Newsletter for friends and supporters of St. Luke’s Hospice (Basildon and Thurrock)For editorial content information contact Marilyn DeBattista (Head of Revenue Development PR & Marketing) tel: 01268 524973 or e-mail marilyn@stlukeshospice.co.uk

‘Humanity should be our race,love should be our religion’

- Anon

Issue No 72 , Summer 2017

St Luke’s NEWSSt Luke’s Hospice, Fobbing Farm, Nethermayne, Basildon, Essex SS16 5NJ Tel: 01268 524973 www.stlukeshospice.com Registered Charity No. 289466

Dear reader I hope you enjoy this edition of St. Luke’sNews which includes a brief up-date of Hospice finances,service developments and activity statistics in the past year.

From the Editor …New team to join Hospicepage 2

From Volunteer to Care Worker

page 5 Service Statistics page 10 Sunflower

Summer page 14

The Care QualityCommission (CQC) is theindependent regulator ofhealth and social care inEngland. Under CQC’sprogramme of inspections,all adult social careservices are given a ratingaccording to whether theyare safe, effective, caring,responsive and well-led. Following an unannounced inspectionin December 2016 we were thrilled, in April 2017, to receivethe CQC official report and rating announcing St. Luke’sHospice to be an ‘Outstanding’ care provider.In their report Inspectors found staff were caring andcompassionate saying that:-• “We found that the service was extremely caring andfocused on providing a tailored service.

• People and families received care from staff andvolunteers who developed positive, caring andcompassionate relationships with them.

• The service promoted a culture that was caring andperson centred.

• Staff worked together as a multidisciplinary team toprovide the care people wanted and needed.

• People were consulted about and fully involved intheir care and treatment.

• The service provided effective end of life care andpeople were enabled to experience a comfortable,dignified and pain-free death’’.

Andrea Sutcliffe, CQC Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said:“The quality of care which our inspectors found here wasexceptional and I am very pleased that we can celebrate theservice’s achievements. An outstanding service is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work andcommitment’’.A full report of the inspection has been publishedand can be viewed through our websitewww.stlukeshospice.com by clicking the icon(shown right) at the bottom of our home page.

St. Luke’s Hospice is a community charity, our aim is to keep on improving and enhancing the experience for all who use our services and work with us. Achieving this amazing accreditation isnot only a reflection of the hard work by our staff,volunteers and the organisations we work withcollaboratively but also of the committed support wereceive from our community which believes in us andsupports us with donations. You have all contributedto this amazing outcome for which we thank you.

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission !

If you wish to work for St. Luke’s visit the vacancy section of our website www.stlukeshospice.com2

We are pleased and proud to announce thatwith effect from 1st July 2017, local End of LifeCare and Community Macmillan services will betransferred from North East London FoundationTrust (NELFT) to St. Luke’s Hospice. The team will be re-named the Community Palliative Care Teamand will be located at Astra House in Laindon (where ourFundraising team is currently based). The new office will allowthe team to be located together again as they have been ‘hotdesking’ from a number of different bases. The team will beoverseen by Sharon Quinn, our Assistant Director of Care andClinical Development. Sharon said ‘I am really excited about theteams coming over to the Hospice. Given the work we do tohelp co-ordinate the home care for people with palliative andend of life care needs, it makes sense to have the services all‘under one roof’. This will undoubtedly strengthen the way theteams work together and therefore enhance the care we areable to offer to patients and their families’. St. Luke’s Hospicehas always worked closely alongside NELFT services inproviding palliative and end of life care for people across SouthWest Essex and this transfer of services gives the Hospice theopportunity to provide a seamless approach for patients andfamilies needing support.

The care and supportpatients receive from the team will not change during the period of transfer and new contact details for the team will beprovided to patients. NELFT and the Hospice have worked veryhard to ensure there is no disruption to services whilst thetransfer takes place. The Community Palliative Care Team comprises Clinical NurseSpecialists (formerly Macmillan Nurses), End of Life CareFacilitators and the Specialist Occupational Therapy team(formerly Macmillan Specialist Occupational Therapists).If you would like more information about this change pleasecontact Sharon Quinn on 01268 524973

Welcoming New TeamsUnder One Roof

Senior Nurse Emma joined our HospiceCommunity Services Team working inOneResponse in March 2017. Emma previouslyworked at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London,completing a diploma in cancer care whilstworking on several of the oncology wards. “My decision to move jobs from the Royal Marsden was a hard oneto make because I enjoyed my job there, but once I went for theinterview at St. Luke’s Hospice I knew it was the right move for me.

My working day begins with ‘a handover meeting’ at the start ofmy shift, either at 8 am or 2 pm and each day can be verydifferent. I may be out of the office seeing patients and familieswho need me to support them in a number of ways - for examplegiving a pain reliving injection. I am sometimes called out byfamilies who are in distress and feel they can’t cope anymore,often because they are too tired! In these cases I try to offer respitecare or arrange for ‘night Nurses and Health Care Assistants’ sothey can get a good night’s sleep knowing their loved one is beingcared for. This allows them to cope better in the daytime.

