Archives

As you may know, we recently received a huge donation of Shade M Lipsticks, and these are on sale for £7.49 at Reception, in stores and online.

They are now on a 3 for 2 offer, however, we’d also like to give every staff member and volunteer a free lipstick of their choice. Simply pop into reception or nearest store to choose your lipstick!

They are vegan, halal, cruelty free and retailed in the US at $20.

It’s time for us to learn four new names as we welcome Rebecca, Natalie, Stephen and Ann-Marie to the team at Derian House. Get the lowdown on our new starters below!

Rebecca Buffin – Accrington Shop Manager

Our brand new Accrington Shop Manager Rebecca has had a very varied career so far – she’s not only travelled the world multiple times and worked with a large number of nationalities and communities, but she’s also worked in a number of big retailers including H&M and Pavers Shoes, where she’s spent the last eight years.

Rebecca absolutely loves working with people, which is why her new venture in Derian House retail will suit her perfectly. She’s looking forward to working within the community and spreading the word about her local children’s hospice.

As a well known lady from Church, Rebecca is really excited about all of the support she’s received so far, and has already got bags upon bags of donations from family members and friends ready for when our brand new Accrington store opens its doors towards the end of May. She’s clued up on all of the shops around the area where our new Derian shop will be, and has been telling everyone in sight that we’re opening up there!

Outside of work, Rebecca loves giving back, and litter picks regularly in her hometown with a group of volunteers. Thanks to having her hands in so many pockets, she’s a self-proclaimed social butterfly, and enjoys tapping into different networks.

One of her favourite moments of all time was sailing out to sea at 4am to watch the sunrise over Sydney Opera House, and has even seen Whitney Houston perform on a cruise ship!

Natalie Pond – Registered Nurse

Natalie is our brand new nurse on the Care Team at Derian House, and has just got back from a holiday in Tenerife after her induction last month! Prior to working here, she was a staff nurse at Royal Preston Hospital for three and a half years, and left as she wanted to spend more time working alongside children and their families.

Natalie is looking forward to spending time getting to know our children and young people and working in a more holistic setting, making memories with our service users and allowing them to make the most of their time here.

When she’s not nursing, Natalie is a proud dog-mum to Honey the 1-year-old Cavapoo, and enjoys days out with her and her boyfriend Joe.

Stephen Carr – IT Technician

Most of you will know Stephen by now as he’s actually been at Derian House in a contractor role since the new year, however now that he’s official we thought we’d interview him anyway!

Our new IT mogul has so far enjoyed a career in a multitude of environments, ranging from schools to the NHS. After working at Derian for a couple of months, Stephen was drawn to the services we provide here and was impressed by our ethos, which led to him applying for the permanent role of IT Technician.

After being made to feel extremely welcome during his initial tenure, Stephen was chuffed to get the role as he also wanted to complete the projects that he had already started as a contractor. He likes a challenge and constantly wants to improve for the future as technology is always changing, so is looking forward to getting stuck in.

Outside of work, Stephen is a massive film buff and used to write a review column in his local paper, even occasionally dipping into the world of podcasts to give his view on all things cinema. He’s also a Manchester United fan and holds a season ticket at Old Trafford.

Fun fact – when he was an undergrad student, Stephen made an independent film which was distributed by Salford University, and was also the chief of their film society.

Ann-Marie Wilburn – Community Fundraiser

The last but not least in our line-up is Community Fundraiser Ann-Marie. Originally from Newcastle, she moved to Wigan 14 years ago for a man and has never looked back!

After working at Boots when she initially moved down to Lancashire, Ann-Marie then went to Morrisons where she later spent three years in the role of Community Champion. Working within the local community will come naturally to our newest recruit as she’s supported many charities through a range of various projects, bringing in a phenomenal total of £75,000 when working with Morrisons alongside Young Lives vs Cancer.

Ann-Marie lived and breathed the charity partnership for three whole years, and began researching Derian House when the supermarket giants recently announced their new charity partner Together for Short Lives. Rather than get invested with another charity for it to be taken off her years down the line, Ann-Marie wanted to put all her focuses and efforts into her local children’s hospice, so when the job came up it was a perfect opportunity for her.

When she’s not at work, she loves being mum to Joel (aged 10) and Mia (aged 6), who also love fundraising and have been interested in mum’s job ever since she accepted it back in March. She’s never not worked weekends, so it’s a refreshing change for her and her family!

Interestingly, Ann-Marie was a Team Star at Park Resorts where she sang and dance the holidays away for three seasons before she left to have children… we wonder how long it’ll be before she’s twerking away in the Danni costume?!

Dear Derian House Colleagues,

It seems like days since I wrote my last update to everyone at Derian House. It has been a challenging month with COVID impacting greatly on our staffing however, it remains vital that we continue to operate for the safety and wellbeing of the children and young people who use our service. I hope that all those who have been affected by COVID this month are feeling well again or are on the road to recovery.

We are continuing to review at the monthly Senior Management Team meetings our approach to COVID following the guidance given to us which is in line with hospital guidance.

Even with restrictions we continue to operate a busy and vibrant Hospice and I am proud every day to see the work you do to make Derian what it is. Here are a few headlines:-

• I have noticed in the past few days more children and families visiting and receiving the outstanding care we give at Derian House – long may it continue.
• We have lots of activities by the Family Support and Wellbeing Teams in-house and across the communities we serve.
• It is really great to see the Woodland Suite now in regular use by John and Fazila – as we enter Spring and Summer this is a really special place for our families.
• Our Derian at Home Team and ACP colleagues continue to offer their amazing support in Hospitals and across our wider community.
• The Hospice is looking great thanks to Housekeeping and Facilities and it was really special to see a family has commented on the quality and cleanliness of our Hospice on the Friends and Family Survey – well done team.
• Culture and Values sessions – we now have AMAZING word clouds for each of our values and Ben is working on sharing these very soon. Thank you to the 90 staff who attended the sessions and shared your thoughts and values with us.
• We have had a brilliant first quarter financially with income from our Fundraising colleagues being well ahead of the budget also well done to Mick on the hugely successful Stars and Cars event – great work by the team.
• Our Finance colleagues continue to be very busy supporting our year end audit as well as the very busy day jobs and also preparing for our next campaign.
• It is really important we get our message out across the region and we are seeing massive increases in our social media, database and donor numbers with thousands more online and database Derian follows than ever before.
• Our shops continue to be the face of the charity on the high street, thanks to all the shop, warehouse and driver colleagues for their hard work.

