy (cited by 19% of respondents). Some (17%) had experienced issues within the group, either a lack of members or personality clashes.”

The biggest proportion (46%) of respondents had been a member of their Fundraising Group for between one and two years. 24% had joined three years ago, while 14% had been a member for less than a year. Some (10%) has joined more than a decade ago.

“Following on from this survey, we want to find out even more about the experiences of members of our Fundraising Groups,” Sacha said. “We will be carrying out further research in the near future.”

Rent a car – raise some cash

Marie Curie Cancer Care has teamed up with livecarhire.com in a promotion that will donate £1 to the charity for every car booked.

Livecarhire.com aggregates information from 550 car hire companies worldwide to enable consumers to compare best-value deals online.

“It’s similar to other price comparison websites, but for car hire,” Ed Hennessey, from the charity’s commercial team, said.

“You enter where and when you want the car, and it’ll find what’s available in your area. Then it brings up a map with prices, so you can pick the car and deal that suits you.

“Both the partnership and the website are quite new, but we think there’s good potential for us.

People hire cars all the time, either because they don’t own a car, or because they away are on holiday or business. This is a handy site that should enable them to save money when they do so.”

For more details, visit livecarhire.com

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APRIL 2013

So tell me: how do you want to die?

Marie Curie’s PR team arranged for Sunday Times Associate Editor Eleanor Mills to shadow Marie Curie Nurse Claire Beecham. This sensitive and moving article (published on 10 March) was the result.

Daffodils at a quid a bunch — it must be spring. As they slowly turn from buds to yellow glory, the days lengthen, and they’ll soon be nodding in the breeze.

Daffodils are also blooming across billboards and television screens, symbolising the Marie Curie cancer care charity’s annual fundraising drive for its nurses. This year its campaign slogan is “Your last moments should mean as much as your first” — a sentiment brought to life by a short film that contrasts the first smile of a tiny baby with the last smile of a dying oldie; the first steps of a toddler with the last grin of an old man; a newborn’s tiny fingers encircling a parent’s large ones with a wrinkled hand being lovingly stroked at the end of life.

CELEBRATE Too often we celebrate those baby firsts but neglect the precious final moments of old age, and this bias is reflected in the way we care for the dying. The UK employs 41,339 midwives and only 5,730 palliative care nurses. Yet we all die and 83% of us believe the National Health Service should give end of life care as much importance as care for newborns.

The waiting games at the start of life and at the end are similar. My second baby was two weeks late; vastly pregnant and sick of heifering around, I recall grumbling about the delay to my octogenarian granny.

“Birth is like death, darling,” she said, sagely. “You know it will come, but you have no idea when.”

Those words rang in my head as I drove to Chigwell, Essex, late in the evening to do a night shift with a Marie Curie Nurse. Sitting outside the house of Brian, 69, a terminally ill Huntingdon’s disease patient, I was suddenly worried that he might “pass” — as the professionals say — while I was there. This freaked me out a little, because these days we’re no good at confronting death.

Apparently, only a quarter of us discuss our end-of-life wishes with our family, and only 8% of us spell out precisely what we want to happen when we die. Eerily, I also realised I’d arranged this trip on the anniversary of the death of a close relative, so I felt rather emotional.

Claire Beecham

I couldn’t have been in better hands, though. With a soothing bedside manner, Claire Beecham, the Marie Curie Nurse I was to shadow, confided that I shouldn’t worry.

Nursing a dying patient in their own home, I discovered, is incredibly intimate. Marie Curie provides a free service for families nursing their loved ones, giving respite care by looking after the sick person between 10pm and 7am so the main carers can get some much-needed sleep.

Since the charity’s first campaign in 1986, £61.5m has been raised to support its work.

Brian was lying in a hospital bed in the centre of the family’s living room. His son Tony, 44, had stopped working as a fork-lift truck driver so he could care for his father full-time, while Pauline, Brian’s wife, went out to work as a receptionist for a local undertaker.

EXPERIENCE Claire has 25 years of experience as a district nurse and a teacher of nursing, but she retired several years ago. Nowadays, for two nights each week, she leaves her businessman husband and comfortable life behind her and drives to the home of a sick stranger to care devotedly for them.