At other times I may bein the office takingcalls - giving patients,carers and familymembers advice andsupport over thephone. Our aim is totake some of thestrain away from patients and relatives.Sometimes I may need to pass the call over for follow up with theirGP, a Macmillan or District Nurse, or another Hospice Service. I alsooffer support with the discharge for patients being discharged fromhospital during out of hours. This enables the patient to go homewith everything they need in place.

At the end of my working day there is another handover and I amable to go home satisfied I have made a difference to the people Ihave cared for that day. Everyone who works at St. Luke’s Hospiceis passionate about providing good care so I know when I go homethat I am leaving the people I have cared for that day continuing toreceive good care in the hands of my colleagues.

Meet Emma Beale – SeniorNurse in OneResponse

To become a Hospice Volunteer telephone our Volunteer Co-ordinator on 01268 524973or visit the volunteer section on www.stlukeshospice.com

During the period April 2016 to end March 2017 over 30,000people visited our website, www.stlukeshospice.comviewing a total of 122,336 pages ! In March 2017 the website was re-designed and up-dated. Wewould be interested to know what you think about the ‘new lookand design’ please contact Marilyn Debattista 01268 524973or e-mail marilyn@stlukeshospice.co.uk with your comments.

3

St. Luke’s Hospice markedNational Volunteers Week(1st -7th June) by thankingour amazing volunteers fortheir invaluable contributionto our work, highlighting theirinvolvement on social mediaand presenting those whoqualified with ‘Long Service’Awards. This year a total of 38 volunteersreceived awards: 27 for five years service, 2 for 10 years service, 5 for 15 years service; 1 for 20 years service; 2 for 25 years serviceand 1 for 30 years service. All are given certificates and pin badges.On average St. Luke’s Hospice is supported by some 300volunteers each week with a further 250 volunteers working inthe retail shops and warehouse. The amount of time given varies from person to person with a minimum of 2 hours each week.We cannot sing the praises ofour volunteers highly enough –each individual brings a richnessand unique quality to St. Luke’sHospice by sharing theirinterests, skills and talents whilstmaking a real difference to ourHospice and enriching their ownlife in the process. Volunteering isrewarding and enriching, offering theopportunity to experience different aspects of work, make new friends and give a sense of ‘doing something useful’ and ‘giving back’ to the community.

Keeping it inthe Family Volunteering can be abit of a ‘family affair’’as in the case ofsisters Rebecca andMegan Fitzgerald. Rebecca is 18 years old and her younger sister Megan is 17.Rebecca started volunteering in the In-patient Unit in February2014, helping staff every Saturday. Rebecca is now about toleave the Hospice to concentrate on taking her A Levels with aview to going to university. However rather than just leaving theHospice with a vacancy to fill, her younger sister Megan, hasstepped into her place. Megan has just finished all the trainingneeded to take over from her sister in a supporting role each

Saturday. Rebecca said about volunteering at theHospice, “I enjoy volunteering as I love

meeting new people, andvolunteering is rewarding as Ialways feel happy after helping atthe Hospice because it feels goodto give back to the community”.We are grateful to both sisters fortheir support and offercongratulations to Rebecca onreceiving the Essex ‘Who will Care?Award 2017’’ for Individual YoungPerson Volunteer awarded in recognition

of her volunteering activities at St. Luke’s Hospice.If you interested in volunteering with St. Luke’s Hospicevisit www.stlukeshospice.com/hospice- volunteers/

Here for you ‘On line’

Recognising and thankingour Volunteers for theirgifts of time and support

4 We are here for our entire community, by extending and improving the care of individuals we believe

One of the privileges of being the co-founder andPatron of St. Luke’s Hospice is the opportunity Ihave of regularly visiting the Hospice.I am able to speak with patients and theirfamilies and also meet with nursing staff onduty on that particular day.It is the one thing I have missed greatly sinceretiring from active nursing; the close contactwith patients and the camaraderie of thenursing staff who I call my Hospice family.On such a recent visit I was able to meet andchat with patient Richard, his wife Sharon andtheir family.It was a delightful and interesting time that I spent withthem. Richard and Sharon have, for many years,travelled around our area and further afield visiting fetesand fairs with an old fashioned sweet stall. The sweet stall which, from time to time, has been partof our own Hospice Fete, sells all those favourites fromyesteryear - humbugs, gob-stoppers, fruit drops and toffees.Another visitor I met on that day was Robert who was visitinghis wife, Shirley. Robert and his wife were active members ofthe Billericay Fundraising Group.My thanks to Richard and Sharon, and Robert and Shirley forall their help for St. Luke’s Hospice over the years.On duty from the Hospice family on the day of my visit was one new face and, (if I’m forgiven for saying so), one old timer!