Around and About the Hospice (and beyond) – things to know …..

• Reflection Garden, is now completed and final planting will be carried out shortly.
• Forget me Not Service, will be held on the 8^th May 2022 for bereaved families.
• Accrington Shop, opening in the middle of May.
• Amelie Campaign, Later in May we will be sending our campaign newsletter to our donor base and wider region with nearly 140,000 households receiving this uplifting story.

I also wish Eid Mubarak to all colleagues who have been observing Ramadan for Monday the 2^nd May.

Thank you all for your support and commitment and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me, any member of the senior team or your line manager.

David

*Dying Matters week activities are in red.

FRIDAY 29^th

• Friday Night Club for our U18’s will take place in the Lodge Lounge/Kitchen from 6:30pm this evening.

SATURDAY 30^th

• Our Derian Dads will be here at the hospice for a Stay & Play session from 10:00am – 12:00pm in the Seaside Room.

SUNDAY 1^st

• Music & Movement will be held in the Messy PlayZone with Claire this afternoon.

MONDAY 2^nd

• Sensory Story Time will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 3:00pm for Derian families.

• Theme of the day: Supporting Bereavement, led by Wellbeing & Family Support in Clinical Skills from 1:00 – 3:00pm.

TUESDAY 3^rd

• Play Group for Derian families will take place in the Seaside Room from 10:00 – 11:45am this morning.

• Individual sessions of music therapy with Martha will be happening in The Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm.

• Theme of the day: Let’s talk about dying, led by the Perinatal Team in Clinical Skills from 10:00 – 11:00am and 1:30 – 2:30pm.

WEDNESDAY 4^th

• Join our music teacher Rachel Toner in from 11am for a sing-a-long in The Snug.

• SMT members are involved in Caldicott and SIRO training today.

• Operational Governance will take place this afternoon.

• The Derian Voices will be meeting in the Seaside Room from 12:00 – 1:00pm. You’re very welcome to attend, no matter your singing ability!

• Theme of the day: What to do before you die?, led by Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Clinical Educator & Derian @ Home Team in the Seaside Room from 1:00 – 5:00pm.

THURSDAY 5^th

• Our Pets as Therapy dog, Shuna, will be arriving at Derian with her human Linda for their weekly visit.

• Our weekly wellbeing session for all staff will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:00 – 3:00pm today. Any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling are welcome to come along.

• Theme of the day: Talking about dying with people who have a learning difficulty, led by Transition and Youth workers in Clinical Skills.

FRIDAY 6^th

• Theme of the day: Talking about dying with children, led by the Family Support Team in Clinical Skills from 1:00 – 3:00pm.

SUNDAY 8^th

• Our annual Forget-me-not service for bereaved families will take place in a marquee at the front of the hospice today.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• Please note that the next We are Derian which was due to take place on Wednesday 4^th May will now be held on Wednesday 18^th May. If you’d like to suggest anything to discuss, please visit the ‘Staff Forum’ section of the Intranet and anonymously submit your ideas.

• If you would like to share with the rest of Derian what your department is up to in the next 7 days, please send an email to murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone 🙂

Dear all,

As part of Hospice UK’s Dying Matters week we are planning a week of meetings/presentations/drop in sessions surrounding different aspects of talking openly about death and dying.

The focus of Dying Matters week is that as a society we have become very distanced from death and its presence and discussion within some cultures and societies has almost vanished. Hospice UK believes that talking about death and dying openly and helping people to think about and plan for death and prioritise their wishes and hopes for their lives can only be beneficial.

We would therefore like to host some drop in sessions/discussions/meetings/information sessions/ chats about death and dying each day next week at the hospice. These will be for all staff within Derian, clinical and non-clinical. The hope is that discussing preparation for and  how to talk about death and dying  will enable us as professionals and in our personal lives.

The days are planned out as below. Please come along and join us It would be really lovely to see a mixture of people. Also, there will be tea and cake!

Monday 2nd

Theme of the day: Supporting Bereavement

Team: Wellbeing & Family Support

Subject: Supporting Bereavement

Venue and times : Clinical Skills lab 1pm – 3pm

Tuesday 3rd

Theme of the day: Let’s talk about dying

Team Perinatal Team

Subject: Initiating difficult conversations

Venue and times: Clinical Skills lab   10-11 & 1:30-14:30

Wednesday 4th

Theme of the day: What to do before you die?

Team Advanced Clinical Practitioners& Clinical Educator & Derian @ Home team

Subject Advanced care plans and preparation for an expected death in the community 

Venue and times: Seaside Room 1pm -5pm

Thursday 5th

Theme of the day:

Team:  Transition and Youth workers

Subject: Talking about dying with people who have a learning difficulty

Venue and times: Clinical Skills lab

Friday 6th

Theme of the day: Talking about dying with children

Team:  Family Support Team

Subject: Talking about dying with children

Venue and times: Clinical Skills lab 1pm – 3pm

If you’d like more information, please email kirsty.blackburn@derianhouse.co.uk.

FRIDAY 22^nd

• Friday Night Club for our U18’s will take place in the Lodge Lounge/Kitchen from 6:30pm this evening.

SATURDAY 23^rd

• Happy St. George’s Day! Our children and young people will be celebrating with a range of arts and crafts in Messy Play.

SUNDAY 24^th

• Music & Movement will be held in the Messy PlayZone with Claire this afternoon.

