marie curie people july 2013
DESCRIPTION
Newspaper for staff and volunteers.TRANSCRIPT
People
Delivering Choice methodology
Marie Curie’s Royal Patron His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales met
patient Margaret Atkinson and her grandson Daniel when he opened the
new Marie Curie Hospice for the West Midlands. SEE PAGES 10-11
ROYAL VISITOR FOR NEW HOSPICE
A programme to redesign and improve care for patients and families with palliative and end-of-life care needs across Northern Ireland is under way.
The two-year programme – entitled
Transforming Your Palliative and End of Life
Care – is part of Transforming Your Care, a
major government initiative to reform health
and social care across Northern Ireland.
The programme will use the Delivering
Choice methodology developed by Marie
Curie and used successfully in 18 large-scale
projects across the UK. It will be the biggest
project of its kind to date.
Marie Curie is working in partnership
with the Health and Social Care Board and
other organisations, including independent
hospices, charities and commercial
organisations, across the fi ve Health and
Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland.
The programme will also involve GPs, local
commissioners, allied health professionals
and others involved in care for patients
and families.
Marie Curie’s Head of Policy and Public
Affairs for Northern Ireland, Joan McEwan,
said: “We are delighted to have this
New two-year programme will redesign services for patients and families across Northern Ireland
TV stars join supporters for national brew-upPAGE 5
Colourful events celebrate the work of volunteersPAGE 7
How our Cardiff and the Vale hospice team offers supportPAGE 13
A BAKE FROM THE OLD ROUTINE
FLOWER POWER CELEBRATIONS
DYNAMIC DAY THERAPY
PARTNERSHIP SET TO TRANSFORM CARE
Marie Curie
Marie Curie Cancer Care’s
newspaper for staff
and volunteers
JULY 2013
groups. Together, we are looking at what is
the best solution for patients at the end of
their lives for each trust.
“We also anticipate the programme will
help to address future pressures on healthcare
from increasing life expectancy, which means
that more people will be living longer and
with multiple conditions.
“The aim is to improve end of life care
for patients and carers and give more people
the option to be cared for in the place of
their choice, which we know is home rather
than hospital.”
The Delivering Choice methodology which
will be used for Transforming Your Palliative
and End of Life Care project was developed
by Marie Curie in 2004 and has been used
for 18 projects in diff erent parts of the UK.
It introduces a whole-systems approach
to end-of-life care provision.
opportunity to help shape the future of end
of life care in Northern Ireland, and lead in
its design. This will be the fi rst time that this
methodology will be rolled out across a
whole region – one with such a varied
geographical footprint.
“It is all about ensuring that care is
totally patient-centred. The evidence from
our Delivering Choice projects in Somerset
and other areas shows that when you have
effective care in place, patients are much
less likely to die in hospital.”
ANALYSISThere will be three main stages to
Transforming Your Palliative and End of Life
Care. Initially, the project team will analyse
the current position, looking at current
services and their strengths, and where there
are gaps. They will analyse data and talk to
patients and health professionals.
The second stage will involve the
redesign of current services or the design
of new services.
The third stage will implement the
redesigned and new services. There will
also be an evaluation to identify successes
and learnings.
“The fi rst two stages will take
approximately nine months. We hope to
be caring for our fi rst patients under the
Transforming Your Palliative and End of Life
Care programme by summer 2014,” Joan said.
“Transforming Your Palliative and End of
Life Care is getting service providers – like
ourselves and the independent hospices –
sitting around the table with key stakeholders,
such as commissioners, GPs, other healthcare
professionals and patient and service user
Services that have been set up and run
successfully under Marie Curie Delivering
Choice projects include rapid response
nursing teams which can be called out
of hours, fast-track discharge nurses,
redesigned hospice day services, support
for care home staff and the Marie Curie
Helper Service.
Marie Curie and the Northern Ireland
Health and Social Care Board recently hosted
a joint Chief Executives’ summit with leading
Board and Trust stakeholders involved in
palliative care to launch the programme.
TVsunPA
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2 People July 2013
News
5THINGS YOU CAN DO THIS MONTH
1. WIN A MOUNTAIN OF VOUCHERS This year, why not take on a mountain and hiking
challenge in aid of Marie Curie? Whether you conquer
Ben Nevis or trek across the moors of Dartmoor, it’s
the perfect opportunity to get away from it all and
enjoy the great outdoors. If you sign up to a challenge
before 31 July you’ll be entered into a prize draw to be
in with a chance of winning £500 worth of vouchers
courtesy of holidaycottages.co.uk. To read the terms
and conditions or fi nd your mountain challenge, head
to mariecurie.org.uk/mountain
2. GET MORE KIDS TO GROW DAFFODILS Do you, your relatives or friends have children aged
3–11? Then ask their teachers to sign up for Mini
Pots of Care, Marie Curie’s fl orid fundraising activity.
This autumn, all the budding gardeners involved
will get a free kit of daffodils to plant and care for,
while learning about science and nature. And next
spring, they’ll celebrate their blooms by painting
fl ower pots and holding fundraisers for us. This year,
we’re aiming to sign up 3,000 schools, nurseries
and groups – and we need your help. So please tell
everyone to register by calling 0845 052 4184,
emailing [email protected] or visiting
mariecurie.org.uk/minipotsofcare
3. FILL UP YOUR SHOPPING TROLLEY Christmas might seem a long way off, but it’ll be here
before you can say “Hark the herald angels sing”.
That’s why you might want to start thinking about
shopping for all those presents. And what better
place to start than with the Marie Curie Christmas
catalogue, as 100% of profi ts help the charity? Head
to mariecurie.org.uk/shop now to browse our online
shop and stock up on Christmas cards, gifts and more.
4. HELP SOMEBODY SHARE THEIR STORY Have you heard that we have a Share your story form
on our main website? By fi lling this in, people with a
connection to Marie Curie can tell us all about their
experiences. Whether their loved one was cared for
by our nurses or they’ve supported us in some way,
their story could help to raise awareness of our work.
But fi rst we need you to help spread the word.
So please, include the link to our form –
mariecurie.org.uk/mystory – in your emails this month.
5. STEP OUT FOR MARIE CURIE Walk Ten, our 10k twilight walk, kicks off this
month. This is your chance to gain exclusive access
to some of the UK’s most stunning locations, enjoy
live entertainment as the sun goes down, share an
unforgettable summer’s evening with your friends
and family and raise money for people with terminal
illnesses. So take your fi rst step now and sign up at
mariecurie.org.uk/walkten. Or call 0845 052 4184
for more information.
Editor: Nick Moulton
Writers: Clair Whitefi eld, Lara
Jennings, Rob Jones, Angela Burton
Designers: Artful Dog Publishing
and Marie Curie Creative Services
Repro by: Selsey Press
Printed by: Mortons
Managed & distributed by:
CDL
Circulation: 6,500
Send stories to Editor Nick Moulton, Creative Services, Marie Curie Cancer Care,
89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TP. Email [email protected]
or phone me on 020 7599 7706 and I’ll draft a story from your call.
PeopleMarie Curie
Marie Curie People is the charity’s
offi cial newspaper for staff and
volunteers. It is published monthly.
MEDICAL ADVISER GIVEN OBE HONOURMarie Curie’s Medical Adviser, Dr Teresa Tate, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to Marie Curie and to palliative care.
Teresa was delighted to receive the
award. “I think it’s great that there is a
recognition of palliative care in this way,”
she said. “This is a refl ection of the work
of clinical colleagues within the charity
and further afi eld.”
Teresa retires this month, after just over
13 years with Marie Curie. She has been
Medical Adviser throughout a period of
rapid change and development, when the
charity has grown in size, and developed
into a high profi le organisation leading
end-of-life care in the UK.
Until recently, Teresa was – among
many other appointments – Deputy
National Clinical Director for End-of-Life
Care in England.
“It’s been very exciting to be part of
the development of Marie Curie and to
have contributed to what the charity is
doing to lead in palliative care and end
of life care,” she said. “We have achieved
so much by engaging with the public, the
NHS and the wider world.”
Also awarded the OBE was Jo Hockley,
now a Nurse Consultant at St Christopher’s
Hospice, who fi rst persuaded Teresa to
move from radiotherapy to the new
discipline of palliative medicine in 1988.
“It’s been a really exciting fi eld to be
involved in over the years, because the
MARIE CURIE PEOPLE NEEDS YOUR NEWS.
Major Windows upgrade off ers speed and security benefi tsAll Marie Curie Cancer Care’s 1,800 desktop and laptop computers are set to be upgraded to Microsoft Windows 7 and Offi ce 2010.
The major upgrade, which will begin
next month, will mean all computers
will be on a new operating system
and Offi ce application by the end of
February 2014.
Project Manager for IT Operations
Janette Hellyer said: “We need to do this
as Microsoft is withdrawing support in
2014 for our current systems, Windows
XP and Offi ce 2003. This would leave
the charity’s computers exposed to
viruses and security issues, and it would
be impossible for our IT service partner to
support the computer users.
“The new system has various additional
benefi ts: it is built with better security
options, faster at executing certain tasks;
it’s compatible with a greater range
of business applications; and we will
have less compatibility issues when
sending or receiving Offi ce documents
with organisations that have already
transitioned to Windows 7 and Offi ce 2010.”
The IT team is currently testing how
compatible Windows 7 is with the
charity’s present business applications.
Once this has been successfully completed
and piloted, the upgrade will roll out
across Marie Curie, starting with devices
at Albert Embankment and moving on to
computers at Pontypool, Links Place, the
Marie Curie Hospices, Swindon and then
fundraising and nursing offi ces.
speciality of palliative medicine was only
recognised in 1987. I’ve been lucky to be
in the right place at the right time,”
Teresa said.
Also honoured in the Queen’s Birthday
Honours were Legacy Advisor Judy Glossop,
Marie Curie Nurse Iris Honor Wright and
former Matron of the Marie Curie Hospice,
Solihull Sally Derry, all of whom were
awarded the British Empire Medal.
Judy, who joined Marie Curie Cancer
Care 19 years ago in September, was
honoured for services to people with
RECOGNITION:
Dr Teresa Tate said
her OBE refl ects the
work of her clinical
colleagues
Courtesy of Dell Inc.
cancer. She said: “What a surprise! I could
not believe it. Of course, it’s not just for
me, it’s for everyone who has supported
us – a lot of our volunteers have been
here longer than I have.
“My daughter, Sally, who died aged
eight, has been my inspiration, and has
given me strength.”
Former Matron Sally Derry spent the
last 22 years volunteering for Solihull
Bereavement Counselling Service. She
described her volunteering as “an
absolute privilege”.
3July 2013 People
Dazzling blue skies and chilly water greeted swimmers at this year’s national Marie Curie Skinny Dip.
The four simultaneous events in Wales,
Essex, East Lothian and Dorset saw 400
naked swimmers braving icy waves to
raise more than £50,000 for the charity.
Isobel Paul, Regional Events Manager,
Scotland, said: “We couldn’t have had
better weather. The sunshine across
the beach so early in the morning was
absolutely glorious and the smiling faces
of our amazing fundraisers added to the
SUPPORTERS GRIN AND BARE ITwonderful scenery to make the morning a
very memorable event for all involved.”
Claire Notman, Regional Events
Fundraiser, Wales and the West, who
watched as 91 fundraisers waded into
Oxwich bay on the Gower Peninsula,
said: “The weather was amazing and the
atmosphere was even better – everyone
just got into the spirit of things and had
a fantastic time. When I said how much
we’d raised, there were gasps from the
dippers. It really was such a wonderful,
worthwhile event.”