The newcomer was young Kellis Matthews looking very pretty in herlace apron. Kellis works mainly at weekends, fitting her shifts in with family and

work commitments.As I left to go home who shouldI meet in the car park but Lyn,one of the first nurses Iemployed at St. Luke’sHospice, and she has beenwith us ever since. In true Hospice fashion wesaid hello with a big Hospicehug. In her own words Lyn

said ‘I just love it here, whenever I am offI can’t wait to come back !.’On the way to my car I passed by theSunflower Wheelbarrows and admired thebeautiful display.It made me think of all the patients andfamilies we had supported over manyyears, and how blessed the Hospice is to

have so many in our community show theirsupport to us in so many ways.I wish you all a great summer.

God bless.

Trudy Westmore-CoxSt. Luke’s Co-founder & Patron.

From our Patron, Trudy

Every year St. Luke’s Hospice publishes anaccount to demonstrate the quality of our clinical services, to review what we haveachieved in the previous year and to highlight our clinical priorities for the coming year. OurClinical Commissioning Groups is asked tocomment on it, here is an extract from the report.NHS Basildon and Brentwood CCG have reviewed the QualityAccounts. They said “The CCG would like to thank St Luke’s Hospicefor their work over the past year, whilst acknowledging that they haveworked extremely hard not only to achieve the CQC Outstanding but in many areas of innovative patient care.”The CCG have been able to provide on average 600 hours per monthof support to patient and their families and carers through the RapidAssessment and Discharge Service – this has not only helped patientsbut has helped the wider system through supporting more people todie at home rather than in hospital.St Luke’s Hospice have worked closely with the CCG (both Basildonand Brentwood CCG and Thurrock CCG) in supporting people with life limiting illness to be supported and cared for both locally and whenthey chose in their own home.

Quality Accounts The Liver Project has been recognised widely as an innovativeprogramme with further opportunity for expansion allowing people toreceive their care out of hospital – we will be working more on thisduring the next financial year.The Hospice supported the CCGs with a End Of Life Bed Pilot thatstarted in January 2017 this was successful and has resulted in achange to the criteria for admission to CCG Community Hospital Beds.The pilot success was due to the hard work and education that theHospice provided to the Staff at the community hospital – withfeedback from the NELFT staff being very positive for the support andeducation they received from St Luke’s Hospice.The SELS Lymphoedema service has expanded over the past year toprovide support to primary as well as secondary oedema patients. Thishas enabled more people to receive this specialist service and receivecare locally. It has also enabled those with oedema as a result ofobesity to be more mobile and achieve goals outside of those relatingsolely to their lymphoedema. The Hospice continues to develop and respond both to the needs ofour population and our local health and social care system. This couldnot be achieved without the close working between both CCGs(Basildon and Brentwood CCG and Thurrock CCG) and support of theHospice’s staff especially Deb Hickey, Director of Care and ClinicalDevelopment and Eileen Marshall, Chief Executive Officer.Lastly, the CCG would like to take this opportunity to thank the Hospicefor their work and contribution to the STP (Success Regime) End of LifeGroup and well as to the local system, their contribution and support isinvaluable in shaping care and direction for our local population.

Chris has been usingservices at St. Luke’sHospice for 4 years,attending Day Hospice.Chris is married and isthe father andstepfather of 4. Chrisshares his thoughtsabout St. Luke’s Hospice….‘’I felt scared when I first knew that I had an appointment at St. Luke’s Hospice, the word Hospice, you know that is frightening,especially to know that you have been referred there. The childrenwere asking ‘is it happening now Dad’? I tried to reassure them thatI was only coming for a look.I felt so differently about the Hospice after my visit, everyone wasreally welcoming, the Nurses, the Doctors, the Volunteers. To behonest it was a relief and for the first time since my diagnosis that Icould talk to someone.

5 future generations will continue to benefit from the work that St Luke’s Hospice began over 25 years ago

For over 10 years St. Luke’s Hospice at HomeService has worked in partnership withSPDNS Nursing Care delivering end of lifecompassionate care in people’s own home.Gill Booth, Head of Community Services at St. Luke’s, explains ‘Weare, without a doubt, extremely proud of the service we provide tolocal people. However we can only achieve this success because ofthe amazing people we have working in the service. There is no‘typical person’ who is attracted to this kind of work, our staff comefrom all walks of life. Some have young children, others nearerretirement age working both full and part-time. Provided they have acaring nature and a desire to help, we support them in achievingtheir caring career.’’One such person is Steve Foran who joined the Hospice as avolunteer before joining Hospice at Home in September 2016. Steve takes up the story ‘From the very first day of being involved Ifound the Hospice to be such an inspiring and uplifting place to be.Everyone was so friendly, understanding and helpful . Everyone hasin mind that whatever they are doing the end result is better care fortheir patients. While chatting to the nurses one evening theysuggested that I should explore becoming a ‘Community Carer’ in

their Hospice at Home Service.It seemed to me quite a big jump from what I was doing to caring forpeople at end of life, but I was encouraged to have a ‘chat with Gill’and see where it led. I applied and following an interview and very comprehensive training Iam now proud to say that I am part of St. Luke’s HospiceCommunity Services Home team. I love my job – no two days arethe same and I really look forward to turning up for work and visitingthe people I care for. If the person has complex needs wesometimes visit in pairs. At other times I visit on my own. Being amale carer most of the people I care for are men. We are alwaysallowed sufficient time to do what our patients need us to do so Inever feel I am leaving anyone in distress or with a job ‘half done’.The best part of my job is when I am told by my patients and theirfamilies how pleased they are to see me and that I have made themmore comfortable or their day a little easier than it was before.’’St. Luke’s Hospice is surrounded by an amazing local communityand we foster a very sociable ‘open door’ policy, welcoming peopleto make contact with us to discuss any element of Hospice workthat may be of interest to them. Just give the Hospice a call 01268 524973 or visit our website www.stlukeshospice.com.We will be delighted to hear from you’’.