MONDAY 25^th

• Sensory Story Time will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 3:00pm for Derian families.
• Happy World Penguin Day everyone! Our children and young people will be in the Messy PlayZone this morning doing penguin-themed arts and crafts.

TUESDAY 26^th

• Play Group for Derian families will take place in the Seaside Room from 10:00 – 11:45am this morning.
• Individual sessions of music therapy with Martha will be happening in The Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm.

WEDNESDAY 27^th

• Join our music teacher Rachel Toner in from 11am for a sing-a-long in The Snug.

• Our Derian Dads will be enjoying a Curry Night in the Seaside Room from 6:30pm this evening.

• The Derian Voices will be meeting in the Seaside Room from 12:00 – 1:00pm. You’re very welcome to attend, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 28^th

• Everyone’s favourite Pets as Therapy dog, Shuna, will be arriving at Derian with her human Linda for their weekly visit.

• Our weekly wellbeing session for all staff will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:00 – 3:00pm today. Any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling are welcome to come along.

FRIDAY 29^th

• Friday Night Club for our over 18’s will take place in the Lodge Lounge/Kitchen from 6:30pm this evening.
• Join us this afternoon in the Messy PlayZone for a music and movement disco to celebrate International Dance Day.

SATURDAY 30^th

• Treasure Hunt Time! Our in-house children and young people will be taking part in a hunt throughout the hospice this morning.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• Please note that the next We are Derian which was due to take place on Wednesday 4^th May will now be held on Wednesday 18^th May. If you’d like to suggest anything to discuss, please visit the ‘Staff Forum’ section of the Intranet and anonymously submit your ideas.

• If you would like to share with the rest of Derian what your department is up to in the next 7 days, please send an email to murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone 🙂

As you may be aware we are currently assessing how environmentally friendly and green we are as an organisation.

We need your help!

We really need to understand the demand on our current fleet and the full extent to which you all travel in your roles and would like your help with some information. This information will help us identify the true cost of travel both financially and environmentally.

We are doing this in three ways:

• Looking at how often the fleet cars are booked out
• Capturing the times when there are no fleet cars available for you to use or book
• To capture the ad hoc use of your personal vehicles when you have not submitted a mileage claim*

*You must always submit a mileage claim! Talk to your line manager or the Finance Team if you need help in doing this. Without you claiming we are unable to look at what fleet we may need in the future.

Please can you take a moment to complete the link below when there are no cars available, or the car is double booked, or you have used your car and not submitted an expense claim. It will take you one minute maximum to complete the form.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=L4KxNBc8uk-2fphc2W8kL1o3dnY8nytAnFB8qF3ShatUREgwSFNYV1owRkUyNzlKNFRGWllXRTQyVS4u

We really appreciate your help in understanding what we need to do!

Kind regards,

Vanessa and Andrew

FRIDAY 15^th

• CBBC will be on site from 7:00am – 7:00pm to film scenes for Princess Mirror Belle Season 2. Please read your recent email from Gill Rabbett (Marketing Coordinator) for more information and what to consider if you’re working.

• Ready, set, BAKE! You’ll catch us in Danni’s Diner making chocolatey Easter nests to celebrate Good Friday.

SATURDAY 16^th

• Our lovely labradoodle Tallulah will be visiting us for Pet Therapy with her human Claire.

SUNDAY 17^th

• Happy Easter everyone! Wishing you all an egg-citing day – our children and young people in house will be taking part in lots of festive activities throughout the day, including an egg hunt in Smile Park.

MONDAY 18^th

• Sensory Story Time will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 3:00pm for Derian families.

TUESDAY 19^th

• We’ve got two new starters joining us today. Ann-Marie Wilburn (Community Fundraiser) and Rebecca Buffin (Accrington Shop Manager) will be in and around the hospice for their inductions.

• Play Group for Derian families will take place in the Seaside Room from 10:00 – 11:45am this morning.

WEDNESDAY 20^th

• Join our music teacher Rachel Toner in from 11am for a sing-a-long in The Snug.

• The Derian Voices will be meeting in the Seaside Room from 12:00 – 1:00pm. You’re very welcome to attend, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 21^st  

• Everyone’s favourite Pets as Therapy dog, Shuna, will be arriving at Derian with her human Linda for their weekly visit.

• Our weekly wellbeing session for all staff will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:00 – 3:00pm today. Any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling are welcome to come along.

FRIDAY 22^nd

• Friday Night Club for our U18’s will take place in the Lodge Lounge/Kitchen from 6:30pm this evening.

SATURDAY 23^rd

• Happy St. George’s Day! Our children and young people will be celebrating with a range of arts and crafts in Messy Play.

SUNDAY 24^th

• Music & Movement will be held in the Messy PlayZone with Claire this afternoon.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• Our shop opening times will vary over the long Easter weekend. Check out our post on Facebook or contact your nearest store for opening times.

• If you would like to share with the rest of Derian what your department is up to in the next 7 days, please send an email to cameron.murray@derianhouse.co.uk before Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone 🙂

Due to an overwhelming surge in chocolate egg donations, there will be a pop-up Easter egg tuck shop in Danni’s Diner from 10:00am – 12:00pm tomorrow morning.

• Large Eggs (£1)
• Small Eggs (50p)

There will be a collection bucket and card machine for payment. If you aren’t working tomorrow, you’re very welcome to come up to Vinten Place today (Wednesday 13th).

If you need to grab some Easter eggs for families/children/siblings, also feel free to come upstairs and take any eggs you require. It’s just because there’s such an egg-stravagant amount that we’re selling a lot of them before Easter Sunday to try and rustle up some egg-stra cash.

Spread the word to your colleagues who don’t check the Intranet/their emails! We’d ate (pun intended) for them to miss out!

After the pandemic drove all of our events to a dramatic halt in March 2020, Sunday was the culmination of three years of hard work from the dedicated team at Stars & Cars Events, who put on a phenomenal day for over 4,500 guests at Bolton Arena.