David Murdoch, one of the dippers at
Yellowcraigs beach in East Lothian, said:
“It was great fun. I signed up for the dip
spurred on by the fact that a friend of
mine who had gone into remission had
relapsed. She is fortunate to have friends
that can look after her, but so many
people don’t have this support, which is
where Marie Curie steps in.”
Regional Events Manager Jon Duckham,
who helped organise the dip at Studland
Beach in Dorset, said: “It was a perfect
morning and a wonderful atmosphere for
those taking part to enjoy a naked run
into the sea. What was also fantastic
was the incredible amount raised, which
exceeded our expectations.”
The national sponsored skinny dip
event was the winning proposal in
Marie Curie’s Big Idea competition for
innovative fundraising ideas in 2012.
Community Fundraiser (Wales and West)
Natalie Taylor suggested developing the
event as a national promotion, based
on supporter Alison Powell’s successful
event in South Wales.
Marie CurieSkinny Dip 2013
4 People July 2013
NEW STRATEGY TO BOOST DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIONEverything in our
hospice gardens is rosy
Dr Adrian Tookman named as new Clinical Director
Marie Curie at Commissioning Show
Policy
In June, I was in Belfast and Liverpool, enjoying meeting patients and their families – and even a dog called Hector – as well as staff , volunteers and supporters. In both cities, there was sunshine, so perhaps for that reason I looked even more closely at the beautiful hospice gardens. I met volunteer gardeners in Liverpool, some of whom were receiving long-service awards. What a fantastic job they do!
But it is not just me highlighting their value and
importance to us. Research has shown that the natural
environment improves our sense of wellbeing. This
applies whether we are patients, families, staff or
volunteers. The sight of greenery has been shown
to prompt a relaxation response in our brains and
spending time in the garden can reduce tension, blood
pressure and help us manage stress. So our gardens at
Marie Curie are important for all of us.
We have also commissioned research ourselves and
found that nearly 90% of people at the end of their
lives feel access to a garden or green open space is
essential, with over half of them saying gardens hold
some of their happiest memories. So well done and
thank you to all our volunteer gardeners. You are
doing a really important job.
This is also one of the reasons we are so delighted
to be one of the charities that benefi ts from the
money raised by the National Garden Scheme (NGS).
Over the past 16 years, it has donated over £6million
to us – think how many patients have benefi ted. The
scheme consists of people with gardens, large and
small, opening them to the public for a small entry
fee, with the money raised going to a number of
charities, including Marie Curie.
During the NGS Festival Weekend I went down to
Oxfordshire to a garden and met not only the owners,
who have been fantastic supporters of ours, but also
one of our nurses and Anneka Rice – who, of course,
arrived by helicopter. NGS wanted to use Anneka to
publicise what they are doing, giving people so much
pleasure but also highlighting how charities benefi t
from the funding.
It was tipping down with rain on the way there
and when I arrived, but, as the helicopter came in,
the clouds blew away and we could all enjoy the
garden. Thousands of gardens are open in England
and Wales throughout the summer. There is a similar
organisation in Scotland, but I don’t know if there
is one in Northern Ireland. So if you get the chance
please visit one of them both for your own wellbeing
and because you will be supporting our work.
• For more on the NGS see page 14.
Marie Curie Cancer Care is currently developing its strategy for 2014–2017 which will reaffi rm its commitment to being an inclusive and diverse organisation and employer.
The charity is developing a supporting
diversity and inclusion framework
and action plan that will illustrate how
it plans to deliver equality of access
and quality of care to all sections of
the community.
Dr Ian Gittens, Senior Project Manager
(Diversity), said: “We want to ensure that
all Marie Curie service users regardless of
their age, gender, gender identity, race,
religion or belief, marital status or sexual
orientation receive a quality service
in an environment that is free from
discrimination of any kind.
“A great responsibility is placed on
our staff and volunteers to ensure that
these expectations are met. We will be
Dr Adrian Tookman will be Marie Curie Cancer Care’s new Clinical Director from September.
Adrian (pictured), who has been
Medical Director at the Marie
Curie Hospice, Hampstead,
since 1985, will work
closely with the charity’s
new Medical Director, Bill
Noble, and Operations Director
Caroline Hamblett.
He said: “There is a wealth of
medical talent at Marie Curie and my
role will be to ensure this is used to best
effect, and bring the clinical leadership
and focus the charity needs. Dr David
Oxenham, the current Clinical Director,
has done a fantastic job and I want to
build on his successes.
“I see my role at Marie Curie
as encouraging the excellent
minds in our medical teams
to learn from each other
and share new palliative
care practices. My aim is to
encourage innovation and
ensure clinical engagement in
leadership. Our hospices should be
recognised as units that deliver the very
best care; this will ensure that Marie Curie
is seen as the national leader in specialist
palliative care.”
Marie Curie had a strong presence at the Commissioning Show – England’s largest national event aimed at NHS commissioners.
Over the two days, delegates attended
presentations by infl uential fi gures on
national and local issues, including one
by Dr Jane Collins on the importance
of joining up services around the patient.
Jane used Marie Curie’s Somerset
Delivering Choice Programme as an
example of an effective integrated end-of-
life care model that reduces unnecessary
hospital admissions and improves
patients’ experience of care at the end of
life. Other themes echoed in presentations
were the importance of evidence-led
services and patient empowerment.
The Health Service Journal, distributed
in delegate packs, contained a four-page
supplement on Marie Curie, featuring
articles about the charity’s involvement
in end of life care, case studies and best
practice examples from across the UK.
Catherine Salmon, Marketing Manager
in Caring Services and Research, said staff
at Marie Curie’s exhibition stand spoke
to a variety of delegates about the work
of the charity. “The show provided us
with an opportunity to engage healthcare
professionals in discussions about gaps
in end of life care services in their local
areas,” she said.
“It was encouraging to speak to
designated end of life care leads from
Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs,
formerly PCTs), which suggests that many
CCGs have gauged the importance of
good end of life care both for patients
and families.”
The show was attended by 6,000
delegates and 300 exhibitors.
monitoring service user profi les, feedback
and service outcomes to assess how
effectively we manage this commitment.”
Research suggests that black, Asian
and minority ethnic communities are
OUR TEAM: Marie Curie’s Rachel Poynor,
Jacqueline Jacobs, Paul Hariness and Dan Farag
at the show
GARDEN FESTIVAL: Dr Jane Collins with TV and radio
presenter Anneka Rice
not accessing end of life services in the
numbers that might be expected and is
hoped that the diversity and inclusion
framework will develop ways to raise
awareness of the charity and its services
among these communities.
The plan will also emphasise the
charity’s commitment to providing equal
opportunities for all employees.
Business Partner, HR Services Ceri
Evans said: “Our intention is that the
talents and skills available within the
community are valued and considered
and that our workforce is a refl ection of
the population we serve.
“We will ensure that all reasonable
steps are taken to ensure that our
career information is accessible and
that individuals are treated equally and
fairly and that decisions on recruitment,
selection, training and career development
are based on clear, objective criteria.”
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S VIEW
Dr Jane Collins, Chief Executive
OUR TEAM: Marie Curie’s Rachel Poynor,
INCLUSION: Dr Ian Gittens wants to ensure a
quality service, free of discrimination
CV: Adrian Tookman● Medical Director, Marie Curie Hospice,
Hampstead, since 1985.
● Medical Director at The Royal Free
Hospital until 2012.
● Led three projects at The Royal Free,
addressing organisational culture
and implementing Schwartz Rounds;
improving infection control; and
delivering a public health programme
within an Acute Trust.
● Set up PallE8, an integrated palliative
care system, to ensure 4 million people
in North East and North Central London
receive equitable palliative care. Adrian
will continue to lead PallE8.
GARDEN FESTIVAL: Dr Jane Collins with TV and radio
5July 2013 People
TV star bakers help us serve up a Blooming Great Success
Hospices set for spring completion
Business continuity plan gets site up and running quickly after sudden power failureMains power was restored to the
National Support Centre late on the
Tuesday afternoon and the Pontypool site
was operational again by 6.30am on the
Wednesday morning.
Andy Hart, IT Manager, said: “Marie
Curie’s IT team sent engineers to the
site and also to the Disaster Recovery
site in Bristol to confi gure machines, set
up servers, fail-over emails and ensure
the Patient Connect software that
manages nurse rotas was not affected.
All systems were fully operational and
running from the Bristol site by 9am on
Saturday morning.”
The team continued to work through
the day to confi gure the services and,
once power returned to the Pontypool
POUR PERFORMANCE: (above, left to right) Jane McPartlin,
Sheonad Laidlaw, TV baker James Morton, Susan Helps, Janie
Pearson and Kelly Hughes; (below) celebrity cook Mary Berry
and Tracey North, Marie Curie Community Manager for Berkshire
ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMME: How the
conservatory at the Marie Curie Hospice,
Bradford will look after refurbishment
This year’s Blooming Great Tea Party is set to be even bigger and better than the last, with thousands of tea parties gracing the nation’s homes, gardens and offi ces – and even the Twittersphere.
The charity held its fi rst week-long
‘Care for a Cuppa?’ virtual tea party,
which involved invitations to its Twitter
followers between 11am and 3pm to join
us for a brew and tea-related fun and
games. Lots of supporters joined the fun,
sharing their tea party plans and entering
our daily competitions, which included
tweeting pictures of themselves posing
as teapots.
Not to be left out, queen of cakes
Mary Berry posed as a teapot when she
stopped by to visit Frogmore House in
Windsor, one of the NGS gardens
raising money for Marie Curie
Cancer Care. Great British Bake
Off runner-up James Morton
also visited the Marie Curie
Hospice Glasgow to show
his support.
Meanwhile, the Marie
Curie Fundraising Group in
Ledbury held a hugely successful
weekend for the charity, raising
£2,000. The event included fi ne wines
and canapés served on the Saturday
night, followed by a Blooming Great Tea
Party in Wellington Heath in the glorious
sunshine on Sunday.
And Suzy Pelta, winner of ITV1’s
Lorraine Show cake baking competition,
held a hugely successful Blooming
Great Tea Party at home. Offi cial
Blooming Great Tea Party blogger Suzy
hosted an event for 40 friends and family.
Treats on offer included Suzy’s Marie
Curie Lemon Custard Cream Cake and
her Lorraine Show competition-winning
When the Marie Curie Referral Centre in Pontypool was hit by a serious power failure early one morning, it was the speedy reaction of colleagues that ensured operations were running from a back-up site within a few hours.
When the power went down at 3.40am
on Saturday 8 June, following a massive
power outage at the local electrical
substation, the site was temporarily out
of action for only the second time in
over a decade.
A decision was made to activate the
charity’s Business Continuity Plan,
meaning Referral Centre operations and
staff were transferred to the charity’s
Disaster Recovery site in Bristol, ensuring
continuity of service.
The refurbishment programmes to enhance the Marie Curie Hospices in Bradford, Hampstead and Newcastle are set to start this autumn and be completed by March 2014.
The Marie Curie Hospice, Bradford works
are planned to improve the in-patient
rooms, ensuite facilities and family area.
Hospice Manager Elaine Hill said: “Our
aim is to continue to provide the best
possible service we can to patients while
the work is progressing. All the tools and
materials the contractors will be using, and
their working practices in general, have
been decided upon to minimise noise and
disruption to patients.”
The Bradford Hospice is 11 years old,
and these improvement works are key to
bringing the site up to date and enhancing
the environment.
“The hospice is starting to look a little
tired, so these redesigns will make a
massive difference,” Elaine said.
Improvement works to the Marie Curie
Hospice, Newcastle, and Marie Curie
Hospice, Hampstead, also start in the
autumn.