From Volunteer to Careworker ‘Steve’s Story’

I describe the Hospice as a ‘Spiders Web’ to people. TheHospice is a hub with so many areas doing different things. Iwas able to come and have my blood tests done here so as not tohave to go to the Doctors or Hospital. I’ve had physiotherapy,lymphoedema treatment, acupuncture, support from their Hospice at

Home service and counselling. To be honest it is allamazing but the counselling has made a huge difference tomy life. Being male I tried to keep how I was feeling tomyself and it was getting on top of me. Being able totalk to a counsellor here and also to other people goingthrough similar experience has made a tremendousdifference not just to me but to my family.We all talkabout it now and are much more open. I now live my life and enjoy life putting the diagnosis to theback of my mind, but it is the support of St. Luke’s Hospicethat keeps me positive and coming to the Day Hospice givesme something to look forward to. If I hadn’t come here thatfirst day, I wouldn’t have had the support of the Hospice atHome team when we needed it, physiotherapy to keep memobile, lymphoedema treatment for my swollen and

painful arm or acupuncture to help me sleep. I would encourage anyone who needs Hospice services tocome to St. Luke’s Hospice. Coming here has changed my viewof Hospices, it’s not about dying, it’s about living every day andkeeping positive. St. Luke’s Hospice has given me back myquality of life and mentally got me through so that I can put it tothe back of my mind and carry on. In my family we call it ‘DaddyDay Care’ but it is much more than that.

Day Hospicepatient Chris says ...

Haywain Beefeater In May 2017 the Haywain BeefeaterRestaurant celebrated 5 years of supportingSt Luke’s Hospice by organising monthlycoffee mornings. Heather Kendel, Head ofFundraising presented Margaret Kelly witha beautiful bouquet of flowers by way of a‘thank you’. Margaret not only organiseseach month’s event but she also bakesmost of the cakes in her own time. She issupported by over 100 ladies and a fewgents who go along each month to thecoffee morning. Between them they haveraised over £28,000 over the period. Heather said ‘Steve Rose, Manager of theHaywain, has been brilliant in allowingMargaret and the Hospice to take over thewhole of the bar area each month as well assupplying the teas and coffees free ofcharge’. Survival

Weekend Six intrepid explorers ventured to thewilderness of Devon to survive for 72 hours OUTSIDE! Our bravesurvivors built their shelter andprepared wild game as well aslearning important life lessons likewater purification and fire lighting. Agreat weekend was had by all andthey raised over £2000 for St. Luke’s Hospice.

LUKES NUKES Mud Run Congratulations to all 41 mud runners who, on13th May, completed the Brentwood NuclearRaces Mud Run - a course of 7k in muddyterrain over 80 obstacles. So far our mud runteam have raised over £4500 for the Hospicewhich is truly amazing. Well done to all ourLukes Nukes runners! An extra special ’thank you’ to Matt Igglesdenwho also took part in the earlier Nuclear RacesMud Run, raising £250.00 for the Hospice.

THAN

6 ‘THANK YOU’ to each and every one of you who have helped

Reminderof the new date forSt. Luke’sto Luke’s Walk The St. Luke’s to Luke’s walk has beenrescheduled after having to be postponed in Julydue to unforeseen circumstances. Although weare disappointed that the walk had to bepostponed, we are pleased to announce that it will take place on Sunday 8th October.

London and BrightonMarathons Congratulations to our 21 LondonMarathon and 8 Brighton Marathonrunners who all completed the26.2 miles raising a whopping£49,000 for the Hospice. Thiswas an amazing achievementand we are very proud of all our runners.

Here’s how you can take part… Join us on a five or ten mile walk, starting atSt. Luke’s Hospice, walking through LangdonHills Country Park with a cream tea at Luke’sHouse Corringham. Those participating inthe 5 mile route will be brought back to St.Luke’s Hospice on our free mini bus andthose choosing to walk the 10 mile route cancontinue back through Langdon HillsCountry Park finishing back at St. Luke’sHospice. You’ll be supporting St. Luke’sHospice every step of the way.

