May 2017 Issue 178. network. internal magazine for staff and volunteers. Get to know each other better as the Hospice celebrates Volunteers Week

Transcription

1 May 2017 Issue 178 network internal magazine for staff and volunteers Get to know each other better as the Hospice celebrates Volunteers Week

2 Welcome to network in this issue Volunteers Week Getting to Know You Behind the team Update on changes at the Burton Centre We have now received planning permission to convert the large downstairs hall in the Burton Centre into a retail space. Why are we doing this? In offering a place for shoppers to come to view furniture and fashion, we will attract new visitors to the centre and its Haven Café, bringing people closer to our services. The introduction of a shop will also improve the sustainability of the centre and could save us more than 40,000 a year. What are the timescales? Work is expected to start in the middle of June. Our fashion shop will close at the end of June with the furniture shop shutting its doors at the end of August. There will be a soft launch of the shop in July, with a formal opening planned for September. What will change? The majority of groups using that hall will now use the community room upstairs. The new shop will be professionally fitted out to create a pleasant working environment for everyone. This change will bring opportunities for those volunteers who might like to try something different. 2 May 2017 Hello: Sales Assistant; Angela Underdown, Care and Support Operations Manager; Victoria Barber, Speciality Registrar; Natalie Attwood, Bank Hospice Nurses; Sheridan Goff and Frances Flynn, Volunteer Charplain; Michael Teader, Sylvan Ward Volunteer; Laura Durant, Family Support Volunteer; Neil Evans, Shop Volunteers; Margaret Bristley, Sarah Allen, Sarah Norton, Heather Robey, Nicola Polley, Susan Warren, John Davernport, Sheila Taylor, Wendy Mayes, Dorothy Bowes, Iris Wong, Robert Korzeniouski, Shane Palfry, Lisa Rampling and Marie Copsey. Goodbye: Major Gift Manager; Claire Butler, Bank Hospice Care Assistant; Christina Milnes, Hospice Neighbours; Anita Andreou, Aileen Coleman, Kelly Mingay, Grace Smith and Lauren McDonald, Ecommerce Volunteer; Jack Clark, Relief Receptionist; Carol Day, Fundraising Volunteer; Sarah- Jane Middleton, Shop Volunteers; Patricia Woodbridge, Jack Clark, Alison Harrison, Rose Clout, Daniel Manning, Kathleen Ferguson and Eileen Evans. Senior manager on-call Georgina Bissell - May 26 to June 2 Rachel Spencer - June 2 to June 9 TBC June 9 to June 16 Victoria Barber - June 16 to June 23 Georgina Bissell - June 23 to June 30 Pippa Wilding - June 30 to July 7 Staff Support Counsellor Julie Dansie on The on-call phone is no longer in use, to get in contact with the on-call manager please check the telephone numbers listed in the organisational calendar.

3 Volunteers Week Getting to Know You - our celebration of volunteering This month s edition of network is a little bit different. To mark Volunteers Week which takes place from Thursday, 1 June to Wednesday, 7 June, we have decided this edition should focus on our volunteers. As an organisation this is our chance to make sure our 700-plus volunteers know just what a huge difference they make to St Nicholas Hospice Care. Our Staff and Volunteers Party which will take place on Sunday, 4 June will mark the start of St Nicholas Hospice Care s Volunteers Week activities. But we wanted to do more - we wanted to get everyone talking about our volunteers, which is why we are encouraging everyone to get involved with the Hospice s Getting to Know You initiative which will run from Monday, 5 June to Friday, 9 June. As part of the Getting to Know You activity we want our staff and volunteers to spend an hour with each other. Based on our Day in Another Directorate initiative this will be a chance for staff to spend some time with a volunteer to learn more about what they do. Find out what drives them to help the Hospice and maintain their support, whether they give their time as a Hospice Neighbour, volunteer for one of our support services or provide care and support for our patients. Staff will also be able to share their experiences which should create more understanding. Volunteer opportunities - could you lend a hand? There is an army of volunteers carrying out a variety of roles at the Hospice. If you think you could help out with any of the below call or volunteersdept@stnh. org.uk. Other volunteer vacancies are listed on the Hospice s website. Could you spare a few hours a week to help out at the Burton Centre? We are looking for volunteers who are happy to lend a hand wherever help is required, whether it is on reception or in the Haven Café. Get involved If you would like to take part in the Getting to Know You activity first you will need to chat to your line manager and agree when would be suitable for you to do it between June 5 and 9. Once this has been agreed you will need to contact the line manager for the relevant area and set it up directly with them. Do you have a flair for retail - why not help out at our St John s Street shop. We need more people to give their time on a Sunday. With a packed summer season of events we always need more Events Volunteers. vwww.stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 3