“To me — and many of the women in my family — nursing isn’t just a job; it’s a vocation, a noble calling to tend to the sick,” she says matterof-factly.

“I have found that as much as you might want to, you can’t change your genes; nursing is just in my blood. Once I had retired I found that I missed the one-to-one of caring — of feeling you can make a difference using the expertise gained from all

Making sure that the patient’s family are comfortable is an important part of Marie Curie nursing (photo posed by models)

those years on the front line — to make someone more comfortable in their final hours. I do this because I want to give something back.”

While I sit rather stiffly on a sofa, making conversation with Tony about the Xbox games he plays to while away the hours, Claire bustles around making Brian comfortable. He has been fed through a Peg (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy — a tube that runs straight into his stomach) for more than a year now, so Claire fiddles around with syringes and asks Pauline about his medications and feeding.

Brian cannot speak any more, but he makes his views known with his eyes or by kicking out with his legs.

Claire, of course, slips into the swing of things like the professional she is, making the rest of the family feel at ease (she has seen them only once before) and dealing with a coughing fit with aplomb. By midnight Brian’s family are happy to leave him in her care and retire to bed. Claire assures Brian and Pauline that she will not fall asleep and will be there to tend to his every whim.

His wife sighs with gratitude; the toll it has taken on her is immense.

Caring for Brian, she says, has been like having a tiny baby again. He wakes often in the night and before he lost the power of speech he would call out for her constantly.

She has an intercom next to her bed so she can hear him breathing.

If the Marie Curie Nurse is not there she rushes downstairs if she hears him begin to rasp. They have been married for 45 years and Pauline is happy that Brian is now at home:

“When he was in the hospital he’d call out and no one would be there, so he’d get frightened. It’s such a relief having him at home, where we know he couldn’t be more comfortable.”

Brian was a choirboy and the couple met at church — St Anne’s in Limehouse, east London. They moved to Chigwell in the early 1970s and have lived on this same estate, in the same house, ever since.

“We’ve never regretted it,” says Pauline. Mementos of the old East End of London, including framed pictures of the stars of Only Fools and Horses, decorate the room and there’s even a model of the Trotter brothers’ infamous three-wheeler car — “Brian’s favourite”. Tony explains that all the memorabilia used to be on the stairs, but now that his dad can’t go up or down them the items have been moved in here so he can see them.

TENDERNESS The tenderness this family lavish on their father and husband makes the room feel like a cocoon of love — a happy, caring space despite the medical paraphernalia. No wonder most of us say we’d like to die at home. We’ve all got to go some time and what could be better than passing away in your own front room while being nursed by your child and spouse?

Unfortunately, the majority of us won’t be as lucky as Brian; more than half of Britons die in hospital and as more than 50% of over-75s live alone, they are unlikely to die at home surrounded by loved ones.

Claire explains that her role is not just to nurse; it’s also to calm

patients who are scared and upset.

She tries to assuage their fears, which often focus on the future of the family and how they will cope.

Being a Marie Curie Nurse is as much about counselling the dying and being a repository for their hopes, fears and secrets as it is about handing out medication.

HONESTY Birth and death are events that strip us of the fakeries and trivialities of everyday existence. In them we are revealed naked and whole, bathed in truth. It is this honesty, this sense of reality, that Claire is most drawn to; life pared down to the real essentials. “What you can do really matters,” she says.

Yet for so many of us the whole subject is taboo: according to the pressure group Dying Matters, a massive 79% of us are uncomfortable discussing dying, even if it’s with those who are closest to us.

This is a mistake. As anyone who has been through a bereavement knows, one of the only sources of comfort in the ensuing fog of grief is the knowledge that you did everything you possibly could for the person who has gone.

What Marie Curie attempts to do for everyone is help them to have a “good” death. By supporting the family who do the caring, the charity tries to create a space for love, reconciliation and peace at the end of life. Sadly unexamined and undiscussed, often even hidden, Marie Curie’s work is essential as at some point we will all need its care.

Copyright Eleanor Mills.

Reproduced by permission.