Crowds gathered at Derian House’s biggest fundraising event, expertly organised by our very own Mick and his friend Colin Wilby, to see over 50 film and TV vehicles alongside a whole cohort of characters.

The day’s highlights included animatronic dinosaurs at Jurassic Park, the very impressive Batmobile, and a whopping £600,000 Aston Martin accompanied by James Bond himself!

We were also joined by special guests Ben Batt and Rebecca Atkinson of Shameless fame, Ellie Leach from Coronation Street, and Gladiator Diane ‘Jet’ Youdale, who spent the day nattering to fans and signing photos.

We cannot wait to see what we collectively raised on the day thanks to everyone’s generous donations… if you attended, volunteered or showcased your vehicle at this year’s sold out event – THANK YOU – bring on next year!

We’re extremely excited to announce that the gardens at Derian House have been recognised by producers at BBC as a potential filming location, and to cut a long story short, their hit kids’ tv show ‘Princess Mirror-Belle’ will be on site filming in Smile Park and the Hospice Reception this Friday (Good Friday, 15th April).

You will all receive an email with finer details on Thursday, but please be aware that it won’t affect the running of the hospice on the day and the production team will be very self-sufficient, even down to the portaloo that they’ll be bringing!

Although our children and young people won’t be able to see Princess Mirror-Belle in the flesh due to strict production measures, they have promised that they’ll send us some pictures from the day that we can keep as a memento and post about after the programme has gone out later in the year.

IF YOU ARE WORKING ON FRIDAY: We kindly ask that you park your car at the Vinten Place side if you can. The picture below shows where production will need blocking out on the day.

If you have any questions, please speak to Cameron Murray or Gill Rabbett. They will both be on site on Friday to coordinate the production teams and their vehicles.

Hi Everyone,

Here’s the top stories from this month’s SMT meeting…

• Vantage training for incident reporting has now taken place and we are reviewing the surrounding policies prior to rolling out the system. All comments on the incidence policy are welcome.
• Fleet – You may already be aware that expenses can now be claimed weekly in order to help with the rising fuel costs. Please can we ask everyone to use a Derian pool car when available in order to reduce all staff using their own vehicles.
• Culture and Values sessions that commenced prior to the new year have now finished and Ben will be collating all your feedback and we will be inducting new staff on a quarterly basis to the Culture and Values at Derian.
• Congratulations to Lynn on being appointed as the Clinical Lead for Lancs & South Cumbria Children’s Palliative Care Network which will involve membership of Integrated Care System Board (CYP services).

COVID

• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) released new guidance with effect from 1^st April 2022 this means that within the Hospice;
  • PCR testing has been removed. Lateral Flow testing (LFT) will continue twice weekly (Monday and Thursday) so please ensure you continue to register your LFT results online using the Derian unique organisation code 99872459.
  • We will be circulating the amount of LFT numbers that have been registered online twice a month. We need to ensure we continue to submit your test results as DHSC do check how many kits we receive and how many results are reported. The DHSC will only continue to provide us all with free kits if the usage reporting is higher.
  • Social Distancing when not wearing PPE remains at 1 metre. This means that we can review how many tables are in the dining room but will be limited to 2 per table. This will be reviewed at each month SMT meeting.
  • Symptoms
    • You may have seen in the news the 9 symptoms of COVID, Flu and respiratory infections. Please be aware when reading any guidance that these symptoms are only a sign of COVID if you also have a high temperature.
    • We have also reviewed our stance on absence management and how some staff have the option to work from home if positive but well enough to work and others do not. In these situations only we will be utilising medical suspension rather than sickness absence and we will be reviewing absence management decisions from the past 12 months in line with this change. If this affects you you will be contacted by HR in due course.
  • There are some changes to PPE and the way in which AGP’s are managed, Lynn will handle this communication to the Care Team directly.
  • There are no changes to mask wearing and no changes to the visitor policy however this will also be reviewed monthly at SMT meeting.

Retail

• Bury and Accrington are under way, which will both be opening shortly.
• All COVID LFT will be removed for the Retail staff excluding one member of the transport team to enable them to still come into the Hospice.

In March, we hosted the annual Derian House Pancake Race on our Lodge driveway, David Hasselhoff aka ‘The Hoff’ sent a special video message to help promote Stars & Cars Events, and we continued to make special memories for our children and young people here at Lancashire and South Cumbria’s children’s hospice #MonthInAMinute 💚

(70) Month in a Minute – March 2022 – YouTube

BEFORE NEXT WEEK… SUNDAY 3^rd

• It’s our first Open Gardens event of the year! Derian supporters will be visiting us throughout the day for a mooch around our outdoor spaces. We’ll have performances from Leyland Morris Men, a special appearance from Emma at eBublio, a scavenger hunt, pirate-themed arts and crafts, and much, much more! Tickets are just £3, with children going free, and can be purchased via this link: Visit a garden in your area – National Garden Scheme (ngs.org.uk)

MONDAY 4^th

• Our new nurse, Natalie Pond, starts at the hospice today.

• Sensory Story Time will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 3:00pm for Derian families.

• Did someone say Girls Day? Our female lodgers will be enjoying Easter crafts and sensory play fun in the Lodge today!

• It’s Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE) Awareness Day today, and Kathryn will be doing some drop-in sessions for teaching throughout the day should anyone want to attend.

TUESDAY 5^th

• Senior Management Team & Health and Safety monthly meeting will take place this morning in the Conference Room.

• Youth Forum will be held this afternoon in the Lodge Dining Room.

• Family Day Care is back for the Easter holidays, and we’ll be hosting a few Derian House families in our Seaside Room from mid-morning to early afternoon.

WEDNESDAY 6^th

• Join our music teacher Rachel Toner in from 11am for a sing-a-long in The Snug.

• Our Derian Voices will be meeting in the Seaside Room from 12:00 – 1:00pm. You’re very welcome to attend, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 7^th

• Everyone’s favourite Pets as Therapy dog, Shuna, will be arriving at Derian with her human Linda for their weekly visit.