To register please contact Kerry Chamberson 01268 524973 or emailKerry@stlukeshospice.co.uk

Celebrating St. Luke’sHospice Because we do such amazing work, we havedecided that St. Luke’s Hospice needs its veryown celebration day every year. We arecurrently looking at joining this up with HospiceCare week in October. We are asking Schools,Colleges and local businesses to get involvedwith a ‘dress down day’ or other activity to raiseSt. Luke’s profile and support our work. Pleaselet us know how you would celebrate St. Luke’sHospice day. We promise we will respond toevery email or telephone call.Fundraising@stlukeshospice.co.uk or call us on 01268 524973.

K YOU

7 us in our fundraising efforts – you have truly made a difference !

Golden Mile Watch this space as we are currently firming upthe date for your diary for our exciting newchallenge for our Fundraising teamThey have had their thinking caps on and havecome up with a novel idea to create a mile of £1coins. We are not entirely sure how much we willraise by doing this but it will be exciting for us andall of our supporters to find out. We are havinglots of fun coming up with ideas on how we willachieve our Golden Mile. If you have any goodideas or would like to help with the challengeplease feel free to share them with theFundraising TeamFundraising@stlukeshospice.co.uk or call us on 01268 524973, we would love to hear from you.

Breaking News

Corporate Support

Strictly St Luke’sOn Saturday 18th March 9 Corporatesupporters took to the floor withprofessional dancers to recreate the TVfavourite’ Strictly Come Dancing’. Theevening was held at the TilburyCommunity Centre to a sell outaudience of 350. The couples weregiven 3 months to learn a Ballroomand a Latin dance which wereperformed andthen judged on thenight by theprofessional judges.The couples’ finalscores comprisedpre event fundraising,the judge’s scores onthe night andaudience voting. Each of the couples dida fantastic job but,unfortunately, therecould be only onewinner. Simon Holderfrom Simon’s Bus teamedup with Leighanne Phillipsfrom LA Dance to wow the audience withtheir American Smooth and Cha Cha Chaand being crowned the overall winners,taking home the glitterball trophy. Theevening was a huge success raising over£21,500 reflecting the enjoymentexperienced by all. Thanks to everyone whocontributed and helped make it a trulymemorable evening.

Our Corporate Partners are businesses and organisations from the local community who share financially but through giving their management expertise and the time of their employees, for e nominated to be the liaison contact within the organisation and to attend meetings of the Corpo interested in supporting St. Luke’s Hospice by becoming a Corporate Partner please contact Leanne Kightly on 01268 52

Something GoodWe would like to thank the Ladies from Marks andSpencer Lakeside who took time out of their normalworking day to help re paint fences and furniture in ourHospice Garden. This w as part of the Marks andSpencer Spark Something Good initiative which aims toinspire and motivate employees around the country tograb a shovel, pick up a paintbrush and take action forsocial good. With a fresh lick of paint, our beautifulgarden can continue to be enjoyed by all of our patients and visitors over the summer months.

Our continuing care needs your continuing support 8

a special relationship with St. Luke’s Hospice by supporting it in various ways - not only example by supporting events organised by the Hospice. A representative is normally orate Partners which are held four monthly. If you own or work for a company and you would be

4973 or email her at Leannekightly@stlukeshospice.co.uk

If you are organising a fundraising event for us please let our Fundraising team know tel: 01268 524973or e-mail fundraising@stlukeshospice.co.uk 9

challenges or organise social activities to raise the money. In fact, you can do absolutely anything you like (as long as it’s legal!)If you would like to find out more information on how to getinvolved, please contact Leanne Kightly on 01268 524973for more information.

Other ways to get involved:Calling all local businesses – Could you take on our £50 Challenge?Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find asmany interesting and innovative ways to turn £50 in to asmuch money as possible for St Luke’s Hospice.You could run fundraising events at work, invest it on thestock market, hold a raffle, auction items, set sporting

PramathleteIn the summer of 2016, 170 IFDS “Pramathlete”employees took on a relay challenge to supportboth St Luke’s Hospice and CLIC Sargent. Theday consisted of 5 prams continuously movingaround Basildon Sporting Village for a total of 12hours and it was a tremendous success.Combined with a quiz, cake sale and rafflebefore the big day, the team raised almost£4000 which was split equally between the twocharities. A huge thank you to IFDS for theircontinued support to the Hospice and to allthose involved in making the day so fantastic.

10

A snapshot of our Service StatisticsSt Luke’s Hospice support people with anylife limiting illness, cancer and non-cancer.Our Services and service activity respondto the real needsof local people,growing eachyear as theymeet thatdemand.

105%

11%

105% 25%

From April 2016 to March 2017 there were ...

INCREASE IN REFERRALSMADE TO OUR RAPIDASSESSMENT & DISCHARGESERVICE (FAST TRACK CARE)

INCREASE IN REFERRALS TODOVE COMMUNITYCOUNSELLING SERVICE

INCREASE IN REFERRALS TOCARERS’ SUPPORT SERVICE

INCREASE IN NEW REFERRALSTO DAY HOSPICE

INCREASE IN REFERRALS TOOUR SOUTH ESSEXLYMPHOEDEMA SERVICE

13%

AN INCREASEOF 10.8% ONTHE PREVIOUSYEAR

To donate securely on line visit www.stlukeshospice.comusing the red ‘make a donation’ button on our home page

AN INCREASE OFALMOST 19% ONTHE PREVIOUSYEAR

THE NEWLYESTABLISHEDFAMILYSUPPORTWORKERSHAVEALLOWEDLUKES’ TOSUPPORT ANINCREASE INSERVICE

DELIVERY OF53% ON THEPREVIOUSYEAR.