Estates Manager Paul Cross said: “We
will be working carefully to minimise
disruption to patients across all these
builds. The schedule is tight to complete
all the work we want to do but we are
confi dent we’ll achieve it, because we
have great teams in place.”
site, engineers worked throughout the
night to restore normal service.
Centre Manager, Pontypool Nicola
Davies said: “It was a shock getting a
telephone call at 3.40am on Saturday
morning informing me that the site
had lost power. However, it was
also a great opportunity to test our
Disaster Recovery Plan.
“The Nursing Support Centre
was due to be operational by
6.30am, which we were successful
in doing by activating our Business
Continuity plan.”
Staff rallied round and the Referral
Centre calls were handled via mobile
phones, supported by Referral Centre staff
until the Disaster Recovery site was ready
FOR MORE INFORMATIONIf you haven’t yet registered to hold your own Blooming Great Tea Party, what are you waiting for? Registration is open until Wednesday 31 July, so register now at mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty
4,909Number of people
who have signed up to hold a tea party*.
*At the time of going to print
94hrs 50minsTotal time the
Pontypool site was without power.
chocolate and banana cake.
She said: “I am completely
overwhelmed by the generosity
and kindness of everyone and I highly
recommend hosting a Blooming
Great Tea Party – you feel blooming
great afterwards.”
News
for the charity to occupy. Staff working
Saturday travelled to Bristol to carry
out their duties.
“The commitment and fl exibility of the
staff was tremendous and everyone pulled
together to ensure patient care was not
impacted over the four-day period,”
Nicola said.
“Myself and Sarah Seary
(Facilities and Services Manager)
worked through Sunday night to
ensure rotas were adapted to reduce
the impact on staff travelling to
Bristol on the Monday.
“Everyone was relieved to receive a
call late Tuesday afternoon informing
them that the Pontypool site would be
operational on Wednesday.”
6 People July 2013
People have considerably higher levels of trust in Marie Curie healthcare providers than they do in generic healthcare providers, according to new research undertaken by the charity.
The survey of six lots of 2,000 people
revealed the high regard the general
public has for the charity.
Senior Insight Manager Ann Davison,
said: “We already knew that people
have a great deal of respect for nurses,
but we had no data to show how people
felt towards healthcare assistants or
of how much trust the addition of the
prefi x ‘Marie Curie’ adds.
“This research shows that people
have an incredibly high opinion of all
nursing staff that work under the Marie
Curie label, and shows how strong and
trusted our service and brand are.”
In the survey by ComRes, respondents
ranked, on a scale of 1 (not trust them
at all) to 10 (trust them completely),
how much trust they would have in a
variety of healthcare professionals to
provide care if a loved one needed end
of life care at home. This included Marie
Curie nurses and healthcare assistants,
as well as generic nurses, healthcare
assistants, senior healthcare assistants
and nursing assistants.
Although specialist nursing support improves end of life care in care homes, factors such as stable care home management, palliative care champions and GP support are vital to ensure residents receive good quality, reliable palliative treatment.
These are the fi ndings from a study by
Research Facilitator Dr Anne Finucane,
Community Palliative Care Clinical
Nurse Specialists Barbara Stevenson
and Rhona Moyes, Medical Director
Dr David Oxenham at the Marie Curie
Hospice, Edinburgh, and Professor Scott
Murray from the University of Edinburgh.
The 20-month project aimed to see
whether improvements in palliative
care made by the Midlothian Gold
Standards Framework project, an
intervention in seven nursing homes
in Scotland in 2007-2008, could be
maintained using less support.
The project involved Barbara and
Rhona each spending one day
per week providing support,
workshops and training to the
seven care homes.
Anne explained:
“Exploring new approaches
to supporting good
palliative care in care
homes is important because
20% of people die in
Research
More research is needed to accurately understand children and young people’s preferred place of death.
These are the recommendations
for future inquiry and policy after a
systematic study of available literature
by Marie Curie researchers.
Although Marie Curie primarily looks
after the palliative care needs of adults,
the charity contributed to funding this
research because children with life-
limiting illnesses are now living longer
than ever before. This means many more
are now making the transition from
needing support for children to needing
adult services. Service providers should
be aware of the unique requirements of
these patients to enable seamless care to
continue once they reach 18 years of age.
The study was undertaken by
Dr Louise Jones, Head of the Marie Curie
Palliative Care Research Unit at University
College London, and her colleagues
Myra Bluebond-Langer, Emma Beecham,
Bridget Candy and Richard Langner.
ASSUMPTIONSLouise said: “We often hear that the
majority of people, given the choice,
would wish to die at home. There is the
policy assumption that what we have
learned from adults is applicable to a
YOUNG PEOPLE: NEW FINDINGSUNDERSTANDING
CHILDREN’S NEEDS:
Dr Louise Jones
EXPLORING
NEW
APPROACHES:
Anne Finucane
RESPECT: Ann Davison found that
Marie Curie’s brand and services are trusted
FOR MORE INFORMATIONThe research paper, Preferred place of death for children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. A systematic review of the literature and recommendations for future inquiry and policy (Myra Bluebond-Langer, Emma Beecham, Bridget Candy, Richard Langner and Louise Jones), is available here: http://tinyurl.com/k8326l4
FOR MORE INFORMATIONThe research paper, Improving end of life care in nursing homes: implementation and evaluation of an intervention to sustain quality of care is available at http://tinyurl.com/mn6wg2r
child, a teenager or someone in early
adulthood with a life-limiting or terminal
illness. Our paper highlights that there is
no evidence to support this supposition.
“We found that hardly anyone is
actually asking children or young people
what they would like. Instead, they are
asking their parents, which is acceptable
if the child is very young. But as children
get older, it is important to understand
their views as well as their parents’, and
even their siblings’, about where they
would like to spend their fi nal days, and
indeed where they would like to die.”
DIFFICULTIESLouise’s study has revealed the diffi culties
of using existing research into adult and
parents’ preferences to fi nd out how young
people should be cared for. “The research
we have reviewed is biased towards white
middle class families – fi ndings which
are not perhaps applicable to people from
other groups. It also does not look at
examples of situations where a teenager
may already have their own children,
or more complex or extended family
situations, or what effect dying in the
home would have on others in the family.
We need to better understand such issues if
we are to develop care that meets the real
needs of young people and their families. ”
Ranking high in survey on trust
Study reveals factors that lead to quality palliative carecare homes and some 33,000 people in
Scotland are currently being looked after
in these settings.”
The project results show increases in
the number of care home residents
who died with an anticipatory care
plan in place; those with Do Not
Attempt Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation documentation
in place; and those who
were on the Liverpool Care
Pathway when they died.
There was a reduction in
inappropriate hospital deaths
of frail and elderly residents with
dementia. However, overall hospital
deaths increased.
GOOD SUPPORTAnne said: “The fact that overall
hospital deaths increased suggests
that there are other factors that
impact the end-of-life care a resident
receives. Our data showed that
care homes where there had
been senior management
changes had much higher
levels of hospital deaths
than more stable care
homes. We realised that
while good support from
palliative care nurse
specialists and GPs can
help ensure that key processes remain in
place, stable care home management and
key champions are vital to ensure that a
robust, reliable palliative care approach
becomes embedded within the culture of
the care home.”
The Edinburgh hospice team
intends to build on the fi ndings
and roll out a new project to 22
South Edinburgh care homes,
funded by the Robertson Trust
and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Anne said: “We are collecting
data throughout this project
and hope the results will show the
extent to which a hospice-based model
of care home support enables care home
staff to improve the delivery of palliative
care to their residents. This model – where
specialist palliative care providers support
staff in primary care settings to adopt
a palliative approach – is of particular
relevance in view of the need to better
support people with non-malignant life-
limiting disease, many of whom spend
their last year of life in a care home.”
20%The percentage
of people who die in care homes.
89%Respondents over 65 who
would trust a Marie Curie
Nurse to provide end-of-life care to a
loved one (rating 8-10). Only 50% of
people said they would have the same
level of trust in a regular nurse.
74%Respondents who would
trust a Marie Curie Nurse
(rating 8-10) to provide this care.
70%Approximate percentage
of respondents who
would trust a Marie Curie Healthcare
Assistant to provide end-of-life
care to a loved one (rating 8-10).
This compares with three in 10
people who say they would have
the same level of trust in a regular
healthcare assistant.
Key survey facts
7July 2013 People
Volunteering
Three cheers for our volunteersWhen Basil Priest’s wife, Beryl, passed away from cancer in 1987, he immediately off ered his help to Marie Curie, whose nurses at Holme Tower in Penarth, Wales, had looked after her so well.
Two days a week and at weekends,
Basil drives much-needed blood
and drugs from Llandough Hospital
and Velindre Cancer Centre to Marie
Curie’s Cardiff and the Vale Hospice.
He ensures the blood is iced and
well packed and that all supporting
paperwork is checked and signed.
Basil said volunteering gives him a
purpose in life. “Apart from my little
jobs around the house, I wouldn’t be
doing anything else. If you have had
a bereavement and want to occupy
your mind, look after people worse
off than yourself. Whether you work
in a hospice or a shop, everyone is
contributing to the same cause.”
Most of the 6,000 people who start a caring role in the UK every day are unprepared for the eff ect it will have on their lives, according to research conducted for this year’s Carers Week.
In the survey of 2,000 carers, 80 per
cent said they were surprised by the
impact on their health, relationships
and fi nances.
During Carers Week – themed Prepared
to Care? – Marie Curie ran events to
celebrate carers’ work, raise awareness of
the diffi culties they face and campaign
for better rights.
Hospices held events such as advice and
information sessions, and complementary
therapy and creative courses, while Marie
Curie’s Expert Voices group of current and
past carers met MPs at two Parliamentary
events, at Westminster and the Scottish
Parliament, to discuss the practical and
emotional support they need.
Analysis from the recent census
demonstrates that carers are two-and-a-
half times more likely to have bad or very
bad health because of their caring role.
The demands leave some so sick that they
PANEL TALK:
Marie Curie’s
Ruth Bravery
with Lucie
Heyes from
the College
of Social
Work and
Jenny Franks
from the
Children’s
Society
FOR MORE INFORMATIONIf you are thinking of volunteering and would like to know more, or would like to have a volunteer helping in your team, contact [email protected]
FOR MORE INFORMATIONHear the Carers Week show featuring Marie Curie staff at carersworldradio.com
Driving support vital to hospice
Basil Priest and Marie Curie Community
Fundraiser Helen Griffi ths
Carers Week prepare carers for role
The Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle held a swish
Oscars-style celebration, complete with red-carpet entrance. With a quiz, a raffl e and competitions, all volunteers received a prize donated by staff to express their thanks for their hard work and commitment.
Among the celebrations at Albert Embankment, volunteer Heather
Burdett received a 10-year service award from CEO Dr Jane Collins.
Staff at Bradford Hospice showed a real fl air for celebrating. A ’70s themed event saw the hospice
decorated with glitter balls and lava lamps, and staff dressed in bellbottoms and fl ower power outfi ts. “Our volunteers are amazing,” said nurse manager Jean Gordon. “No area of the hospice would be the same without them.”
end up in hospital themselves, leaving
patients nearing the end of life without
the support they need to make decisions
about their preferred place of care.
Gerry Mahaffey, Marie Curie’s Assistant
Director of Carer Services and Patient
and Family Engagement, said: “We
need to identify and have conversations
with carers dealing with end of life
early in the decision-making process.
Without mechanisms to identify them, or
involvement from care professionals, we
can’t assess their needs around advocacy,
fi nancial benefi ts, respite and health. The
Parliamentary sessions helped highlight
issues around provision of such support.
“Marie Curie must continue to build
on the momentum from Carers Week,”
Gerry added, “by implementing its own
strategy to support those caring for
someone at the end of life and engaging
our key partners the relevant parts of
the organisation.”
