Chair's report     January 2010

During the last few months a lot of work has been done to bring the new Palliative Care Partnership into being.  Tynedale Hospice at Home has been challenged to play a greater role in the provision of palliative care throughout the area covered by the West Northumberland Primary Health Care Trust and to work in close collaboration with the GPs, the MacMillan Nurses, and the Charlotte Straker Nursing Home in Corbridge.  So that we can be ready to respond to the increased demand for our services, a number of important steps have been taken

• We have appointed Katharine Russell as our Clinical Nurse Lead.  Katharine will guide our nursing staff in the delivery of nursing care and work with Christine Mitchell, Hospice Manager, to make sure that the right level of care is provided to the patients.
• We have increased our bank of Nurses and given several of them contracts.  This means that they are given enhanced employment status and we are guaranteed that staff are available as needed.
• The Health Care Trust is increasing the grant available to meet the costs of nursing care; however for every extra pound of grant we have to provide £3.00 of new funding to meet the increased administration costs that result.
• Charlotte Straker now has one dedicated palliative care bed available and will soon have three such beds to enable those who need a short spell of residential care to receive it without having to go into hospital.
• The Revd Janet Jackson has been working hard on the development of the Bereavement Support Service.  Several volunteers have completed the initial training and are already providing very welcome support to a number of families.  Some of them are about to begin a further round of training so that bereaved children may also be given support and help towards working through the difficulties presented when a family member dies.
• We have taken a lease on part of the old surgery in Selegate House so that our Manager and admin staff have improved facilities to provide the back-up services required by our Nurses.
• This, in turn, has released additional space within the Battle Hill premises which is allowing us to expand the shop across the ground floor of both parts of the building and to improve considerably the bookshop on the floor above. 
• The refurbishment was completed in time for the re-opening by the Duchess of Northumberland on 25 January 2010 thanks to the hard work of the group led by Brian Massey.  Thank you to all involved.
• These retail outlets serve two vital functions: the first is as the ‘public face’ for who we are and what we do, providing opportunities for telling others about the work of Tynedale Hospice at Home and encouraging their support; the second is as an essential source of income without which we cannot survive.
• The Communications Group is working hard to increase the profile of the Hospice.  It is hoping to develop local support groups in each town and major village served by the Hospice and is making good use of the DVD produced in 2009 which beautifully illustrates the work that we do.

I wish to pay tribute to all the hard work put in by our staff and the great army of volunteers who together have enabled all this to happen.  We are all very excited by the new opportunities presented to Tynedale Hospice at Home and are determined to rise to the challenge.   If you are able to help in any way, or have any ideas which you would like the Trustees to consider, then please get in touch. 

With all good wishes for a successful 2010,
Yours sincerely

Christopher Elliot-Newman
Chair of the Trustees