APRIL 2013

17

Gardens open for £500,000 NGS festival weekend Private gardens across England and Wales will open their gates to the public during 15-16 June for the first ever National Gardens Festival Weekend.

The festival, organised by the National Gardens Scheme (NGS), aims to raise £500,000 for nursing and caring charities, including Marie Curie Cancer Care, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Carers Trust. It is set to be the largest garden visiting event in history, with 800 openings planned over the two days.

Thanks to the hard work of garden owners and the enthusiasm of visitors, the NGS has donated £25million to nursing and caring charities over the past 10 years and is Marie Curie’s biggest ever donor.

This year, for the very first time, the NGS has organised the National Gardens Festival Weekend and invited as many gardens as possible to open over the two days for a unique weekend of garden charity giving.

Traditionally one of the NGS’s busiest weekends, the 2013 dates also coincide with Father’s Day on Sunday 16 June.

Chief Executive of The National Gardens Scheme George Plumptre said: “We hope that the focus on this

nationwide event will raise awareness of both the NGS and the charities we support with some £2.5 million donated annually. We are aiming to raise £500,000 from the weekend to add to our fundraising from garden openings throughout the rest of the year. Visiting a beautiful garden and stopping for some tea and cake is a really enjoyable way of raising money for charity and every year thousands of people do exactly that. On our festival weekend we want lots more people to join them and help raise millions of pounds for our group of wonderful beneficiaries.”

All gardens opening during the National Gardens Festival Weekend are listed in the 2013 edition of The Yellow Book, amongst more than 3,800 gardens open to the public on behalf of the NGS throughout the year.

You can also find details of Festival Weekend garden openings on the ngs website: ngs.org.uk • The 2013 edition of the Yellow Book is available to purchase from bookstores and garden centres or it can be ordered direct from the NGS at ngs.org.uk for £9.99 (including p&p).

Skating stars make for gold medal evening British Olympic gold medal winning ice dance skaters, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean were special guests at an exclusive charity dinner and auction in support of the Marie Curie BIG build appeal.

The event took place at Hampton Manor Hotel, Birmingham. It was organised by the West Midlands Hospice Fundraising Group, who are raising £100,000 to pay for a family respite room at the newly-opened Marie Curie Hospice for the West Midlands in Solihull.

Chairwoman of the group and event organiser Anne Lavery said: “We were absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to build a fundraising event around Jayne and Chris’s generous agreement to support us, and with further support from Hampton Manor, Jo Malin and many other local businesses and individuals, we raised an amazing £21,000.”

The West Midlands Hospice Fundraising Group has now raised £96,000 out of its target £100,000.

L-R shows: Fundraising Group Chairwoman Anne Lavery, skaters Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill and Commercial Director, Hampton Manor Hotel Jayne O’Malley

Holbeck Lodge, Nottinghamshire is taking part in the NGS Festival Weekend

Executive Board update Marie Curie People publishes a brief monthly summary of decisions and discussions by the charity’s Executive Board. The information is also available on the charity’s intranet. Items in February and March included the following: Patient and family engagement The board received an update on patient, carer and family engagement.

• T h e c h a r i t y n o w h a s 2 6 patients and carers on its Expert Voices Group, whose members are feeding in to a range of projects, including Lights to Remember, the charity’s digital strategy and research looking into the needs of those at the end of life.

• More than 60 people responded to an online survey about care delivered by Marie Curie. Key results include: 93% said they were involved in care decisions as much as they would like; and 98% said that the carer was given the right level of support • Further work is being done to develop ways of capturing real time patient and carer feedback through the website.

Major investment to support Palliative Care Funding Review A proposal to invest £1.2 million in improving palliative care in Southampton a n d We s t H a m p s h i r e w a s discussed. Money is being made available by Marie Curie as part of its commitment to support the development of the Palliative Care Funding Review in England.

Discussions are taking place with commissioners and service providers in Southampton and West Hampshire to test the impact on patient care

and outcomes of: local service coordination; case management; a palliative care support worker service; and discharge planning.

Further details about the proposal will be discussed at the charity’s next board meeting in March.

Operational Plan 2013/14 The board signed off on the charity’s operational plan for 2013/14 – the final year of the current Strategic Plan.