11

Financial OverviewThe income activity and the range of services offered hasagain increased in the year ended 31st March 2016. This isreflected in the accounts published earlier this year.

We thank you for your continued support and interest in our caring work

I’m always very honouredto be asked to write inour newsletter. This yearis no exception, althoughI also feel very humble. Our world, inside and outside of St Luke’s Hospice is constantlychanging, and this, amongst many other things,makes maintaining standards and the quality of our servicesvery difficult. Despite this, all the staff and volunteers herehave risen to the challenge. To be rated as ‘Outstanding’ in 4out of 5 categories in our recent Care Quality Commissioninspection, was an almost unbelievable achievement. One ofthe very few hospices in the country to reach this standard.

What has impressed me even more, has been that when Ihave spoken to staff about it, the response I have receivedhas been that they are pleased, but they want to know whatcan be done to make it 5 out of 5 next time!!

It is those sort of comments and the attitude underlying it,thatgives me so much hope for the future. As a team, weembrace change but are determined that one thing will neverfalter, which is the quality of the services we provide.

Very well done everybody.

The total incoming resources increased by£1.1million (20%) on previous year to £7million, withtotal expenditure increasing by £905,459 (16%) to£6.7million over the same period. This resulted in a surplus of £367,773 at the endof the financial year, which was largely related toour legacy income.

Looking at our current year'sbudget, 2017/18, gives us a muchbetter picture, however the corerunning costs for the year areestimated at £5.68million, here is where wehope to get all of that money from:In percentage terms, it is as follows:

• STATUTORY FUNDING 49%• GENERAL INCOME 12%• OUR LOTTERY 4%• SHOPS 6%• FUNDRAISING 15%• GRANTS 6%• LEGACIES 7%• TAX REFUNDS 1%The Hospice have specific projects which are fully funded by external groups andorganisations

From the Chairof our TrusteesGerry Peaty

Spring has seen some exciting changes in ourIn-patient Unit thanks to funding awarded byThe Albert Hunt Trust, The ScrewfixFoundation and The February Foundation. If you’ve recently visited, you will have noticed that our In-patient Unit is lighter and brighter, as this funding has allowedus to refurbish the unit. In April, we replaced the skylights,installed when the Hospice was originally built in 1989/1990and redecorated the walls and ceilings In addition fundingfrom the February Foundation has allowed us to complete the‘make-over’ look with a new IPU reception desk anddedicated art psychotherapy area. The In-patient Unit’s up-to-date new look coupled with theincreased amount of natural light coming in means thatpatients and visitors now feel even more welcomed andrelaxed there.

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/stlukeshospicebasildonthurrock and Twitter: @stlukeshospiceb

You might be surprised to learn that over the last five years, nearly one tenth of our donationshas come from people leaving a gift in their Will.Those gifts come in all shapes and sizes - £200, £3,000, £20,000, 1%, 20% and even100% of an estate.

“A few kind words in your Willcan give others a gift ofincredible care”For most people, a Will is one way of looking after the people wecare about. Our partners, sons and daughters, grandchildren,brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and perhaps a good friend ortwo. We leave something to them in our wills because we wantto do all we can to make sure they are provided for when we areno longer here. A gift to St. Luke’s Hospice in your Will, is another way of lookingafter the people you care about, as well as people you may neverhave met but want to help because you know how important it isto receive the best quality care through St. Luke’s Hospice. Les Holder was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2002 andspent the last week of his life at the Hospice. Following Les’sdeath, his wife Moyra and their son Simon have been supporting

12

St. Luke’sHospice.Simonexplains:“Before myfather becameill, we knew what the Hospice was but we didn’t quite realisewhat a good job it does. The Hospice is included in my Willbecause of the wonderful care they gave to my father and ourfamily. The care they provided was so special and my legacy giftwill help ensure St. Luke’s is here for future generations thatneed their support.”

“A gift that will make a realdifference”Leaving St. Luke’s Hospice a gift in your will is one of the mostvaluable and lasting ways that you can support us. Your giftwill help make sure we can be there for the community inBasildon and Thurrock if they ever need us - ten, twenty, thirtyyears from now. A gift in your Will, no matter what size, willenable us to make a huge difference for future generations thatneed our support. To speak to us confidentially about leaving a gift in your Will, please contact Legacy Co-ordinator Ed Pearce on01268 524 973 or email edpearce@stlukeshospice.co.uk

Before - Discoloured skylight After - New skylight

‘Brighter looking’In-patient Unit

Leaving a legacy of future care

To find your local St Lukes Hospice Shop or for information on how to gift items to our shops visitwww.stlukehospice.com/shops

Hospice Care Week is an annual week of national activityto raise the profile of hospice care. St. Luke’s Hospicewill once again be marking the week by highlighting ourcaring work and services on social media, in our shops,and local press.