• Schoooooool’s Out for the Easter! Our DMD lads will be in the Lodge and Derian at the Movies throughout the day for half term fun.

• Our weekly wellbeing session for all staff will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:00 – 3:00pm today. Any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling are welcome to come along.

• We’ll be hosting a charity shop lock-in at our Preston store this evening from 6:30pm, for influencers, fashion bloggers and bargain hunters to enjoy a night of shopping, challenges, food and fizz!

SATURDAY 9^th

• Our monthly drop-in bereavement group for Derian families will be held in the Seaside Room from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• If you would like to share with the rest of Derian what your department is up to in the next 7 days, please send an email to cameron.murray@derianhouse.co.uk before Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone 🙂

Dear Derian House Colleagues,

It is great to see the lighter evenings and hopefully better weather as we leave March behind and head into April and Spring.

As I enter my fifth year as Chief Executive of this amazing charity I thought it would be worthwhile reflecting on the past 4 years and the significant achievements and changes we have made together.

The first two years were very much about reshaping and redesigning everything from our Culture and Values through to our buildings and services. It was not without challenges as change can be very difficult, and I together with the rest of the senior team were very grateful for all the support and understand throughout that period.  Here are the reflections on years one and two …

• Requires Improvement to Outstanding with our regulator the CQC recognising the amazing care we give to the children, young people and families who need us.
• Refurbished buildings full of colour, brighter, larger spaces and great new facilities such as the Cinema and Sensory Room.
• Culture and Values – written by the staff at Derian House.
• Strategic Aims which were clear and delivered meaningful change.
• Change to a new sustainable income approach to balance the books.
• Introduction of our amazing Derian on Holiday lodges.
• Increasing our shop network.

Ultimately, these two years set the foundations for our future and in hindsight strengthened us and made us resilient for what was to come in 2019.

The years since the start of the COVID pandemic have been challenging for everyone both at Derian House and at home and I admire everyone’s resilience – Thank You.

Even with these challenges we have remained open and able to provide our Outstanding care and support throughout. We have embedded ourselves within the wider health care sector ensuring Derian is seen as an equal partner and provider. It is so important to have achieved this recognition for the future sustainability of our Hospice. It has also been a time of significant change within fundraising with new approaches in donor engagement as well as new marketing and digital driven activity, we really are leading the way. Our finances continue to strengthen with robust budgets and more diverse income streams ensuring our future. Overall, through the difficult times and with your support we have remain focused and delivered to our charitable aims and ambitions and supported those who need us.

I intend to do the Keeping in Touch sessions face to face after I return from holiday at the end of April but of course as always if you have any questions then please do ask me, any member of the senior team or your line manager.

Finally, for those who are observing Ramadan which starts this weekend I wish you Ramadan Mubarak.

Thank you.

David

Dear Colleague,

Our Trustee Board Meeting took place on the 24^th March 2022, at which Lynn presented a family story showing the benefit of our in-reach into Royal Preston Hospital. It is brilliant to see how we continue to develop and grow the services Derian House offers for the benefit of the families we serve across the region.

We received an update on the outcomes of the work that Turley have been undertaking with stakeholders with regard to the development of a new Wellbeing Centre. It was interesting to hear the varied feedback and interest in the plans we are proposing.  Their work will allow us to review our options and agree on a way that we can further develop our offer to our children, young people and their families.

Lynn shared the challenges of continuing to manage the Hospice with COVID pressures and it was great to hear that we are maintaining activities. The family feedback continues to be amazing and the Board commends the work of everyone involved in-house, in the community and all the teams who keep the Hospice open and looking amazing – thank you for your continued hard work!

It was really encouraging to see our income for the first two months of 2022 is well ahead of budget and the Board recognises the excellent work in Fundraising, Marketing and Communications. It is also good to see other income streams such as that from NHS England and other statutory bodies increasing to more sustainable levels.

The time of the year has arrived when the Board undertakes the annual salary review and this was discussed in detail at the meeting. We are all experiencing the effects of COVID and the terrible events in Ukraine which are impacting on costs, especially fuel and the effect that this has on all other prices. The Board is also acutely aware that not only does this impact on our running costs but it impacts on you as individuals through your household budgets.  The Board has confirmed an increase of 3% to take effect from the 1^st April 2022.  As most of you are ware, we keep a keen eye on how our pay award compares to the national NHS pay award in order that we can be competitive and so we have also committed to review our decision around September of this year.

It is great to see many of our events are back on for 2022 and the Trustees look forward to visiting and supporting those where possible. In April alone we have the wonderful National Garden Scheme Open Day on Sunday 3^rd which is a great opportunity to showcase our gardens. The week after we have the well-known Stars and Cars event at Bolton Arena which is fully booked and certain to be both a huge success and a great fundraiser!

The start of 2022 has continued to be challenging however, with the amazing Derian Team spirit, we are confident that you will provide the very best care for all those families who need us so much.

The Board would like to thank everyone for their continued commitment and hard work.

Karen Swindley

Chair of Trustees

Dear Derian House Colleagues,

As the price of fuel continues to be high and after receiving feedback from some colleagues we will be offering an alternative method of claiming any fuel expenses should a Hospice car not be available – details as follow:-

1. Claims can be made weekly, claims forms must be signed by your line Manager and submitted by Friday each week.
2. Payments will then be made the following Tuesday.
3. We will review this process in 3 months as we monitor the current fuel price situation.

If you are still happy to claim monthly then please just continue to submit your monthly claim form as normal.

The fuel cost issue affects Derian House as well so please can I ask that when booking the Hospice vehicles you work with colleagues to maximise their usage and be flexible where you can. The process you should follow regarding the use of vehicles is detailed in our expenses policy and should help you work together for the best cost savings for all.

I appreciate your cooperation and hope this change will help.

Regards

David

MONDAY 28^th

• Sensory Story Time will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 3:00pm for Derian families.

