News

In March, we officially relaunched the Derian on Holiday lodges with a special guest appearance from our now famous fundraiser, the £50 Challenge kicked off with Oliver reaching his target in a record two weeks, and our children and young people continued to enjoy making precious memories here at their local children’s hospice #MonthInAMinute 💚

Good afternoon, could I please ask everyone to avoid parking by the Lodge reception on Wednesday as we will have a company on site to Valet the 3 Micras in readiness for their return to Nissan.

After they have been valeted, they will stay there until the day of collection, but sadly we will not be able to use them.

Kind Regards

Good afternoon, on Wednesday of this week we will be taking out of service PF69 ODJ, NXV and ODC, to make way for our new Jukes which will be arriving tomorrow.

Registrations should be available from tomorrow for booking purposes.

Initially, we can expect some confusion due to the Micras being pre-booked, however please see facilities who will gladly help out.

Please double check your bookings as we will be back down to four vehicles.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to say a big Thank You to everyone who made time in their day to attend the We Are Derian Forum recently, I understand that the attendance was the highest ever, which is brilliant, and I am grateful for your time.  I hope it was an hour well spent for everyone.

I have been reflecting on the discussion and reviewing the format of the meetings.  I should let you all know that your feedback, thoughts and views shared on the day were captured with me, and I’ll be working through these over the coming weeks, and hopefully, were we can, you’ll see change.

Going forward I’d like to use forum in the following way….

1. Firstly, an open invite to anyone who wants to attend. (work demands allowing), rather than one representative per team.  This is a chance for me to speak to staff from across all areas so please come along
2. CEO Update.  I’ll spend the first 15 minutes communicating and sharing what’s going on, all things Derian.  This will be an update on our financial position, developments to the strategic plan, current challenges, achievements, trustee meetings etc etc etc
3. We’ll then have 15 mins of sharing information.  This seems to have been really useful previously so you’ll get the chance to share information from your team or area of work, and hear from others about what’s going on or what’s coming up.
4. The final section of the meeting will be where we debate a topic or an idea which impacts across the organisation.  This can be suggested by anyone in advance or could be something that I bring.  Examples for this could be the current appraisal system, a review of our values, a discussion on employee benefits, discussing our IT and technology, reviewing facilities, equipment and resources, etc etc.  The idea here is that by chatting organisation wide themes we can collectively make decisions or come up with ideas that should improve The Derian Experience for all.

I will remain the Chair, I think it’s important for me to be able to have time with staff in an open forum setting regularly.

The above isn’t set in stone though, so please drop me a line back and let me know your thoughts….. positive and constructive J

Thanks everyone

FRIDAY 24^th

• Our pint-sized superstar fundraiser Oscar Burrow will be visiting the hospice this afternoon with his entourage to be presented with a cheque for £10,000 which has been donated towards his fundraising goal.

MONDAY 27^th

• Members of the Integrated Care Board are visiting Karen (CEO) and Lynn (Director of Clinical Services) this morning.

TUESDAY 28^th

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

• Andrew (Head of Retail & Online Sales) is holding team meetings with his retail teams here in the Conference Room both today and Thursday.

WEDNESDAY 29^th

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• Lynn and Karen will be attending a GM Hospices meeting off-site today.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 30^th

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• John (Family Counsellor)’s fortnightly wellbeing session for all staff will be held in the Cinema this afternoon from 4:00pm.

• Our Fundraising Team will be out at Darwen Vale High School today to support the school’s annual circuit training fundraiser, which over the past 12 years has brought in over £50,000 for Derian House!

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 murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone!

Dear all,

Oliver McGowen training is now required as part of our mandatory Training.

Please read what is required below.

• The training is named after Oliver, whose death shone a light on the need for health and social care staff to have better training on learning disabilities and autism, and has been campaigned for by his parents Paula and Tom McGowan.
• The 18-year-old had mild hemiplegia, focal partial epilepsy, a mild learning disability and was autistic. He died in November 2016 after he was given antipsychotic medication, even though he and his family warned it could be harmful. His death was determined to be “avoidable” by an independent review.
• The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism has been co-produced and co-designed with autistic people and people with a learning disability. There are two tiers to The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training ensuring all health and social care staff receive the right level of mandatory training for their role and to meet the requirements set out in the Health and Care Act 2022.
• Tier one has been designed for staff who need general awareness of the support autistic people or people with a learning disability may need such as administrative and estates roles
• Tier two is for people who may need to provide care and support for autistic people or people with a learning disability, such as frontline health and care staff.

The first part of both tiers is now live and involves staff completing e-learning package that takes about one hour and 30 minutes to complete. Everyone should do this e-learning whatever their role and whichever tier they need to complete.

The e-learning will help staff understand learning disability and autism, as well as methods of communication and reasonable adjustments people may need.

Those needing tier one will then take part in a one hour online interactive session with people who have lived experience of learning disability and autism.

Those needing tier two will then take part in a face-to-face training day that is co-delivered by people with lived experience also.

HEE is now working with partners to finalise the second part of the standardised The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism packages and trainer’s training.

Please access the e learning as soon as possible.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism

Handbook: The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism

E learning for health will register and record that you have completed this so no need to email me

SATURDAY 18^TH

• Danni’s Club – for our younger siblings – will have an afternoon of fun in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 4:00pm.