13

For a fun way to raise funds for St Luke’sHospice, why not plan a Big Brew? Whether acoffee morning or afternoon tea, you can havefun raising a cup to raise money for St Luke’sHospice. Last year the Big Brew parties held raised over £10,000! Thenumber of participants in the events ranged from 4 to 50 andcomprised families, friends, groups, work colleagues andBrownie Guides who all enjoyed spending time together over acup of tea or a glass of wine along with sandwiches, cakes andeven burgers!

Hosting a Big Brew is about enjoying the perfect mix of tea,coffee, delicious cakes, wine, beer or a BBQ with old friends andperhaps some new faces during the summer. Our Swinging 60’sparty photo gives an idea of the atmosphere. You could eventake it in turns by hosting a Big Brew at different homes eachmonth. The great thing about hosting a Big Brew is that it can

be as simple or as elaborate as you like to make itand, whether it raises £20 or £200, every penny counts. Tomake it even easier, we’ve put together 2 packs. The firstincludes a Big Brew form, poster, invite and a tea-bag for yourfist cuppa. The second pack includes a quiz, loose change boxand recipe sheet. We can also provide balloons and napkins.

Big Brew organiser Diane Chester added: “Every penny raisedat a Big Brew Event will help support our patients and theirfamilies. There's no right or wrong way to hold a Big Brew.Whether you throw your own coffee morning, hold a beer and aBBQ in your garden, roll out the tea trolley at work for elevenseswith colleagues or lay on a glamorous coffee-themed cocktailevening, it really is up to you. The important thing is thateveryone who takes part has a great time whilst making adifference.”

For further information please contact Diane Chester on 01268 524 973 or emaildianechester@stlukeshospice.co.uk

Arranging a Big Brew for St Luke’s Hospice is a great way to have great fun for a great cause

Hospice Care Week is Coming .....

14

Our Sunflower Summerhas been a greatsuccess again this year andended with the Sunflower Day and over250 people enjoying a picnic on Sunday9th July. It was a beautiful event withfamilies coming together to celebrate

those happy memories and rememberingtheir loved ones. The sun shone for thewhole afternoon as visitors viewed thehundreds of sunflower plaques that havebeen dedicated to loved ones. During the months of June and July the Hospice gardenwas filled with over 400 sunflower plaques that had beendedicated with £5000 having been raised for St. Luke'sHospice in the process. ‘High Voltage Big Band’ provided some wonderfuljazz music for the afternoon. Fundraiser Ed Pearce who organised this year’sevent said: “This is our second Sunflower Day andwe have been overwhelmed with the response. To have so many visitors has made it very special.It was a glorious day and a glorious sight to seethe hundreds of sunflowers that have beendedicated by friends and family. Being here andseeing this makes it all so meaningful. For me -this is what the sunflower appeal was all about and I’mreally pleased to have been a part of it.”A big ‘thank you’ to all who supported this event–wehope you will be able join us again next year.

Sunfl wer Summer

If you have used any Hospice Service you can help us by joining our Hospice User Group. For information contact Sharon Quinn 01268 524973

For further information on these and other events visit www.stlukeshospice.com/fundraisingor e-mail fundraising@stlukeshospice.co.uk or call our fundraisers on 01268 524973 15

The lastfinancial year haswitnessedsomepositivechangeswithin theTradingCompany.Firstly, toimprove ouroperation wehave updated our IT systems by installing newPC’s in every store, replacing the older second- handPC’s which often malfunctioned.

Secondly, in July 2016 we opened our 11th store inDefoe Parade, Chadwell-St-Mary. Since openingthere, we have benefited from the incredible supportgiven by the local Community and we are confidentin Chadwell’s continued success.

Thirdly, we started our e-bay on- line shop which isproving to be very successful in increasing our sales.

Fourthly, we have leased another box van forcollecting/delivering larger donations. It has alsobeen sign-written in the new livery and will improveour transport operation as the ‘older’ vehiclesseemed to spend an equal amount of time off theroad, as on it!

SLH Trading continues to trade strongly and wemust continue to maintain our levels of customerservice. Similarly we must never underestimate thefact that we could not do what we do, without thetremendous support we receive from our volunteers,donors and customers – Thank you.

This year SLH is celebrating 20 years of trading inWickford town – our first Wickford shop opened inthe High Street in 1997 re-locating to our currentshop in the Ladygate Centre in December 2014. OnTuesday 12th September our Wickford shop will bemarking this wonderful occasion so if you are inWickford on that day pop in and join us !