This year’s Carers Week was delivered
by a coalition of seven voluntary sector
organisations, including Marie Curie
Cancer Care.
Choruses of “Thank you” were heard across the UK as hospices, shops and offi ces celebrated national Volunteers’ Week.
From barbecues and dinner
parties to quizzes and discos, events
organised by Marie Curie Cancer Care
staff applauded everyone who gives
up their time to support the charity.
Throughout the UK, more than 20
million volunteers donate 100 million
hours of time every week. Volunteers
involved with Marie Curie often
have had a personal connection to a
hospice or the nursing service, and
want to help others to benefi t from
the same care when they need it.
Director of Community
Involvement Ruth Bravery joined
staff in extending a million ‘thank
yous’. “The effort staff at hospices,
offi ces and shops have put in to
these events speaks volumes for how
much they appreciate our volunteers.
We wouldn’t be able to offer many
services if it wasn’t for volunteers’
support, or raise as much money as
we do,” she said.
The Liverpool Marie Curie Helper Service celebrated
Volunteers’ Week with quizzes, a buff et prepared by the hospice’s catering team and entertainment from volunteer Roy Barker, who had everyone singing along to folk classics.
Broadcasting during Carers Week from
Marie Curie’s Albert Embankment
offi ce, Carers World Radio presented its
latest programme in a series on young
carers, featuring interviews with Marie
Curie staff , carers and representatives
from other public sector organisations.
Presenter Tom Magner says his show
asks when help will be made available.
Care professionals and politicians
talk about a whole family
approach, so I was asking on the show:
how do you achieve that? Carers don’t
need to be told they’re doing a good job.
Actions speak louder than words.
“It doesn’t all need to be fi refi ghting.
Some councils anticipate problems,
think laterally and put money in
sensible places.
“We’ve had fantastic support from
Marie Curie. The charity is thinking
clearly and is proactive – how I expect
all charities to be.
During a barbecue at Hampstead
Hospice, long service recognition was made – with loud applause from staff – to volunteers, notably Day Therapy Unit helpers Anne Schneider and Heidi Corsi (pictured left and right with Day Therapy Unit Sister Sarah Doherty), who have been involved with Marie Curie for 25 years.
“Out of Carers Week, I’d like to see
young carers on the face of the Care
Bill, for the Department of Health and
Department of Education to collaborate
and take more responsibility, and for
campaigners to push harder – less talk,
more action.”
Radio show calls for less talk, more action
8 People July 2013
News
Pensions Automatic Enrolment is under wayPensions Automatic Enrolment started for
Marie Curie Cancer Care on 1 June 2013.
The charity has written to its employees
to notify them that, from 1 September
2013, all eligible employees who are not
currently in a pension scheme will have
to be automatically enrolled and
contributions will be paid to the new
Scottish Widows pension scheme
set up earlier this year. Eligible
employees are those between the
ages of 22 and State Pension age
earning more than £9,440 a year.
More than 3,000 letters were
issued, and this generated questions
from around 1.5% of recipients.
Automatic enrolment aims to help millions
of people build up a pension, to help them
improve their standard of living when they
retire. Upon retirement, this money will be
paid in addition to the state pension which
for new savers will be approximately
£7,000 per year where national insurance
contributions have been paid for 35 years.
It literally pays for you to contribute.
For many, retirement may seem a long
way off. But take it from people who are
retiring today – it will come round much
faster than expected and most retirees wish
they had started to put money aside earlier.
How does the money paid into the pension scheme accumulate?The money paid each month is invested
in a default investment fund selected by
the charity’s pension advisers. After the
fi rst contribution is paid, employees can
choose to stay in the default investment
option or make their own choices. As
most employees do not want to be actively
involved with picking investments and
keeping a close eye on what’s happening
in the market, the default fund has been
carefully selected with a relatively
low-risk profi le.
Online helpOne important aspect of the charity’s
pension scheme with Scottish Widows is
that employees can look at their pension
details online and keep in control of their
retirement planning.
Financial education is an important part
of the pension process, and all employees
should make time to understand the
impact that the choice they make will have
Many employees will experience for
the fi rst time pension contributions being
taken from their pay. The charity hopes
that they see this as a valuable investment
for their futures.
The good news is that if you are not
already in a pension scheme, you don’t
have to wait for September. You can join
the charity’s pension scheme before
then, by contacting the Pensions
and Remunerations Department
who will be more than happy
to help.
How employees benefi t A pension is a great way to build
up money for your retirement, as
both Marie Curie Cancer Care and
the taxman add to the money that is
paid by you. For example, if an employee
pays 80p into the pension scheme, the
taxman adds 20p and Marie Curie Cancer
Care adds £1. There are maximum limits
on the amount that employees and the
charity will pay, but where else can you
save 80p and turn it into £2 immediately?
Pensions – the latest on auto-enrolment
Two volunteers have represented Marie Curie Cancer Care at a reception hosted by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Tommy Haynes and Elliw Williams
were invited to the event, held to
celebrate the presentation of the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award to
60 organisations, including Marie Curie.
The two volunteers contributed to
the charity’s nomination for the award
by endorsing and supporting its work
with accounts of their personal
volunteering experiences.ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL: Tommy Haynes and Elliw Williams
with Marie Curie’s Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award
How will automatic enrolment aff ect employees’ September pay?Under automatic enrolment, employees make no choices. The table below provides example costs
for two diff erent salary levels.
on their retirement plans. If employees can
put a bit more aside much earlier in life,
then this will go a long way to helping
secure a better pension.
The online portal includes the following
useful fi nancial tools:
● Pension Planner: This allows employees
to see what their projected pension is
likely to be but also enables them to
work out how much they need to pay
into their pension to get the income
they want.
● Investment Decision Tool: This enables
employees that want to make their
own choices assess their attitude to
investment risk and map this to a
prebuilt investment portfolio.
● Indulgeometer: A simple and effective
tool to establish how, with a bit of
careful budgeting, we can all save
money by cutting back slightly.
Pension reminders and further helpMarie Curie will write to employees
again during August to remind them that
pension contributions are going to start
and its Pensions and Remuneration Team
are here to help. They understand that,
although online services provide important
information quickly, it is comforting to be
able to talk things through to make sure
everything is fully understood.
Salary Monthly cost –
1 August 2013 to
September 2017
(your 1% contribution,
Marie Curie’s 1%
contribution)
Monthly cost –
1 October 2017 to
September 2018
(your 3% contribution,
Marie Curie’s 2%
contribution)
Monthly cost –1 October 2018 onwards
(your 5% contribution,
Marie Curie’s 3%
contribution)
£12,000 per year You £8
Tax offi ce £2
Marie Curie £10
You £24
Tax offi ce £6
Marie Curie £20
You £40
Tax offi ce £10
Marie Curie £3
£22,000 per year You £14.66
Tax offi ce £3.67
Marie Curie £18.33
You £44
Tax offi ce £11
Marie Curie £36.67
You £73.33
Tax offi ce £18.34
Marie Curie £55
How do employees join the pension scheme?Employees don’t have to do anything to join the scheme as the charity will
automatically enrol them from September 2013 at the starting contribution rates,
shown in the table below.
“The reception was wonderful,” said
Tommy. “It felt surreal. Volunteering suits
unassuming people who aren’t used to the
limelight – let alone being in the presence
of royalty. I enjoyed it very much.”
Elliw said: “There was a very positive
feeling at the event – the Royals were
in our midst, and I was surprised how
much chatting there was. It was a once-
in-a-lifetime experience, and a nice
acknowledgement of our volunteering.”
The pair were congratulated by Marie
Curie Vice President Martyn Lewis CBE,
who attended the event.
Elliw, who runs a Public Relations
company in Canaerfon, helps the charity
with Welsh language translations and
also provides PR support. Tommy has
been volunteering with the charity’s
palliative care research programme in
Belfast since 2009. He is the author of a
number of papers, and is currently carrying
out a Marie Curie-funded study on stress
for his PhD.
Around 9,000 people volunteer regularly
for Marie Curie Cancer Care. A further
25,300 volunteers collect for the annual
Great Daffodil Appeal.
VOLUNTEERS ATTEND PALACE RECEPTION
Timing Marie Curie contribution
Your contribution
Government’s contribution
September 2013 to September 2017 1% 0.8% 0.2%
October 2018 to September 2018 2% 2.4% 0.6%
October 2018 onwards 7.5% 4% 1%19 million
Predicted number of people over the age of 65 in the UK by
2050, almost double today’s fi gure of
10 million.
9July 2013 People
Feature
NEW PATRONSMarie Curie has three new Patrons:
Sharman Birtles JP DL for Greater
Manchester, Georgina Hunter Gordon
for Essex and Nella Probert for
Suff olk. Sharman is the charity’s fi rst
Patron in Manchester, while Georgina
and Nella take over from Philippa
Cannon and Sir Edward Greenwell
respectively. Patrons are senior
volunteers and ambassadors for Marie
Curie who assist with fundraising
and raising awareness. The charity
particularly needs more Patrons in
London and the home counties – email
fi [email protected] if
you have any suggestions.
GARDENING VOLUNTEERSGreen-fi ngered staff from mobile
network operator EE have spent a
day tidying gardens at the Marie
Curie Hospice, Newcastle – painting
furniture, tending to plants and
clearing the pond.
AWARD FOR MAUREEN Maureen Nix, Treasurer
of the Warminster &
District Fundraising
Group, has
won the award of
Community Hero from
the Wiltshire Times.
Community Fundraiser
Lucy Stockall said:
“Maureen has been fantastic in her
role as Treasurer and is a real doer.
The award was for the work that she
does for charities in the area and we
are very proud of her.”
TV TIMES All patients at the Marie Curie
Hospice, Liverpool will now have
access to their own televisions.
Some 30 TVs were installed at the
hospice. The TVs were purchased
through restricted donations the
hospice received.
CHARLIE IS NEW CIO Charlie Hooper, Marie Curie Cancer
Care’s new Chief Information Offi cer,
has started work for the charity.
Charlie joined from Deloitte, the
accounting and consulting company,
where he ran the Public Sector and
Charities Data Analytics team. Full
report next issue.
PSSST! POSTS Pssst! – Marie Curie’s internal
newsfeed – has just celebrated
another birthday. Since launching on
the intranet back in 2008, more than
2,300 posts have been made. Pssst!
is open to all staff in Marie Curie to
share news and intelligence.
NEWS IN BRIEF
I was quite scared about being introduced to a hospice because of
the connotation of death and dying. I’d never seen one before so I didn’t know what to expect.
“Dr Adrian Tookman, the Hospice
Clinical Director, is reassuring and very
good at explaining things. Sometimes, the
time spent with a hospital consultant is
very short, so it’s good to have Adrian to
explain what everything means and for
me to talk about my anxieties.
“At the moment I’m having a course
of hypnotherapy once a week, which
is helping me to deal with anxiety, and
I’ve learned techniques to help with pain
relief. That’s been really excellent. I’ve
also been having massages.
“I see a counsellor at the hospice – it’s
someone I really like. It may sound like
a weird thing to say but I actually enjoy
going. She cheers me up and has helped
me with things that I’ve put off for ages,
like writing a will. I haven’t been good
about motivating myself to do it and
when I mention it to my family they feel
awkward about it. So she’s arranged for
someone to meet me at the hospice so I
can sort it all out, which is really helpful.
CHARMING STAFF“I started chemo again in December,
which I’ve just fi nished, and
unfortunately it didn’t work, so I’ve
just started some hormone therapy. I’ll
know in a month or so if that’s having
any effect. But I feel quite well and I
genuinely do fi nd it very helpful to have
somewhere like Marie Curie to go to. It’s
a happy place. All the staff are absolutely
charming and you get to meet lots of
other people there who also go regularly.