• Culture & Values sessions will be running throughout the week. Please speak to Jacquie (Executive Assistant) if you haven’t yet attended a session.

TUESDAY 29^th

• Derian Playgroup will take place for our toddlers in the Seaside Room from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

• Programme Lead for Greater Manchester Hospices, Martin Foster, will be setting off from Derian House this morning as he embarks on his ‘100 miles over 4 days’ challenge. He will be visiting ten local hospices on his route to raise awareness and valuable funds. Join us on the driveway at 10:00am to watch the dad-of-two set off!

WEDNESDAY 30^th

• Some of our most generous donors have been invited to Derian House this afternoon for a tour and afternoon tea.

• All care team staff are welcome to attend the monthly drop-in session held in the Lounge from 11:30am – 12:30pm. Please come along and discuss and clinical or professional issues you may have.

• Join our music teacher Rachel Toner in from 11am for a sing-a-long in The Snug.

• Our Derian Voices will be meeting in the Seaside Room from 12:00 – 1:00pm. You’re very welcome to attend, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 31^st

• Everyone’s favourite Pets as Therapy dog, Shuna, will be arriving at Derian with her human Linda for their weekly visit.

• Our weekly wellbeing session for all staff will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:00 – 3:00pm today. Any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling are welcome to come along.

FRIDAY 1^st

• April Fools! Our children and young people will spend today (up until midday, of course – otherwise you’re the fool!) doing silly arts and crafts and getting up to all sorts of mischief!

SUNDAY 3^rd

• It’s our first Open Gardens event of the year! Derian supporters will be visiting us throughout the day for a mooch around our outdoor spaces. We’ll have performances from Leyland Morris Men, a special appearance from Emma at eBublio, a scavenger hunt, pirate-themed arts and crafts, and much, much more! Tickets are just £3, with children going free, and can be purchased via this link: Visit a garden in your area – National Garden Scheme (ngs.org.uk)

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• If you would like to share with the rest of Derian what your department is up to in the next 7 days, please send an email to cameron.murray@derianhouse.co.uk before Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone 🙂

We all have incredible resilience at Derian House which is testimony to our ability to cope. However, sometimes our resolve is tested to such a significant level that cracks appear in our thinking and emotions. Sometimes, no matter how strong we try to be we just can’t seem to drain out some of the emotional sludge that blocks our wellbeing and happiness. This is certainly becoming even more noticeable of late due to the financial and unpredictable global pressures being covered in the media on a daily basis.

With this in mind we have decided to create drop-in sessions for any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling and to explore coping techniques.

Please see the dates and locations below for the sessions below. We will be running this service from 1pm till 3pm.

Many thanks,

John & Fazila

A new nursing role at Derian House will help young people with life-limiting conditions get the support they need in adult life.

Lee Graham has joined the hospice transition team in supporting young people to adult care services, helping them to access the support they need.

Lee joins Transition Worker Shelly on the project which has been running in partnership with charity LifeNoW for three years. Together, they will support more than 20 young people at Derian House, helping them to reach out to friends in the outside world and ensuring they have links with other support agencies in their local community.

Read more about Lee’s exciting new role and what it will mean for us in our blog post below.

 https://tinyurl.com/2shnsm38

MONDAY 21^st  

• Sensory Story Time will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 3:00pm for Derian families.

• We’ve got a new Kickstarter starting with us today. Bradley will be working in our Horwich store.

• Vantage training starts today and will be running throughout the week.

TUESDAY 22^nd

• Derian Playgroup will take place for our toddlers in the Seaside Room from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

• Individual Music Therapy sessions with Martha will take place in The Snug from 2:00pm.

WEDNESDAY 23^rd

• It will be the first meeting of the Volunteer Forum today.

• Join our music teacher Rachel Toner in from 11am for a sing-a-long in The Snug.

• Our Derian Voices will be meeting in the Seaside Room from 12:00 – 1:00pm. You’re very welcome to attend, no matter your singing ability!

• Store managers and directors of local Morrisons branches will be visiting Derian House for a tour and presentation. Their partnership with Together for Short Lives will continue for the next three years, and in that time, local stores will be working closely with Derian House.

• Referral Panel will take place today. Please speak to Michelle Blackett (Team Leader) if you’re interested in attending.

• Derian Dads group will be held in the Conference Room from 6:30pm tonight.

THURSDAY 24^th

• Everyone’s favourite Pets as Therapy dog, Shuna, will be arriving at Derian with her human Linda for their weekly visit.

• The Trustee board meeting will take place this evening.

• The first of our drop-in sessions for any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling and to explore coping techniques will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:00 – 3:00pm with our Family Counsellors John and Fazila.

• Our Lodgers will be off to the Regional Boccia Finals in Liverpool today! Best of luck #TeamDerian!

FRIDAY 25^th  

• Friday Night Club for our over 18’s will take place in the Lodge from 6:30pm tonight.

• Culture and Values sessions re-commence today. Expect an email if you haven’t already attended.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• If you would like to share with the rest of Derian what your department is up to in the next 7 days, please send an email to cameron.murray@derianhouse.co.uk before Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone!

We all have incredible resilience at Derian House which is testimony to our ability to cope. However, sometimes our resolve is tested to such a significant level that cracks appear in our thinking and emotions. Sometimes, no matter how strong we try to be we just can’t seem to drain out some of the emotional sludge that blocks our wellbeing and happiness. This is certainly becoming even more noticeable of late due to the financial and unpredictable global pressures being covered in the media on a daily basis.

With this in mind we have decided to create drop-in sessions for any members of staff who are feeling overwhelmed by the current climate and just need a safe place to voice how they are feeling and to explore coping techniques.

Please see the dates and locations below for the sessions below. We will be running this service from 1pm till 3pm.

Many thank,

John & Fazila

March 24^th –  Seaside Room

March 31^st   –  Seaside Room

April 7^th –  Seaside Room

April 14^th – Lodge Conference Room

April 21^st –  Lodge Conference Room

April 28^th   – Seaside Room

April 14^th – Lodge Conference

May 5^th – Seaside Room

May 12^th – Seaside Room

May 19^th – Seaside Room

May 26^th – Seaside Room

Good afternoon everyone,

In light of the recent happenings in Ukraine, we have decided to help contribute by donating vital items to those affected.