4 Getting to Know You Hospice experiences are enjoyed by our volunteers Our volunteers give their time to fill a number of different roles at the Hospice. Jasmine Doe and Niamh Sargent will shortly use their experiences to help them pursue medical careers, while Wendy Goult helps ensure the smooth running of our Facilities Team and much more besides. Eighteen-year-old Niamh Sargent has been volunteering at the Hospice since last September. Currently on a gap year before she goes to university to study medicine Niamh s time at the Hospice has given her the opportunity to learn and develop her skills. She explains: Working in Orchard has been a good opportunity for me to learn about how the Hospice works. As a volunteer rehab assistant I have been able to get involved with physiotherapy, occupational therapy as well as breathlessness, rehabilitation training and carrying out wheelchair assessments. I also help out with admin too. I have also had the opportunity to help a patient who was on the ward with pressure movement, I really enjoyed working with him and for me personally I enjoyed being able to see the difference the sessions were having. Being able to work in Orchard, on the ward and in the community will be really helpful when I start to study medicine, it will make a big difference. Seeing how the different teams interact and how they work alongside each other has been really interesting. Niamh, who hopes to start studying at Imperial College, London in October, volunteers on a Tuesday and Wednesday and has in the past completed work experience at the Hospice. I just find volunteering at the Hospice really rewarding, the Hospice is such a happy, nice and relaxing place and it is good to be part of that. As well as gaining medical knowledge and experience, being at the Hospice has also allowed me to meet a lot of different people. I love chatting to patients, getting to know them and finding out their stories. Even though I am only here for a few days a week I have learnt so much. 4 May 2017

5 Our Getting Values to Know You Seventeen-year-old Jasmine Doe started volunteering at the Hospice last November. Since then she has been giving her time to us two days every week after being motivated to do so for a number of reasons. Jasmine wanted to gain more experience before she takes the first steps in her nursing career, but she was also motivated by a personal connection, as her dad s best friend was cared for by the Hospice before his death. As a volunteer carer on the ward Jasmine has gained a range of new experiences, all of which she says will help her when she starts her nursing qualification at Anglia Ruskin University in September. I have learnt so much at the Hospice that will help me in the future and going into nursing I feel so much better prepared. When I started I never imagined that I would have been given the opportunities I have been, at 17 this really has been a great opportunity for me. I have learnt about a range of different diseases and medications and being able to talk to patients and their families has helped me improve my communication skills. I just love coming into the Hospice. Every time I come in I look forward to my shift, the Hospice is such a lovely place and everyone I work with has such a positive attitude. During a shift Jasmine can have a whole variety of jobs to do, but they mostly centre around caring for patients and making sure they are comfortable. There are so many things I have enjoyed, but for me the most important things are those that have made a difference to the patients, for me that s what it is all about. Sometimes it can be hard emotionally, especially when you speak to families but I have definitely grown stronger. Wendy Goult, Volunteer Administrator for the Facilities Team, explains: Volunteering at the Hospice for me really is all about giving something back. Following the death of my husband David in 2011, the Hospice really dug me out of a great big hole. They introduced me to the Writing Group and after that I suppose I just wanted to give something back, and I really enjoy it. I didn t volunteer for this role in particular, but when I told them about my experience, which is in construction and health and safety, I was asked if I would consider being part of the Facilities Team. I think the most important thing for people to realise is that the Facilities Team is not just responsible for the main Hospice site. It looks after all of our buildings, the Burton Centre in Haverhill and all of the retail shops. When needed I can also act as an interpreter, as often staff or volunteers will come into the cabin to ask a question or ask for something to be done and they might get a very technical answer so I have been able to help them understand the everyday meaning behind the technical terms. vwww.stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 5