“I had my fi rst blood transfusion last
year and had to stay the night. I was
really pleased to be there because I was
nervous and didn’t know what to expect.
I could have visitors at any time, I was
in my own room and it just wasn’t like
being in a hospital where no one with a
terminal illness really wants to be. The
hospice staff know my history, what
medication I’ve had, what works etcetera.
Hospital staff just aren’t trained in
palliative care – it’s all very general there.
“I do feel lucky that I am well supported.
My GP is close by, I have a palliative care
nurse, I attend the University College
Hospital and, of course, I have Marie Curie.
I also have some really good friends and
I’m near my family.
“It’s disappointing that some friends
have fallen off the radar. My one piece
of advice to anyone who knows someone
with a terminal illness would be to just
stay in touch.
FRANK TALKING“I can talk about my illness with my
friends – I’m very frank. But I can sense
when someone is uncomfortable so I
won’t go into too much detail in that
case. My core group of friends know
when I have hospital appointments and
treatments and I often have a friend to
come with me.
“Talking about dying tends to make
people feel uncomfortable so I don’t talk
about that much. I have friends who
Alison Leary, a day patient at the Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead, talks about her hopes and fears.
have had cancer, so they understand a
bit more. But also, I don’t want to bore
people rigid because it’s been going on
for seven years now!
“I’ve had discussions with Adrian and
my palliative care nurse about where I’d
like to die and my general feeling is that
I’d like to be at home. But if that’s not
possible then I’d like to be in the hospice.
I’d like to avoid hospital by any means.
“I’ve asked Adrian what might happen
if there’s no room in the hospice, but he’s
reassured me that when the time comes,
they will do everything possible to get
me where I want to be. We’ve also talked
about managing pain and I’ve been told
there are lots of things that they can do
to avoid me being in pain, which is a
great comfort.
“I’m not really a ‘bucket list’ sort
of person, mainly because I’ve been
fortunate enough to travel a lot and had
a varied life. I like to spend time with the
people I like and to do things that I enjoy.
“In the beginning, when I was fi rst
diagnosed, I was frightened about what
it all meant. But you have to make sense
of your life. For some people that means
making a bucket list, but for me, I just
thought, ‘I have to live.’
“I feel a bit sillier now – I don’t care
what people think of me any more. For
example, I’ve just had my hair done after
it started growing back. I’ve always had it
brown, but my hairdresser suggested I go
blonde, so I said ‘oh ok then’ and I’ve just
come home blonde.
“I enjoy life. In a way, sometimes I
enjoy life more now. There are things that
I’d like to do, like go to Paris this summer
as I haven’t been in a long time. But
really, I’d just like to spend quality time
with nice people.”
“Sometimes I enjoy life more now”
WELL
SUPPORTED:
Alison Leary
feels lucky
to have her
friends, family
and Marie
Curie nearby
My advice to anyone who knows someone with
a terminal illness? Just stay in touch.
W
S
A
fe
to
f
a
C
r
ntastic in her
MY STORY
People July 201310
The Prince – who is Marie Curie’s Royal Patron – was greeted by the Lord-Lieutenant for the West Midlands Mr Paul Sabapathy CBE. Marie Curie Chairman John Varley introduced Chief Executive Dr Jane Collins, Hospice Manager Liz Cottier and Appeal Chairman Chris Rawstron to His Royal Highness.
The Prince visited the hospice day
services area, spending time chatting with
patients about art. He met in-patients,
and spent time touring the extensive
grounds of the hospice and talking to the
volunteer gardening team. He also met
pupils and teachers from the local Solihull
School, all of whom have a personal
family connection to Marie Curie.
The Prince gave a speech praising the
work of volunteers, staff, fundraisers
and supporters and unveiled a plaque
commemorating the offi cial opening of
the hospice. The weather throughout the
visit was cloudy, with sunny spells.
The Prince was joined by long-term
Marie Curie supporters girl group, The
Saturdays, who got behind the building
of the new hospice since laying the fi rst
brick two years ago.
Marie Curie Chief Executive Dr Jane
Feature
Collins said: “We are honoured that His
Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales
and The Saturdays were able to attend
today and open our new hospice and
meet our staff, volunteers and patients.
We are grateful to everyone who has
been involved in raising the funds to
build this fantastic new hospice which
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales offi cially opened the new £20million Marie Curie Hospice, West Midlands in Solihull.
ROYAL PATRON OPENS OURNEW HOSPICE
will allow us to care for more patients
across the West Midlands.”
Rochelle Humes from The Saturdays
attended for her fi rst offi cial public
appearance since the birth of her
daughter. She said: “It is such an
honour to be part of such a special day
and amazing to see how fantastic the
hospice looks and we are all very proud
to be ambassadors for Marie Curie.”
Marie Curie Cancer Care recently
announced that its BIG Build Appeal to
fund and equip the hospice had reached
its £7 million fundraising target.
The appeal, which ran for two
years, has seen star names such as
Torvill and Dean, The Saturdays,
Clive Anderson, Bill Oddie, Sir Clive
Woodward and Digby, Lord Jones of
Birmingham all kindly lending their
support. The local community has also
played a vital role with fundraising
activities ranging from brave men
waxing their hairy legs to long distance
bike rides, vintage swims, medieval
banquets and quiz teams battling it
out at the annual Birmingham
Brain Game.
The new Marie Curie Hospice, West
Midlands allows staff to support
more patients and their families and
carers than the former Marie Curie
Hospice, Solihull. Outpatient services
enable more patients to remain
at home with the best possible
quality of life.
The day therapy unit supports
twice as many patients, off ering
clinical support, rehabilitation,
emotional support, practical advice
and complementary therapies.
The hospice is also a base for the
Marie Curie Nursing Service for the
whole of the West Midlands.
Serving more patients
HRH The Prince of Wales with The Saturdays Prince Charles meets Chef Kevin Jones and hospice team members
140,000Man-hours taken to
construct the new
Marie Curie Hospice,
West Midlands.
24Number of en suite
bedrooms – 40 per cent
more than the previous
Marie Curie Hospice, Solihull.
2,500Number of extra nights
of care now available every
year at the new hospice.
July 2013 People 11
Feature
Appeal Patron Sir Adrian Cadbury DL meets HRH The Prince of Wales Patient Rod MacDonald and HRH The Prince of Wales talk in the potting area
Mrs Gurbaksh Dhillon chats with the Royal guest
People July 201312
Serves 4
SAUCEINGREDIENTS2 white onions, peeled
2 sticks lemongrass1 large red/green chilli 40g peeled fresh ginger4 spring onions1 bunch fresh coriander 4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 lime leaf 1 tin coconut milk300ml double cream30g chicken bouillon
½tsp pepper½tsp salt1tsp turmeric1tsp cumin/mild curry powder1tsp ground coriander2/3tbsp sugarCorn fl our Oil 300ml water
METHOD1 Split and smash ends of
lemon grass.
2 Roughly chop onions,
chillies, ginger, spring onions,
coriander and garlic.
3 Fry all these (adding lemongrass
and lime leaves) in oil. When onions
soften, add salt and pepper, turmeric,
cumin, coriander and sugar.
4 Stir in chicken bouillon and
coconut milk and bring to boil.
5 Once boiled, add cream and
water and simmer for one hour.
6 Using corn fl our, thicken if
needed.
7 Blend broth with stick blender
until smooth.
8 Pass through fi ne sieve.
9 Adjust consistency using
more cream/water. For richer colour,
blend in more fresh coriander.
CHICKENINGREDIENTS3 chicken supremes, skinless
30g peeled ginger½ bunch coriander2 cloves garlicZest and fl esh of 1 lime1tsp turmeric1tsp cumin
METHOD1 Place chicken in container
with splash of oil and remaining
ingredients and marinade for
24 hours. Seal off in a pan and
fi nish in oven at a minimum
of 79oC.
2 Slice breast into 5/6 slices.
3 Cover with the sauce.
STIR-FRIED VEGETABLESINGREDIENTS1 packet baby corn1 yellow pepper1 sliced red onion
3/4 spring onions2 pak choi Handful of mange tout/green beansFresh corianderSeasoning
METHOD1 Stir fry vegetables just before
serving. Add pak choi and fresh
coriander.
3 Scatter over fi nished chicken
and sauce.
Food for thought
Recipe of the month... Thai Green Curry Graham White, Head Chef at the Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff and the Vale. I learned to cook at college. I spent years as a freelance chef before working with Chilli Pepper Oxford (now Jamie’s Fabulous Feasts). Our most challenging events were in strange places; once we set up a kitchen in Warwick Castle’s chapel. This recipe’s fresh fl avour and creamy texture suits our patients’ tastes.
RECRUITMENT EXPERT: Linsey Winter
MUSIC LOVER: Suzana Drummond, possibly
planning her desert island playlist
CHOP TO IT: Graham White
STEP ONE – GET THE ROLE RIGHTBefore you start to recruit a volunteer,
you need a volunteer role description.
You may already have one which you
just need to update. If it’s a new role,
contact your National Volunteering
Manager who can support you in
writing this.
The Volunteer Centre will advertise
your opportunity on our website and on
selected national volunteering websites.
STEP TWO – SELECT THE RIGHT PERSONThe Volunteer Centre will forward you a
volunteer registration form for anyone
interested in the role. If you are happy
that the individual meets the role’s
requirements, you need to arrange a
selection conversation with them,
ideally face to face.
A SONGAbout fi ve years ago, my neighbours
would play a piece of music very loudly,
very often. Far from fi nding it irritating I
would actually turn down my own music
to listen to it. I asked them what it was,
but they couldn’t work out which music
I was referring to, so I said I’d pop over
the next time I heard it.
A few days later, there it was again!
So I knocked on my neighbour’s door.
When they answered I said, “This is the
music I love! What is it?” My neighbour
explained they were praying and the
music was a mantra. A couple of days
later he came over with a copy on CD
for me. It’s called Om Namah Shivaya
and it really is the most amazing
music ever.
A LUXURY ITEMI’d have to take my iPod. I don’t think
I could live without music – the right
song can change your mood altogether.
How do I… recruit a volunteer? Desert island essentials
Linsey Winter, National Volunteering Manager (South), provides a simple three-step guide to recruiting a Marie Curie Volunteer.
Imagine you’re marooned on a desert island. What items would you want with you? What song, book or fi lm couldn’t you live without? We asked Suzana Drummond, Governance Lead in Caring Services, for three things she couldn’t live without.
STEP THREE – COMPLETE THE RECRUITMENT PROCESSOnce you have selected someone
for your role, the Volunteer Centre
will send them a Welcome Pack and
complete all recruitment checks, such
as taking up two references. When all
essential checks have been completed,
you will receive a clearance email and
they will be ready to start.
It’s a good idea to leave around three
months from planning the role to the
volunteer starting.
So that would be pretty vital if you
were stuck on your own.
A BOOKI’d bring the Count Of Monte Cristo –
it’s the best book ever. I’m not going
to spoil it, but it’s full of intrigue,
honour and revenge. It’s a long read
but is absolutely worth it. When I
was reading it on my way home from
work, I missed my bus stop on two
occasions because I was so engrossed
and couldn’t put it down. And
actually, the book could double up
as a pillow too…
MUSIC LOVER: Suzana Drummond, possibly
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Suduko answersBelow are the
answers to
the Suduko
puzzles on
page 19.
WRITE TO US Do you have an idea for the Food for thought page – a recipe or advice column? Perhaps you would like to feature in our Desert island essentials section? Write to us at [email protected]
July 2013 People 13
Our team
In the past decade, there has been a clear movement in how
care staff view patients – from thinking purely in terms of their physical situation to looking holistically at all their needs.
The Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff and
the Vale has always had a day unit, but
it was once nurse-led, with little
complementary therapy. Now, my Day
Therapy team focuses on issues such as
anxiety and fatigue management and
offering emotional, psychological and
spiritual support. There’s a lot of group
work – from reminiscing about the past
to yoga, hypnotherapy and more
creative activities. If a person is
chronically fatigued, having an
occupational therapist guide them
through exercises they can do at home
makes a huge difference to their lives.
We match the patient with their needs.
We don’t slot them into services that
aren’t suitable for them.
An important part of our role is
listening. Our focus groups tell us they
want education, emotional help and to
have fun. We introduced activities such
as cupcake decorating, painting and
music days – one of our social workers
is in a choir and has led singing
sessions. We even had a Bollywood
dancer perform.
The patients take ownership of the
activity programme. Part of our role is
to give them independence.
LIFE JOURNEYIn one of our most successful projects,
patients mapped out their life journeys
– from birth, with photos of themselves as
babies, through their fi rst school, fi rst
partner, fi rst car, holidays and marriage to
the present day. It was interesting to see
the experiences of different age groups.
Some patients are in their 40s, while
others in their 80s are able to talk about
serving in the war.
It was poignant. We saw patients as
young people with careers and we found
out who they really are – not just a
person who is ill. We had an exhibition of
their timelines. It enabled patients to talk
about death and what their families mean
to them. It validated their lives.
One of my team suggested gearing
our services more to younger patients.
We have many between 18 and 40, who
dip in and dip out of sessions, and we’re
inviting a group in for lunch to fi nd out
what they want and how we can extend
our activities to their families.
DYNAMIC TEAMMy team is dynamic. We’re not medics,
but we each bring professional values.
The team is made up of social workers,
occupational therapists, physiotherapists,
coordinators and a chaplain. We meet
regularly to learn from each other and
hear colleagues’ perspectives. As
manager, I try to empower them to
bring their life skills to the table and
try new ideas. I don’t want to stifl e
people’s creativity.
Without volunteering support, we
wouldn’t have the service. Transport to
the hospice, for instance, is a huge issue
for some of our patients, so our drivers
are essential. Volunteers also give us extra
capacity to offer our services to carers,
who sometimes need complementary
therapy or just someone to talk to.
PATIENT BENEFITSPatients appreciate they need to have
their physical bodies mended, but they
need the psychological fi x. It gives them
confi dence – a reason to get up in the
morning, to put on nice clothes. We see
a difference in their appearance.
They want to support each other.
Patients don’t always want to talk to
Jill Templeman joined Marie
Curie Cancer Care in 1985,
when Cardiff and the Vale
Hospice opened as Holme
Tower Hospice. She worked as
an auxiliary nursing assistant
for 12 years, before leaving
to complete a social work
degree. She had various roles in social services before
returning to the hospice in 2001 to set up and develop
rehabilitation and quality of life services.
Why Marie Curie? “I think the staff and nurses here
have an inspiring outlook – seeing patients as people
and not just as someone with cancer,” said Jill.
Jill’s Day Therapy team comprises four social
workers, two full time and two job share; two
occupational therapists; two physiotherapists; two
coordinators; a chaplain; and about 20 volunteers,
including drivers and complementary therapists.
FOR MORE INFORMATIONFor information about Jill’s team and the services they off er, contact Jill on [email protected]
Patients need the psychological fi x. They want to interact with people who truly empathise with them.JILL TEMPLEMAN
Profi le: Jill Templeman
family and friends about their anxieties.
They need to interact with people who
truly empathise with their situation,
which is why day therapy is vital. I’m
always surprised by how groups gel and
share intimate fears. When someone is
coming to the end of their life, everything
is stripped away. There’s a realness and
a warmth about the person.”
LIFE JOURNEYS: Patients plotted personal timelines from their births to the present day
CREATIVE OUTLET: From singing to cupcake decorating, patients learn a variety of new skills
PHYSICAL SUPPORT: Massages and simple
exercises make a huge diff erence to wellbeing
Passionate about palliative care, Jill Templeman strives to give patients quality of life and the skills and support they need to manage their illnesses. Jill is Day Therapy Manager at Marie Curie’s Cardiff and the Vale Hospice, where she fi rst started working in 1985. She and her team off er essential emotional, psychological and creative support to patients.
A LOOK AT DAY THERAPY
People July 201314
Feature
Marie Curie Cancer Care’s biggest supporter, the National Gardens Scheme (NGS), ran a new event to raise money for the charities it funds.
The National Gardens Weekend involved
800 gardens opening to the public.
To help publicise the weekend, Marie
Curie Nurses, colleagues and volunteers
were photographed in gardens that
open for the NGS and in Marie Curie
Hospice gardens.
TV and radio presenter Anneka Rice
re-lived her Treasure Hunt days, complete
with jumpsuit and helicopter, visiting fi ve
gardens in Surrey, Hampshire, Wiltshire,
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. In
Oxfordshire, she met Marie Curie Chief
Executive Dr Jane Collins.
Jane said: “Here at Marie Curie we
understand the importance and impact that
gardens have on people’s lives. Our nurses
work in people’s homes and have observed
how much joy gardens can give people in
their last days.
“If patients are keen gardeners they
Social care services – such as help with washing, dressing, preparing food and other non-medical aspects of care – play a critical role in keeping terminally ill people out of hospital. Research by the Nuffi eld Trust has shown that people who get local authority-funded social care are far less likely to use hospital care than people without social care support.
Unfortunately, in England, social care can be
very diffi cult to access. Unlike NHS care, it isn’t
free to everyone. So before a local authority can
give you care, it will assess your means to pay for
care and also consider how severe your care needs
are. Different local authorities set different levels
of eligibility, so while you can be eligible for care
in one local authority, you might not be in others.
The Care Bill, which is currently being debated
in the House of Lords, aims to simplify the social
care system. The Bill will:
● set a standard level of eligibility for care across
England, so that if you are eligible for care you
should remain so no matter where you go in
the county
● raise the level of the means test, so more
people should qualify for free care
● put a cap on the amount of money you have
to contribute to your own care, meaning
that people should spend less on care during
their lifetimes
Many of the Bill’s provisions should prove
benefi cial to terminally ill people and their carers.
There is a duty on local authorities to provide
information and support to everyone about the
range of care services on offer in the area where
they live. This should help carers in particular,
who often struggle to navigate the various services
available on behalf of their loved ones.
The Bill also says that the NHS must tell a
local authority if it is discharging someone from
hospital who needs social care. For every day that
the NHS is unable to discharge someone because
there is no social care support available, it can
charge the local authority the cost of keeping that
person in hospital.
This should help ensure more terminally ill
people get good care and support at home or
in a care home once they leave hospital and
reduce their chances of going back into hospital,
potentially lowering the number of people who die
in hospital each year.
The Bill doesn’t address the speed at which the
system moves, and we know this can be a problem
for terminally ill people – waiting 10-30 days
for care when you are terminally ill and time is
precious is simply unacceptable.
However, Peers are currently scrutinising the
Bill and will be considering ways that it can be
improved before it is debated by MPs and then
becomes law.
often ask to be brought out to their
gardens, or to be positioned in bed so
that they can look at them. Patients at
our nine hospices also fi nd comfort in the
gardens, which we make an effort to keep
in top condition.
“We have therefore always been proud
to be a partner of the NGS, a scheme
that brings the peace and happiness of
beautiful gardens to the public. Money
raised by the scheme and by National
Gardens Weekend will help our nurses
provide more of the hands-on support that
they are known for.”
National Gardens Weekend is blooming marvellous
Making social care workBy Policy and Public Aff airs Manager Scott Sinclair
CHARMING CROFT HALL:
Lesley Brennan, Jean Morley
and Caitlin Parker
HERBACEOUS HACKNEY: Nikki Biggs,
Joe Swift and Claire Hogan at 17a
Navarino Road, Hackney, London
CAPTIVATING CARDIFF: Nurse Debbie Malaney,
NGS garden owner Sarah Saunders-Davies,
and Mayor of Romsey Mark Cooper
WONDERFUL WASHINGTON: Marie Curie Nurse
Katie Searles at Washington Old Hall garden,
Tyne and Wear
BLOOMING BRISTOL: Marie Curie Nurse
Catherine Le Roy and County Organiser Su Mills
in Coombe Dingle, Bristol
SCENIC SURREY: Nurse Eileen Derricutt, Community Fundraiser Surrey Yvonne Orr, and Farnham NGS garden
owners Mr and Mrs Wingent
About: Marie Curie and the National Gardens Scheme
al
VIEWPOINT
SPECIAL OFFEREvery year, the National Gardens Scheme publishes The Yellow Book, the guide to all the gardens open under the scheme. The 2013 edition is available to supporters of Marie Curie at a special price of £5 (RRP £9.99). To get your copy of The Yellow Book, follow the link ngs.org.uk and enter the Marie Curie code MCPYB13.
CHARMING CROFT HALL:
WONDERFUL WASHINGTON: Marie Curie Nurse BL
HERBACEOUS HACKNEY: Nikki Biggs,
CAPTIVATING CARDIFF: Nurse Debbie Malaney WO LOOMING BRISTOL: Marie Curie NurseBL
Since its creation in 1927, the National
Gardens Scheme (NGS) has raised
money for nursing and gardening
charities by opening more than 3,800
private gardens of character from
March to October each year and
donating the entrance fee to charity.
The NGS has supported Marie Curie
with annual donations since 1996,
and is the charity’s biggest-ever single
donor. The 2013 donation takes the
total past £6 million. In recognition,
in 2013 a number of Marie Curie
nurses will wear jackets carrying the
message ‘Supported by the National
Gardens Scheme’.
Other charities supported by the
NGS include Crossroads, Macmillan
Cancer Support and the National Trust.
For more information, visit ngs.org.uk.
July 2013 People 15
Feature
I always thought it would be fascinating and inspiring to shadow
Jane and it certainly was. In a relatively short time, she has become well versed in all aspects of our organisation, learned about the partners we work with, formed a view on how the charity should be progressing, and knows how to get the best from everyone she works with.
If anyone thinks that being a CEO of a
charity involves a little light networking
with VIPs, you couldn’t be more wrong.
One of the many things which interested
me about shadowing Jane was her
previous background as a Consultant
Paediatric Neurologist at Great Ormond
Street Hospital. Consultants are trained
to know a huge amount about their own
specialism, but they do not necessarily
have the same depth of knowledge about
other specialties.
The job of a CEO is almost the polar
opposite, requiring a huge breadth of
knowledge, rather than extreme detail in
any one area. When I asked Jane about
the shift from Consultant to CEO, she told
me that she hadn’t really found it diffi cult,
and that she had made the change to CEO
in a couple of steps. She initially became
a Clinical Director at GOSH, then Medical
Two Marie Curie Hospices received a fi ve-star pass mark in a recent health and safety audit.
Both the Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle and the
Marie Curie Hospice, Glasgow passed the external
inspection with fl ying colours.
Claire Guise, Health and Safety Manager, said: “Not
only does this mean these hospices are complying with
the law, the necessary standards and best practice,
but they are also meeting our policy requirements.
This achievement is testament to the leadership of
the Facilities Managers at each hospice and also the
collective efforts of their teams and the willingness
to get it right.”
Gill White, Facilities Manager at the Marie Curie
Hospice, Newcastle said: “We achieved these results
through a concerted team effort. We have a very
Director, before becoming CEO. This
gave her the chance to take on more
of a management role over time.