Downstairs in Vinten Place, you will find three boxes:

• One for hats, gloves, scarves and socks
• One for toiletries, including sanitary products
• One for baby milk, baby food, dried food and tins

Please could we kindly ask that you don’t donate any clothing. The people of Ukraine been overwhelmed with clothes from strangers worldwide, but are in desperate need of the other items listed.

If you have any further information about how these donations will be used and how they’ll get there, please speak to Dawn Andrews (Family and Young People Services Manager), who will be more than happy to answer any questions.

Let’s fill these boxes!

Dear Derian House Colleagues,

I am mindful that we have all been through a challenging 24 months where our normal world was turn upside down as we see the world opening up we are all still mindful that COVID is still around.

Alongside pandemic we now have the dreadful events in Ukraine with images in the press and on TV and the concerns about where this will lead. Another impact of this situation is the demands on the cost of living and managing with the ever changing prices and demands.

I have discussed these challenges with Lynn, the Senior Management Team and, working with Dawn, next week we will be starting weekly Wellbeing Sessions hosted by our Family Counsellors Fazila and John. These will not be counselling sessions but an opportunity for colleagues from across Derian to come together and share their concerns, issues and generally chat. John and Fazila will be sharing their expertise in areas such as personal coping methods and they will be sending an email shortly to share a little more information.

We plan hold these weekly in the Seaside Room from the 24^th March until the end of May when we will see how it is going.

As I said, Fazila and John will send an email soon to confirm everything and I hope you will find this supportive and beneficial.

Many thanks

David

Keeley, Chris & Rob Gregory sponsored a nurse at Derian Nurse on Tuesday 15th March in loving memory of their precious son and brother, Eddie Gregory.

On Sunday 3rd April, we’ll be opening the gardens at Derian House once again, giving members of the public the rare opportunity to visit our colourful and vibrant outdoor spaces as part of the National Garden Scheme.

Our gardener Gareth and his trusty team of green-fingered volunteers have been out in full force to ensure our grounds are looking sharp for a whole host of visitors at the first of this year’s event.

• Tour our gardens
• Pirate-themed crafts and games
• eBublio Magical Bubbles
• Leyland Morris Men
• Face Painting
• Meet our Pets as Therapy dogs
• Much, much more!

Entry is £3 per person (free for children) and pre-booking is essential. Spread the word with your family and friends and book your tickets via the link below.

 https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/38092

We’ve had loads more new faces join various teams at Derian House over the past couple of weeks. Get to know them by reading on below!

Karen Switzer – Shop Manager, Preston

Our new Preston Shop Manager has worked in retail all of her life. She’s done everything from supermarket chains to clothing, and aswell as previously working as a hairdresser, is also a trained barista!

Karen veered into clothing retail when she left England to live in Guernsey over 12 years ago, where she then proceeded to work at international clothing brand Peacocks. Her family moved back to Preston shortly before the pandemic hit as her partner’s son turned 16 and there were no job opportunities for him out there.

Guernsey’s loss is our gain however, as Karen has spent her entire career working for the big fellas and helping to line their pockets, so she’s looking forward to ‘giving back’ and making a positive change by working in charity retail and helping towards our common goal – raise as much money as possible for our families here at Derian House.

Outside of work, Karen enjoys reading, and she LOVES a good serial killer documentary. Interestingly, our new shop manager has also starred in a film – she played an extra in 1978’s International Velvet, filmed at Camelot!

Sara Bilal – Assistant Shop Manager, Preston

Sara is no stranger to charity retail – our new Assistant Shop Manager in the Preston store has spent three years working and volunteering at Age UK and Barnardos, respectively.

Sara is looking forward to getting started in the shop, and she’s an advocate for charity shops in general, wanting to rid of the taboo surrounding them and allowing people to understand how cheap sustainable it is to buy from them as well as sharing the work we do at Derian House with members of the public. She also loves a root through a donation bag so you’ll find her sorting through the treasure trove of donations we receive daily!

The Leyland lass is a self-proclaimed people’s person, and in her spare time loves looking after her grandchildren and visiting charity shops. She also enjoys reading and a good ITV drama!

Connor Glass – Shop Assistant, Horwich

Due to the success of our previous Kickstarters, we went out and employed some more! Kickstart jobs are funded by the Government for six months to offer exciting opportunities for young people to gain valuable work experience, and Connor is our latest recruit who will be working in the Horwich shop.

After studying bricklaying at college, Connor wanted to get a job, and the Kickstart Scheme led him to Derian House! He’s really looking forward to meeting new people and making friends, and communicating more with others. He’s also excited about using his first wage to treat his family.

Outside of work, Connor is really into gaming, and can even take consoles apart to fix them!

John Pilling – Family Counsellor

John has joined us here at Derian House after a 17-year stretch in education, the last seven years of which he spent at Parklands High School as an educational psychotherapist. Our new family counsellor was aware of a student of Parklands called Sally, who sadly passed away at the hospice, and since then had been checking his emails incase any jobs came up.

For John, there’s no greater honour than working in the capacity he does with families, and he’s really motivated and excited to make a difference and allow families to open up and accept their feelings in his counselling sessions.

The dad of two is looking forward to getting to know our families, our grandparents, our siblings, and of course our children and young people. Working collaboratively with our Family Support Team and hospice staff is something that John can’t wait to do, as he’s used to working on his own in education.

Outside of work, John is dad to Alfie (7) and Daisy (5), and loves keeping fit by running (he’s partial to a charity marathon), cycling, and even football! All of John’s family are super excited for him to be starting at Derian House, and can’t wait to get involved in our fundraising events!