6 Hospice Values Finding our core values Together we ve answered the question: If St Nicholas Hospice Care was a person what would they be like and what values would you expect them to have? Your thoughts have enabled our Board of Trustees to find five core values which, as well as reflecting the Hospice s people, will continue to help guide the way everyone works together to care for and support our community. The new values were found by identifying five strong themes which emerged out of all of the words submitted by staff and volunteers. We then, from your words, established a value and created definitions. The Hospice s five core values are: Compassion: (What you can expect from our people) Care with warmth, kindness and honesty Listen: (How we treat people) What s important to you will be understood and not judged Team spirit: (How we work together) Working together takes respect, friendship, trust and a touch of laughter Learn: (How we lead and develop) Knowledge and skills should be shared generously Resilience: (Our attitude towards change and the future) Courage to move and grow with life s changes 6 May 2017

7 Organisational news Change to the Hospice s Occupational Health provider From Thursday, 1 June our Occupational Health provision will be provided by Wrightway Health. The decision for change was made to ensure a good service for everyone. Wrightway Health will offer a number of benefits, one of which being that you will receive appointments within five working days of a request being made which is considerably shorter than the waiting time at the moment. There will be some changes, for example you will no longer be able to self-refer to the service, instead this will be done through your line manager, but with the significantly shorter waiting time this should not affect the length of the wait for your appointment. Wrightway will also charge us less, which means not only will our staff and volunteers be getting a better service but the Hospice will be saving money too. You can read a booklet which introduces to Wrightway here Shortly all records will be transferred to Wrightway Health Ltd. If you have concerns over your records being transferred you should notify Emma Bell, HR Advisor in writing of your decision by Wednesday, 24 May If we do not hear from you by this date we will assume your consent. If you have any questions, Emma by calling Ext Fundraising events bring in the pounds for St Nic s Team Bed Heads - made up of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, physiotherapists, staff from the Hospice s Orchard Day Centre and its clinical admin team - flexed their muscles to raise more than 2,000 with a sponsored bed push. The event saw the team complete ten laps of an athletics track before they headed into Bury St Edmunds. The team decided to undertake the challenge following our Raising and Giving (RAG) week held last year. A stylish occasion has raised hundreds after staff and volunteers from our Sudbury and Long Melford shops teamed up to host a night of catwalk glamour. Thank you to everyone who supported the night which raised 800. vwww.stnicholashospicecare.org.uk 7

8 8 May 2017 Behind the team Meet the E-commerce Team This edition of network has focused on some of the work done by just a few of the Hospice s volunteers. The Hospice s teams are made up of paid staff and volunteers who all dedicate their time and expertise to the charity. Here we meet the E-commerce Team, which, thanks to its mix of staff and volunteers is continuing to grow. Volunteer support Based at our Chapel Pond Hill Donation Centre our E-Commerce Team are busy working behind the scenes to ensure a steady stream of income is generated for the Hospice. Using their knowledge and skills the team, which is made up of three paid members of staff and four volunteers work together listing hundreds of donated and new goods onto ebay, Amazon and onto our retail website, packaging up items which have been sold for sending, and much more besides. With a new volunteer just joining the team, Rob Webb, the Hospice s E-commerce Manager, says thanks to the work of the volunteers the team has been able to grow considerably in the last six months. Rob explains: The work of our volunteers really is invaluable. We are listing more and more items every month. The last six months we have really grown what we are doing and having our volunteers has really helped with that. There are a lot of different things you can do within the team which provides a lot of diversity for the volunteers. It s a great team to work in with a nice friendly environment. Sid Hunt is the E-commerce Team s longest serving volunteer, having joined the team around two-years-ago. Sid, who is also a Hospice Neighbour, volunteers every Tuesday and is responsible for listing items on Amazon, and when he comes in each week there can be between 250 and 400 items sitting on his desk. I enjoy it. It gives me something to do and we all have a laugh together, said Sid. If you would like to feature your team in network please katie.anderson@stnh. org.uk