Jane is able to function at both the
‘helicopter’ CEO level and the Consultant
‘microscopic’ level. My impression is that
Jane will examine the detail when she
needs to in order to ensure quality in
any area of the charity, but can equally
maintain the overview the rest of the
time. Effectively, we get the best of
both worlds.
A day with Jane spanned so many
different departments, initiatives, and
potential partners. She is incredibly
focused, manages her time well and
runs a tight diary. Supported by her
equally focused PA, Susan Morton, she
accomplishes a tremendous amount
each day, meeting with various agencies,
internal teams and associations.
She appears to do a lot of reading
outside of work, as her knowledge on the
topics we were meeting about during the
day was obvious. I’d like to know how she
does it, because she is able to source what
she needs to know and hones in on the key
issues and insights.
I enjoyed the day and would encourage
other colleagues to identify people within
Marie Curie that they would like to
shadow, and then ask them.
I was really lucky to get a tiny insight
into the world of our CEO, and am
grateful to Jane for being so open to my
request. I’ve also picked up a few things
I want to incorporate into my own
way of working.”
SHADOWINGDR JANE COLLINS Divisional General Manager for Scotland Nichola Summers spent a day shadowing Marie Curie’s Chief Executive Dr Jane Collins. Nichola spoke to Marie Curie People about the experience.
engaged and responsive Environment and Risks
Committee, and health and safety champions responsible
for different aspects, which ensure we keep on top
of any issues.”
Marie Curie’s other hospices received either a four-
or three-star rating. The Marie Curie Shop in Byker,
Newcastle also received fi ve-star certifi cation.
Every year, the charity undertakes a health and
safety review of all its hospices as well as a
representative shop and an offi ce, which is conducted
by an external consultant.
During the audit, a variety of health and safety
criteria are measured including fi re safety, workplace
safety, manual handling and how consultation and
communication about health and safety issues is
carried out.
Jane is able to function at both the ‘helicopter’ CEO level and the Consultant ‘microscopic’ level.
Hospices commended for fi ve-star health and safety
FIVE STAR: The Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle passed its external health and
safety inspection with fl ying colours
INSIGHT: Nichola Summers (right) relished the opportunity
to fi nd out more about CEO Dr Jane Collins’ work
● Don’t lose sight of the big picture:
the continuing success of
Marie Curie requires us to be
aware of changes in the world
outside, in areas such as fi nance,
health and social care, politics,
and the third sector generally.
● Always look for the next
improvement: do not allow
yourself to be complacent about
what we do well. Everything can
be improved.
● Give your full attention to
the person in front of you:
you are more likely to ask the
right questions and achieve the
objective for the meeting if you
are not thinking about the next
thing you have to do.
● Guard your time and maintain
focus: keep meetings to time;
delegate eff ectively; and do not
allow interruptions to steal
your time.
Finalising the content for the Leadership Summit
for the senior leadership team with Nicky Watson
Meeting with Head of Analytics Dr Michael Cooke,
Medical Adviser Dr Teresa Tate and Assistant
Director of Quality Assurance Ruth Liley to
consider clinical key performance indicators,
and patient outcome measures
Meeting with Marianne Fallon from KPMG to
discuss external audit
Teleconference on the Marie Curie Hospice Strategy
Travel to Sutton for meeting
Meeting with Bridget Warr, UK Home Care
Association Ltd.
Return travel to 89 Albert Embankment (plus a
very quick sandwich)
Meeting with Chris Hopson, Chief Executive of
the Foundation Trust Network, to discuss how
best to engage with Foundation Trusts
Meeting with Director of Communications
Chris Dainty to discuss the Marie Curie brand
Nichola’s top tips from time spent with Dr Jane Collins
A day in the life of Dr Jane Collins
People July 201316
Celebration
CELEBRATION (left to right): Christine Williamson, Lynne
Herbert with Colin Wilson from The Rotary Club of Esk Valley,
which sponsored the award WINNER: Stuart Witts with the award
Award for Dalkeith Fundraising Group
Climbing the social media chart
CELEBRATION (left to right): Christine Williamson Lynne
The Marie Curie Cancer Care Dalkeith Fundraising Group has won an award from the Volunteer Centre Midlothian, in recognition of the £25,000 it’s raised for the charity since forming in November 2011.
The group was shortlisted for the Organisational
Support Award, which recognises volunteers who
make a contribution to fundraising and supporting
charities, and pipped three other groups to fi rst place.
Fundraisers Christine Williamson, who leads the
group’s events, and Lynne Herbert, who is responsible
for publicity and legacy-giving within the group,
attended the award ceremony at Newbattle Abbey
College in Dalkeith.
Lynne said: “It was great to receive such
recognition for all of our hard work and a good
excuse to get semi-dressed up and celebrate. We are
sharing custody of the award so we can each show it
off to our friends, families and supporters. Christine
had the fi rst go at babysitting it. It’s a proper big glass
shiny thing with our group’s name engraved on it.”
Arlene Main, Community Fundraiser, at the
Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh, said: “The group is
terrifi c. They’ve done more than just raise money:
they’ve raised awareness of Marie Curie. They’ve also
encouraged others to fundraise and volunteer and
really made Marie Curie part of their community.
I am extremely proud of them.”
A volunteer at the Marie Curie Shop in Corstorphine, received an award during Volunteers’ Week to recognise 20 years of service to the charity.
Winifred ‘Winnie’ Allan, 93, has been helping out since the shop fi rst
opened in the Edinburgh neighbourhood in 1993.
Winnie said: “I started 20 years ago at the wee shop along the road
when it fi rst opened, working behind the counter on the tills. It’s really
good for me to come in here every Monday. I open the bags, steam the
clothes and put price stickers on goods.”
Winnie also keeps busy delivering church magazines and
organising the ‘Heather’ Bowling League, which recently celebrated
its 25th anniversary.
Marie Curie Cancer Care came 34th out of the top 100 brands in social media and fourth out of the 15 other charities also nominated for inclusion in this year’s Social Brands 100 report.
The report is a ranking that looks at
how effectively and creatively brands
are at using social media such as Twitter,
Facebook and YouTube.
Stuart Witts, Social Media Manager,
said: “Although it’s hard to accurately
measure social media, appearing in
this ranking shows that what we are
doing clearly works. Our social media
strategy is raising the profi le of the
charity with a different audience and
shows we’re a modern, up-to-date brand
and organisation that’s caught people’s
attention.”
Last year, the charity ranked 41st
overall and jumped up several places
within the charity sector. The ranking
is based on such factors as the growth
PROACTIVE: Individual Giving Fundraiser (Legacies)
Kate McGrath with the new Marie Curie legacies
booklet from The Rotary Club of Esk Valley
KEEPING BUSY: Winifred Allan with her long service award
A record number of people decided to remember Marie Curie Cancer Care in their Wills last year, with pledges totalling some £26.4 million in future income.
The number of people pledging
to support the charity in 2012-
2013 grew to 1,241, up
from a previous high of
749 in 2010-2011. This
rise in legacy-giving is due
to several factors.
Dan Carter, Individual Giving
Manager, said: “We have worked
more closely with our six regional Legacy
Advisors to support them and help them
target supporters. We have also changed
our integrated direct marketing approach,
which included our fi rst ever telemarketing
campaign that reached some 5,000
supporters. In addition, we decided
to increase the number of Gifts
for the Future events we run.
“But we couldn’t have
increased the number of
legacy pledges without
help from the Community
Fundraisers and all our staff in
the regions. The decision to leave
a legacy comes at the end of someone’s
journey supporting the charity. It is the
result of building up direct experience
of the work our nurses do and a strong
personal relationship with people who
represent the charity.”
Marie Curie decided to change its
strategy to legacy-giving last year
following supporter research.
Kate McGrath, Individual Giving
Fundraiser, said: “The feedback showed
that supporters are happy to talk
about leaving the charity a gift in their
Wills. They want to be approached
proactively and positively by Marie
Curie and to be able to support the
charity in this way. They want to know
how their gifts will help the charity
in future.”
On top of this success, the Legacy
Administration team exceeded its
fi nancial targets for 2012-13 by
£1 million, at £22.7 million. This equates
to almost a third of the charity’s
voluntary income.
RECORD NUMBER REMEMBER US
Two decades of volunteeringLONG SERVICE AWARD
£26.4mIncome from pledged giftsin 2012-13.
FOR MORE INFORMATIONTo see the full list and download a copy of the report to read more about how the list is put together, visit socialbrands100.com
of fans, response rate and times, video
views, average post engagement rates and
how much effort the organisation spends
on talking and engaging with people. The
top brand was Battlefi eld, a video game
by Electronic Arts.
1. Dog’s Trust
2. ARKive
3. Blue Cross UK
4. Marie Curie Cancer Care
5. National Trust
6. Teenage Cancer Trust
7. WWF
8. British Heart Foundation
9. British Red Cross
10. Virgin Money Giving
Top 10: charity sector brands
socialbrands100.comgame
nds
July 2013 People 17
Fundraising
Three men from the Northampton Saints RFC have run 69 miles along Hadrian’s Wall in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Paul Shields, the club’s Team Manager
and former Irish international, Head of
Commercial Operations Brian Facer and
Community Coach Ross Stewart had raised
more than £6,500 when they set off.
Paul wanted to support a charity
nominated by his mother-in-law, Rozi,
who has cancer. He said: “When I see
what she has been through, this run is a
walk in the park.”
In glorious sunshine, 121 individual and corporate supporters took part in the Slieve to Slieve Mountain Challenge in Northern Ireland – scaling the 2,788ft Slieve Donard.
“What a day!” said Regional
Fundraising Events Manager
Suzy McIlveen. “It was incredibly
hot, but we made it. The views
from both the Saddle and the
One of the most northerly outposts in the British Isles now has a new addition: a Marie Curie Fundraising Group.
The launch of the group in Orkney
comes just before the rollout of a small-
scale pilot of the Marie Curie Nursing
Service on the largest of Orkney’s islands
later this summer. Chaired by Barbara
Todd, the group is based on Mainland, the
main island, and covers the 20 inhabited
islands off the north coast of Scotland.
“Orkney is a very giving, generous
community,” said Vonnie Carson,
Community Fundraiser in Inverness.
“This group is enthusiastic and has all
sorts of plans to raise money and support
their local service. They want to recruit
Each runner burned an estimated
17,000 calories. If you’d like to
make a donation you can visit the
team’s justgiving page
www.justgiving.com/ultrawall
summit were breathtaking
and the team camaraderie
was wonderful.”
This year, participants could
choose a timed option, competing
to be the fastest team to complete the
challenge. Mascots from corporate
supporters IFA, SHS Group and Tayto
joined Marie Curie’s Miss Daffy in a
pre-event race.
fundraisers from other islands to support
their efforts.”
The pilot of the Marie Curie Nursing
Service in Orkney will consist of two
Marie Curie Nurses and two Healthcare
Assistants and is part of a one-year pilot
that begins in August.
Project Manager Harry Bunch said:
“We’ve developed the scheme in
conjunction with the Stromness GPs’
surgery. The service will focus on helping
people and families in Stromness, Orkney’s
second largest town, and nearby Dounby.”
Saintly fundraisers in 69-mile run
Sun shines on Slieve Donard climbers
New support and service in Orkney
NEW GROUP: (front) Vonnie Carson (left)
and Barbara Todd; (back) Shirley Mcguinness
Kirsteen Munro, Sylvia Campbell, Linda
Lennie, Sheila Henderson and Freda Bruce
FLOWER POWER (left to right): Paul Shields,
Daff y the daff odil, Brian Facer and Ross Stewart
PHONE A FRIEND: Corporate supporters
dressed up as part of the event
FLOWER POWER (left to right): Paul Shields
An intrepid team of 75 HomeServe employees from Walsall, Preston and Banbury have trekked more than 1,000 metres to the summit of Mount Snowdon to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
The feat raised more than £15,000
and climbers included members of the
senior leadership team, such as UK
Chief Executive Offi cer Jonathan King.