Dave Butler Memorial CharityCup Fun Day Join us at the Winston Social Club, Laindon for a

day full of fun and laughter. Celebrating the memory of Dave Butler, there will bestalls, games, BBQ and lots more for all to enjoy. Gates open at 2pm till late.For more info call Kerry on 01268 524 973or email kerry@stlukeshospice.co.uk

AUG

27SUN

St. Luke’s toLuke’s Walk Choose between a 5mile or a 10 mile walk.Includes a cream tea

at the 5 mile marker.Contact Ed in Fundraising on01268 524973, e-mailedpearce@stlukeshospice.co.uk

OCT

8SUN

Wing Walk Fly on the wing of a plane. Upminster airfield. Contact Joanna in Fundraising on 01268 524973 e-mail

Joannalucas@stlukeshospice.co.uk

SEPT

24SUN

Superhero 5k Fun Run Lake Meadows Billericay. Starts at 11.30am. Contact Joanna in Fundraising on 01268 524973

e-mail Joannalucas@stlukeshospice.co.uk

AUG

13SUN

Christmas Market11am – 3pm at Basildon College Stalls, games, Music and ‘the real Santa’. Free to

enter and lots of parking so bring the whole family and enjoy.For more info call Fundraising departmenton 01268 524 973 or emailfundraising@stlukeshospice.co.uk

NOV

25SAT

Santa Mud Run10.50am wave Come and join our#muddyclaus team in ourSanta Run with a twist…

.. a muddy twist! 7km course of mud,obstacles and a BIG slide. Only 40places available and they won’t bearound for long!For more info or to join our team please call Kerry on01268 524 973 or email kerry@stlukeshospice.co.uk

NOV

11SAT

Review of ourtrading year...in four !

2017 Event Calendar

If you receive St. Luke’s News by post and no longer wish to please contact Marilyn DeBattista (Head of Revenue Development PR & Marketing) tel: 01268 524973 or e-mail marilyn@stlukeshospice.co.uk

Your appointment may or may notbe during the fortnight dependingon the solicitor's schedule. Thereare a limited number ofappointments available so thosewishing to take advantage arebeing urged to book as quickly aspossible. You do not have to leavea gift to St. Luke’s in order toparticipate in Make a Will Fortnight,although of course we would bedelighted if you choose to do so.

For more information on our Will Fortnight, please contactLegacy Coordinator

Ed Pearce on: Tel: 01268 524 973 Email: Edpearce@stlukeshospice.co.uk Visit: www.stlukeshospice.com

To spur you on toprotect your family’sfuture and your peaceof mind, St Luke’sHospice is holding itsannual ‘Make a WillFortnight’ fromSeptember 18th to29th. Over the past four years, ourWill Fortnight has helped over180 people make their Will withlocal solicitors at a reducedcost, with the fee donateddirectly to St. Luke’s Hospice.We suggest a donation of £100 for a standard single will,£175 for a pair of standard mirror wills and £60 for a codicil.

16

Make a Will Fortnight 18th – 29th September

Within the context of our annual reviews is theopportunity to reflect on our activity over the pastyear which without fail includes the recognition of the amazing effort of everyone who make ourservices such a success and helps to increasethe level of services we provide. I am often asked why as an organisation, we are intent on changeand development. We already provide a large number of servicesto meet local need why strive for better? The answer is simply that our community always deserves better.

There is always a need to changeand improve A few years ago we were asked whether our proposedOneResponse Service was really needed, 47,000 calls later I think we know the answer. We have seen an increase in the scope and activity across ourservices throughout the year. This year we received recognition with a national award forinnovation, for a programme we run in conjunction with Basildonand Thurrock University Hospital to support patients withAdvanced Liver Disease. This ground breaking initiative is beingviewed with interest nationally, and also provides a model todevelop services for other life limiting illnesses. The reaction fromthe patient group has been staggering and for some literally lifechanging.

We are very proud of all we achieve, our team of staff andvolunteers work tirelessly to deliver the highest standard ofservice with partner agencies and commissioners and this hasbeen recognised by the Care Quality Commission followingtheir unannounced visit in December and our subsequent ratingof ‘Outstanding’.

It is wonderful that the work of the Hospice has beenrecognised and it is a testament not just to the teams that workacross our organisation and in our trading company, but to ourCCGs, partner organisations, funders and all individuals andcommunity groups, who support our work.

It is lovely to receive such recognition, particularly because ofthe size of our Hospice, but it particularly gratifying to know thatdespite all of this development, the ethos of providing thehighest level of care in a welcoming, caring and homelyenvironment has always prevailed.

Ultimately all that we do is governed by the needs of localpeople who use our services; no decision is ever madewithout this as the focus. The responses we receive to ourservices echoed across the organisation are of heartfeltthanks and the security of knowing we are here to help. Forus, however, the greatest accolades come from ourpatients, it therefore seems fitting to share with you thethoughts of one of them:“It has been pure perfection and I cannot fault anything.Anything I have needed, it has been no trouble. I feel that Ihave been treated as an individual and everyone has madea big fuss of me. I love everyone here and everyone haspicked me up and brought me back into the sunlight. Youhave rescued me’’. If we can continue to make a difference to our patients andtheir families despite all the pressures and challenges thatwe face, there is always a need to change and improve.

From ourCEO Eileen Marshall