All information will be made available to managers for sharing with their teams.

Year end forecast The latest forecast for the full financial year is that the charity will make a deficit of £1.9 million – against a budget for a full year deficit of £4.8 million. However, March is a highly significant month for the charity in terms of income, so no chickens can be counted at this stage.

Action on the Francis Report The board received a comprehensive report on the recommendations contained in the Francis Report into the Mid Staffs hospital scandal.

A number of key themes were identified which are likely to have an impact on Marie Curie.

Work will start immediately on gaining a deeper understanding of the recommendations and their impact on the charity if accepted by government.

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APRIL 2013

Lucky day for Marie Curie Actress, TV presenter and writer Julie Peasgood joined colleagues from Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Rank Group to celebrate a fundraising partnership which has raised a whopping £1 million for the charity.

Marcus Guidici (Rank Group), Julie Peasgood, Quentin Young (Rank Group), Marie Curie Nurse Izzy Partridge and Piper Foster (Rank Group) were pictured at Grosvenor G Casino, Picadilly in London.

Marie Curie supporter Julie played Fran Pearson in Brookside, Jo Steadman in Emmerdale and Jacqui Hudson in Hollyoaks.

The partnership between the charity and the Rank Group, which began in January 2010, has seen team members and customers from Mecca clubs, Grosvenor Casinos, Meccabingo. com and the Rank Group head office take part in a host of different activities to reach this fundraising milestone.

Shake it up

The Superdrug advert

As part of the Superdrug and Marie Curie partnership, the tune from Superdrug’s TV advert is available to download from Itunes to benefit the charity.

The song - Shake it up by West Frankz vs The Fat Lady costs 75p to download, and the profits all go to Marie Curie.

Marie Curie Head of Corporate Account Management Joanna Hancock said: “We are delighted that this download is on offer to benefit Marie Curie. It’s a great way to raise money for the partnership, and a great tune.

It’s very catchy.”

Download the tune at: https://itunes. apple.com/gb/album/shake-it-up/ id616108929?ls=1 Marie Curie Cancer Care is Superdrug’s charity partner for 2013 and 2014. The campaign has a total fundraising target of £750,000.

We welcome social care recommendation Marie Curie has welcomed a recommendation to include fasttrack access to social care for the terminally ill by the Joint Committee for the Draft Care and Support Bill.

The Bill – which applies to England only – proposes a single law for adult care and support that replaces existing complex legislation.

Commenting on the committee’s report, Director of Policy and Public Affairs Imelda Redmond said: “Marie Curie Cancer Care welcomes the Joint Committee for the Draft Care and Support Bill’s report. The Bill is a ground-breaking piece of work which will simplify the legislation around care and support and make it easier for people and their carers to access the services they need. The recommendations by the Joint Committee will strengthen the Bill further.

“Marie Curie is particularly pleased to see that the amendment we proposed to the Draft Care and Support Bill, to fast track means and care needs assessments for

people who are terminally ill has been recommended for inclusion in the final Bill by the Joint Committee for the Draft Care and Support Bill.

“Research by the Nuffield Trust shows that terminally ill people who receive social care are less likely to use hospital care. If the Marie Curie Cancer Care amendment is agreed in the final bill, it will mean that those with a terminal illness will no longer face long waits for social care they so desperately need, and for many it will mean being able to avoid prolonged admissions to hospital, the place where people say they would least want to be near the end of their lives.”

Marie Curie’s amendment would: • Place a statutory duty on local authorities to fast-track care needs and financial assessment within 24 hours for terminally ill people with less than six months left to live • Place a statutory duty on local authorities to offer carers of someone who is terminally ill a carer’s assessment

Ronald Cameron Special Project Leader Kate Cotton writes: It is with sadness that we report the death of Ronald Cameron NDD, a Patron of the Marie Curie Private View at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

Ronald has given us a wonderful bronze statue for the auction each year which over time has raised many thousands of pounds for the charity, and we were delighted when he agreed to become a Patron of the event.

He was born in 1930 and trained as a sculptor at Camberwell School of Art where he was awarded a National Design Diploma in 1951.