Kirsty Blackburn – Clinical Educator

Last but not least in our lineup is Derian’s new Clinical Educator, Kirsty. The lead cancer nurse at Alder Hey has joined us after an expansive career which has seen her work in children’s oncology and palliative care at Manchester Foundation Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital and even Ethiopia.

Kirsty moved back up north after giving birth to her three-year-old, Isaac, to be around family, and hasn’t even had the chance to explore Chorley yet due to the pandemic! Because of her varied backgrounds in special palliative care and education, Kirsty saw the job role at Derian House as an amazing opportunity to marry the two together a whole five minutes away from her house!

Kirsty is really excited to join the hospice at a time when our services are expanding and we’re collaborating more with other facilities in Lancashire and South Cumbria, so she’s looking forward to educating both internally and externally. She’s passionate about developing people, so what better place to do so than her local children’s hospice where we’re certain she’ll make a difference.

When she’s not clinically educating, Kirsty is busy being mum and she’s also currently hooked on feet-up yoga! For those still reading, this niche hobby of hers gives you amazing core strength by standing on your head!

MONDAY 14^th

• Sensory Story Time will take place in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 3:00pm for Derian families.

TUESDAY 15^th  

• We are Derian forum will be held in the Seaside Room from 2:00pm. Please email Jacquie (Executive Assistant) if you’d like to attend.

• Derian Playgroup will take place for our toddlers in the Seaside Room from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

• Individual Music Therapy sessions with Martha will take place in The Snug from 2:00pm.

• All Care Team staff are welcome to come along to Dawn (Family and Young People Services Manager) and Sue (ACP)’s drop-in session in the House Lounge from 11:30am – 12:30pm today. Please come and discuss any clinical or professional issues you may have.

WEDNESDAY 16^th

• Happy Giant Panda Bear Day everyone! How will you be celebrating?! Our youngsters will be taking part in themed-arts and crafts this morning in the Messy PlayZone.

• Join our music teacher Rachel Toner in from 11am for a sing-a-long in The Snug.

• Warm up your vocal chords for the return of the Derian Voices! Our singing teacher Rachel has relaunched her fun and inclusive choir, welcoming members of all abilities. It doesn’t matter if you read music or not, or if you think you can sing or not. It’s about doing something different and enjoying yourself. The group will be meeting in the Seaside Room from 12:00 – 1:00pm.

• Referral Panel will take place in the Conference Room this afternoon. Please speak with Michelle (Team Leader) should you wish to attend.

• The Audit & Risk Sub-Committee will be held this morning in the Conference Room. Trustees will be on site to attend.

• Together for Short Lives and Morrisons recently announced their exciting three-year partnership, which will directly impact funding we receive at Derian House in an extremely positive way! Over the next 36 months, Morrisons stores around the country will be aiming to raise as much money as possible for their local children’s hospice. Today, store managers and directors of local Morrisons branches will be visiting Derian House for a tour and to see the fantastic work we do.

THURSDAY 17^th

• Everyone’s favourite Pets as Therapy dog, Shuna, will be arriving at Derian with her human Linda for their weekly visit.

• Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all who celebrate. We’ll be making some yummy Guinness cake to take home in Danni’s Diner this afternoon. Don’t miss out on Irish dancing in the Messy PlayZone this morning, too!

FRIDAY 18^th

• Friday Night Club for our under 18’s will take place in the Lodge from 6:30pm tonight.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• If you would like to share with the rest of Derian what your department is up to in the next 7 days, please send an email to cameron.murray@derianhouse.co.uk before Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone!

We are excited to announce that the five EV Charging Stations dotted around the car park are now up and running for staff to use. No apps or payments are necessary, just plug in and go!

Hi Everyone,

Here’s the top stories from this week’s SMT meeting…

Hospice

• The SMT would like to formally thank Jeff and the rest of the catering team for retaining their 5* food hygiene rating – well done!
• Further tree felling is currently taking place so please be aware that there will be some impact with areas being restricted around the hospice and a reduction in some parking spaces.
• The COVID restrictions are to be reviewed on 24 March so we will update everyone on any changes after that.
• Training in IT, Mental Health First Aid, Customer Service and Team Leading Skills is upcoming so if anyone feels they would benefit from any of these courses please speak to your line manager.
• EMIS is to be fully up and running within the next 3 months so training will be taking place shortly.

Finance, Income, Comms and Marketing

• An excellent start to the year financially –being £72k ahead of budget in the month of January.
• A new push on the Great Big House Giveaway is being made to Corporates, so if anyone has contacts who would be happy to spread the word please ask Caroline for the email attachment.

Retail

• It’s all systems go at the new stores in Bury and Accrington, which will both be opening shortly.

Staff news

• Don’t forget to make your staff proposal for consideration at the next SMT meeting in April.
• Please be mindful when opening email attachments as the threat of a cyberattack are currently very high.
• Although as a Charity we are restricted in the help we can provide the people of Ukraine at this very sad time, we are happy to support staff with any fundraising ideas they may have and help facilitate plans, open for further discussion at the upcoming staff forum.

#TeamDerian absolutely smashed their Boccia tournament at Bolton Wanderers in the Community and Panathlon Challenge‘s event held at Bolton Arena last week.

Enola, Charlie, Leyton and Harrison came a very respectable second place after putting up a great fight against the winners!

We couldn’t be more proud of our fantastic four.

We are aware that many of you may have received an increase in spam, junk or unsolicited emails from outside the organisation. This is a situation which is likely to escalate further and we are asking for your awareness and help in protecting Derian House from this threat. The National Centre for Cyber Security has increased the national risk of cyber threat to “heightened alert”.

It is very important that you do not click on or open any attachments which you are unsure about or come from an email address you do not know. Please forward all suspicious mail to ictservices@derianhouse.co.uk so we can block the sending address.

Dates for further cybersecurity training will be circulated shortly. Your attendance to these sessions will be mandatory and shall be recorded within SMI as such.

PLEASE VIEW THIS VIDEO for further awareness regarding this threat.

Any queries, please let Luke Bateson know.