The fundraisers took on average six
hours to complete the route. Jonathan’s
King of the Mountain trophy went to
the top fundraiser, Joanne Bijsterbosch,
who raised a mammoth £1,885.
Mr King said: “I continue to be
amazed by the dedication shown by
everyone at HomeServe in supporting
Marie Curie Cancer Care. It’s not just
big, fundraising challenges; staff help
in hundreds of ways, from Wear
Yellow to Work Days to just
donating their spare change.”
Having originally pledged
to donate £1million over
three years, HomeServe
smashed that target and has
now donated more than
£1.35 million since adopting Marie
Curie as its national charity partner
in 2010. The company has extended its
partnership until March 2014, and for the
fourth consecutive year will sponsor
Marie Curie’s Walk Ten events this summer.
Snowdon trek continues HomeServe support
TAKE HAT:
HomeServe
staff prepare
to scale
Snowdon
A Dine in Dunton meal and quiz night organised by Marie Curie Cancer Care’s South Leicestershire Support Group raised £946 for the charity.
The event, held in Dunton Bassett, was
led by Marie Curie volunteer Margaret
Come dine with supporters in DuntonMEAL TIME:
Dine in
Dunton cooks
provided a
four-course
meal
Brookes and her friend Glenis. Ladies
from the Dine in Dunton group worked
tirelessly to provide a slap-up four-course
meal for more than 60 local people. They
were entertained with a quiz provided by
Area Fundraising Manager Marea Roberts.
£1,885The amount Joanne
Bijsterbosch raised.
People July 201318
Inbox
YEAR ENDI am “only” a volunteer at Marie Curie
and so may not understand the
historic background nor the fi nancial
reasons, but it did strike me that having
the year end of Marie Curie on 31 March
– right in the middle of the busiest
period for the charity – may not be
ideal. It seems to add to the pressures of
the staff and local groups when they are
arranging collections, organising people
and banking monies.
Would a different year end of Marie
Curie be more sensible? For example,
31 May – when the Daffodil Appeal will
be all completed and when
Marie Curie are ready to launch the
Blooming Great Tea Party campaign?
Just a thought!
Mike Shelmerdine
Finance Director Andrew Whitehead replies:Thanks for your suggestion, Mike. A
year end of 31 March enables us to
plan our patient services with the NHS.
The NHS commissions our nursing and
hospice services based on April-to-
March fi nancial years and this enables
us to budget and plan our activities
knowing the level of service and funding
we will receive.
It also enables us to readily report on
the level of care undertaken throughout
the year.
I appreciate that it comes during
GDA time but alignment with the NHS
commissioners is a very signifi cant factor.
TRAVEL SAVINGSAs we seek to drive down costs whilst
increasing income to further increase
what can be spent on nursing and
patient care, would it not be appropriate
to view training and other reasons for
travel strategically by organising more
of our required meetings/training around
employees’ locations?
If a subject is mandatory rather
than suggested, then we could organise
more training where the employees are
based. Numbers will be greater and so
it will be easier to arrange/justify
on-site training, rather than incurring
the costs of travel and overnight stays.
Obviously, there are sometimes
We have launched the Peacock Awards, which are all about
celebrating exceptional contributions from our nurses, across both the hospices and nursing service. We’d like to thank everyone who nominated a nurse – there have been some fantastic entries. The shortlist will be drawn up by our esteemed panel of judges, and invited to Marie Curie’s September Annual General Meeting for the award ceremony, at which the winners will be announced.
You will have heard about the
transition of nurses’ line management
from the Nursing Support Centre back to
the regional nursing teams. The offi cial
handover took place at the start of July.
There are a number of Caring Services
projects that are facilitating changes,
good business reasons for travel, but
it should be possible to make some
savings in this area.
Niall DurdinRegional Operations Offi cer (London
and the South East)
FANTASTIC FUNDRAISINGCongratulations to all our Fundraising
Groups for a fantastic fi nancial year.
Together, 345 groups brought in more
than £305,000 – a record sum – that
averages out at £8,841 per group.
And 49 of our groups raised more
than £15,000.
Since the new fi nancial year started,
a further 45 fundraising groups have
formed – we would like to welcome
them all.
If you are a Marie Curie People reader
and would like to fi nd out more about
your local fundraising group, please
get in touch. For more details, just
visit mariecurie.org.uk/groups or call
0845 052 4184.
Sacha Glasgow-SmithFundraising Volunteer Programme
Manager
We need to demonstrate our value for money
WRITE TO US Do you have a comment about the charity or one of our articles, or a suggestion for a story? Write to us at [email protected]. Comments and letters may be edited.
Here are a selection of the top tweets from the past few weeks. Follow us on @maricurieuk or tweet using #mariecurieuk
Followers on Facebook are speaking out about the valuable support from Marie Curie. Follow us at facebook.com/MarieCurieUK
today was the day we handed over this
beauty 2 @mariecurieuk all our hard work
paid off amazing @RedRocketNelson
If it wasn’t for @mariecurieuk my
Grandad would be stuck in wheelchair,
can’t thank them enough for all the help
they have given us
@mariecurieuk it was a pleasure running
the marathon and I had a great time
raising money for you!
@mariecurieuk Thanks to the guys who
saw us on our way at the @NightriderLdn
event. Your smiles made it all real.
Such support for our team!
@mariecurieuk My dad, whose last days
you made more bearable, loved choc
digestives with cheese on top!
Michelle Tavener My dad loved a cuppa tea,
We even had a tea poem at his funeral.
Graham King I will never forget the practical
help I received from MC in the last couple of
days of my dad’s life. Earth angels.
Sheila “Reid” Garrity Couldn’t have coped
without you, looking after my mum during
the night, so that I could have a decent night
sleep! Fantastic people.
Sarah Land please everyone support
Marie Curie. The nurses are amazing people
to everyone including patient. x
Russell Hamilton Proud to be a member
of South Herefordshire’s Marie Curie Cancer
Care Fundrainsing Group. Thanks to all of
our supporters.
ultimately to aid our future development.
It’s important to understand some of the
challenges the charity is facing, and why
this work is so important for the future of
Marie Curie.
The changing healthcare and
commissioning environment: I’m sure you
will know that the NHS is undergoing
signifi cant change. Therefore, it’s vital
that the charity keeps abreast of the
changing healthcare landscape to ensure
we can continue to deliver excellent care
to our patients and families.
We also know that some of the
challenges that lie ahead will come during
the next commissioning round, whereby
service providers will predominantly be
judged on cost, providing they meet a
minimum set of quality standards.
Being competitive: It’s more important
now than ever before that the charity is
able to demonstrate to commissioners that
we are the ones they want to run their
end of life care services. We need to be
able to demonstrate our value for money,
ensuring we are competitive compared to
other service providers.
Supporting our workforce: The
transition of management back to the
regions will mean our nurses have the
management support they need. We
are recruiting for additional regional
administration and Clinical Lead Nurses
to support the new regional structure.
TOP TWEETS
FACEBOOK FRIENDS
Inbox is Marie Curie People’s forum for your letters and emails. If you’ve a brilliant idea or a question
about our work – or if something is bugging you – email [email protected]
Lauren Nelson@LaurenDowrick8
Rachel@RVBMikeDignam1D
Lee Taft@Taftifi cation
Martin Williamson@tintom
Calum Mckay@cdmackay
Did you enjoy this month’s column or is there something you think people would like to hear more about? Email me and let me know: [email protected]
It’s more important now that the charity demonstrates to commissioners that we are the ones they want to run their end of life care services.
Challenges and changes for our future developmentEach issue in our new Caring Services column, Dawn Irons, Communications Lead for Caring
Services, will present a taster of hot topics, news and useful information from the team.
CARING SERVICES
1919
Hatched, matched and more
Proud parents welcome lovely Lulu
Royals praise Marie Curie at Palace party
Senior Strategic Development
Manager Tilde Nielsson and
Alan DaCosta are the proud parents of
Lulu Marie Leocardia DaCosta-Nielsson.
Lulu was born on 14 March 2013,
weighing 2.97 kg.
Marie Curie Nurse Susan Bradley and Marie Curie Welshpool
fundraiser Kaye Derwas met HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace’s fi rst garden party of the year.
The Duchess chatted with Susan and
Kaye. “She instantly recognised my
uniform and the daffodil in my lapel,”
said Susan, “and told us that she had
great admiration for the charity’s work,
as our staff cared for her grandfather in
his home when he was terminally ill.
“I told Prince Charles I did night
shifts, to which he replied, ‘I really hope
you are enjoying a well-deserved day
off!’ He then looked at Kaye, and said
[of the Marie Curie Nurses], ‘They are
marvellous aren’t they?’”
Susan was nominated to attend
because she and her partner Jon raise
funds tirelessly for the charity.
“The whole day was wonderful –
more than what we’d hoped for,” she
refl ected. “The chance to speak to the
Duchess and Prince Charles – especially
as he is our Royal Patron – was so
unexpected.”
July 2013 People
WRITE TO US
SUDOKU
Do you have a birth, wedding, civil partnership, retirement or long service to celebrate? Write to us at [email protected]
To play: Complete the grid so that every row, column and every 3x3 box contains
the digits 1 to 9. There is no guessing or maths involved, just use logic to solve.
Find the solutions on page 12.
John D CarrionHe sings, he keeps fi t and he’s got one eye on America’s biggest job – meet Project Manager, Future Marie Curie Nursing Service, John D Carrion.
Q: How long have you worked for Marie Curie? Since January 2013.
Q: What did you do before? I worked
as Project Manager at the Royal College
of Psychiatrists.
Q: What are the three most important aspects of your job? One, reviewing the
most needed changes to the Marie Curie
Nursing Service; two, creating teams to
make the recommendations; and three,
implementing the changes.
Q: Describe your typical day. A typical
day is spent planning for future changes,
while troubleshooting the changes
currently taking place.
Q: What do you do when you’re not at work? I sing in a chorus and chair
the chorus’s board of trustees. I also try
to travel.
Q: When was the last time you laughed?Yesterday, when I was at chorus
rehearsal.
Q: If you were an animal what would you be? A lion.
Q: What makes you happy? Summer.
Q: What makes you sad? The overwhelming poverty gap
throughout the world.
Q: What did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut… or President
of the United States. I think there is still
time for either – or both.
Q. What’s your favourite pudding?Banana cream pie.
Q: What was your favourite childhood TV programme? Eureka’s Castle, but I
don’t know if that played in the UK.
Q: Tell us a fascinating fact about yourself. I used to be very overweight
and am now a fi tness instructor, having
lost 5.5 stone.
Q Which fi ve people, alive or dead, would you like to invite to dinner? Barack Obama, Robert Preston,
Abraham Lincoln, Bea Arthur and
HM Queen Elizabeth II.
60 SECONDS WITH...
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Create and solve yourSudoku puzzles for FREE.Play Sudoku and win prizes at:
prizesudoku.com
Marie Curie People sudoku sponsored by:
MARVELLOUS: Susan Bradley on a “well-deserved day off ”
WIN £2,000 every week
How would you celebrate?
Playing Lucky Numbers Lottery helps support Marie Curie Nurses
1st Prize £2,000
Set up a Direct Debit now by calling
0870 609 1453or visitlottery.mariecurie.org.uk
Registered in England and Wales with Charity Reg No. 207994 and in Scotland with Charity Reg No. SC038731.
Charity reg no. 207994 (E
ngland & W
ales), SC
038731 (Scotland) S
192