After two years with the Gordon Highlanders in Malaya as a national serviceman, he spent 10 years as a black and white line drawing artist with an advertising agency until he became a professional sculptor in 1963.

Ronald had an established international reputation for detailed and accurate work. His most famous later works are of the female nude figure which he portrayed with poise and confidence.

In latter years his widow Dorothy has also donated wonderful bronzes of animals for this event.

We acknowledge the generosity and loyalty of Ronald and Dorothy in supporting our work, who between them have enabled many families to benefit from the support of our Marie Curie services.

APRIL 2013

19

seconds with...

Soren Thomas Donal Ridgley was born on 25 January to Senior Project Manager (Caring Services) Harmony Ridgley and Andy Wright. He weighed in at 3.52 kgs at the Whittington Hospital, London.

Hatched and matched is Marie Curie People’s spot for your wedding, civil partnership and new baby photos. If you’re a newlywed, or a proud parent, we’d love to see your photos. Please send us up to three (maximum) high resolution (300dpi+) Jpeg or Tiff files by email only (don’t send us your precious prints). For identification purposes, it would help if you could ensure the filename of the photo matches the subject’s name.

Melissa Maynard is Marie Curie’s Sustainability Advisor

Olivia Grace Turnham was born on 26 February at 00:50 am. Her proud parents are regional events fundraiser for Midlands and Anglia Edwin Turnham and his wife Sarah Turnham, the charity’s former community f u n d r a i s e r fo r N o r t h a m p t o n s h i r e , Leicestershire and Rutland.

Jute shopper Full price £3.50 Offer £3.15

Daffodil duck Full price £7.99 Offer £7.19

Grow your own vegetable patch Full price £9.99 Now £8.99

Blue polka dot cake plate Full price £6.99 Now £6.29

Spring reader offer 10% off online shopping Birdhouse doorstep Full price £9.99 Offer £8.99

Marie Curie People readers can get a 10% discount at Marie Curie Cancer Care’s online shop throughout April.

Shop with Marie Curie and redeem your exclusive discount by simply entering your discount code at the online checkout or quote over the phone.

Ed Hennessy, from the Commercial Team, said: “We are delighted to offer our staff and volunteers this discount on Marie Curie goods.

“There’s a huge range of goods on offer, from our range of daffodil gifts to food, stationary and gifts for him and her. This is an opportunity to pick up some great deals.”

To redeem your discount, go to mariecurie.org.uk/shop and quote PEOPLE10 at the checkout online.

Or call 0844 415 7845, order your goods and quote it over the phone.

New daffodil wellies Full price £19.99 Offer £17.99

Q: How long have you worked for Marie Curie?

A: Five hours.

Q: What did you do before?

A: I was the Communications Director for major national events (WWII 60th, Falklands 25th) at the Ministry of Defence.

Q: What are the three most important aspects of your job?

A: Working with people across an organisation to identify practical and effective ways to reduce carbon footprint and increase resource efficiency. Motivating people to adjust their habits to take account of environmental impact. Saving the world!

Q: what’s your typical day?

A: Radio 4, coffee, shower, coffee, train, coffee, meetings – gathering and analysing data. Evening Standard on train home. G&T and something to eat. Attend District Council meeting. Watch late-night current affairs programmes.

Q: What do you do when you’re not at work?

A: Housework, local council work, local energy group projects. Spend time with my children. DIY. Q: When was the last time you laughed?

A: Just now – when you asked to take my picture.

Q: What makes you happy?

A: Cuddles on the sofa with my children.

Q: What makes you sad?

A: Watching people wasting the world’s resources.

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

A: Taller.

Q. What’s your favourite pudding?

Brioche bread and butter pudding.

Q: What were your favourite childhood TV programmes?

A: Mr Ben and Horses Galore.

Q: Tell us a fascinating fact about yourself.

A: At 17 I was a ground stewardess for Air France.

Q: Which five people, alive or dead, would you like to invite to dinner?

A: Ian Hislop, Michael Portillo, Simon Roberts OBE, Queen Elizabeth I.

Spring wear from

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@mariecurieuk

MarieCurieUK

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Charity reg no. 207994 (England & Wales), SC038731 (Scotland) R241

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