MONDAY 20^TH

• Give a warm welcome to our new Head of People & Culture, Kim Owen, who starts at the hospice today.

• The Care Team Leaders will be out on their Away Day today at Bolton Hospice.

TUESDAY 21^ST

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

WEDNESDAY 22^ND

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• Karen (CEO) is out and about, visiting Bolton Hospice this morning and St. John’s Hospice this afternoon.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 23^RD

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• Karen and Lynn (Director of Clinical Services) are attending a Lancs & South Cumbria Hospices Together meeting at St. Catherine’s Hospice this afternoon.

• The Board of Trustees will be meeting this evening in the Conference Room.

FRIDAY 24^TH

• Our pint-sized superstar fundraiser Oscar Burrow will be visiting the hospice this afternoon with his entourage to be presented with a cheque for £10,000 which has been donated towards his fundraising goal.

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!

Afternoon all,

Here are some of the updates discussed in this month’s SMT meeting held yesterday morning (Tuesday).

• Parking at the hospice is being reviewed and a proposal will be sent to the board of trustees to create more spaces.

• A review of door access permissions has been completed and everybody will be issued with new ID cards. This is part of a project to keep the hospice safe and ensure people have the correct access relevant to their roles.

• Lynn is to represent Derian at the national palliative and end of life care board meeting next week.

• Income generation has had a positive start to the year, ending January £50,000 ahead of budget.

• Our new fleet vehicles are on the way (but we are experiencing a delay). We have taken delivery of one out of eight new vehicles and will be extending the leases on the current pool cars until the remaining seven new cars arrive.

• Our new sensory garden will be open soon. Snagging work is underway, but following the installation of our new water feature, it will be open for use. An official opening by the Mayor of Chorley will take place on 16 June.

Have a great week everyone and keep doing a brilliant job.

FRIDAY 10^th

• Team Derian will represent at the Mayor of Chorley’s Mayoral Ball tonight at Chorley Town Hall from 7:00pm. We are one of her chosen charities and we can’t wait to find out how much she’s raised for us in her year at the helm.

MONDAY 13^th

• Give a warm welcome to our new nurse, Ruth Ellicott, who starts at the hospice today.

• Our Patron, Kiki Deville, will be visiting the hospice to meet with our CEO, Karen.

TUESDAY 14^th

• The SMT will meet for their monthly meeting this morning in the Conference Room.

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

WEDNESDAY 15^th

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 16^th  

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• We Are Derian will take place in the Seaside Room from 2:00pm today. Speak to Jacquie (Executive Assistant) if you’d like to represent your department at today’s meeting.

• John Pilling (Family Counsellor) will be hosting his fortnightly wellbeing/relaxation session for all staff in the Cinema from 4:00pm today.

FRIDAY 17^th

• Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of our Irish members of staff and volunteers. Have a good one!

• Visitors from Trinity/Brian House will be at Derian to see Lynn (Director of Clinical Services).

• Chill Out and Chat – for our older siblings – will meet in the Seaside Room from 6:30 – 9:30pm.

SATURDAY 18^th  

• Danni’s Club – for our younger siblings – will have an afternoon of fun in the Seaside Room from 1:30 – 4:00pm.

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 murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone! J

Hi everyone, hope that you are all well J

I wanted to update you all on a couple of additions to the SMT and the Trustee Board.

Some of you may have already met Colin Taylor, who has very recently joined us as Head of Finance, Colin is already settling in very well, please do pop in to say hi to him and the team.  Following interviews at the end of last week we have appointed to the Head of People & Culture position, Kim Owen joins us on the 20^th March.  Kim has both corporate and charity HR experience.

Three new Trustees are currently in the appointment process and will join the Board at our June meeting:

1. Rick Bolton is a Safeguarding specialist, and also a parent of a children that benefits from services at Derian.
2. Davina Hanlon has significant leadership experience in Public Health and has held a number of Non Exec/Trustee roles.
3. Arshad Rafiq has significant corporate experience having been the MD and owner for chain of dental practices, and now McDonalds Restaurants, and has a personal connection to Derian.

And finally, we will be saying Au Revoir to Vanessa Spinks, who will leave Derian at the end of April to start a new position as Head of Governance at Manchester Met University.  I am sure you will all join me in wishing Vanessa the very best of luck in her new role.  I am currently reviewing the JD/role and our future requirements and will hopefully advertise the post next week.

If you have any questions please do give me a shout…

In February, we welcomed back a bunch of our families for school holiday fun, six-year old Oscar continued doing the rounds on national television, and Lancashire’s pooches collectively walked over 40,000km to raise vital funds for their local children’s hospice #MonthInAMinute 💚

Hello Team Derian,

Help Derian House by becoming a Wish Maker

Derian House has entered a first-of-its-kind partnership with Make A Wish UK to offer our children and young people extraordinary memory-making experiences – and there is an opportunity for you to become one of 10 volunteers to help kick-off the project.

Starting later this year, we will be offering wishes to a number of our children and young people, working alongside the UK arm of the global charity that brings joyful experiences to children diagnosed with a critical condition.

As part of the project, we have been asked to provide 10 volunteers to help children design their wish.

The Derian wishes – which will see children design their unique experiences – will begin in September. But before that, Make a Wish UK has given us a number of places on their magical UK Disney Wish, taking place in June. This special experience, which takes place in an enchanted manor in the Midlands sees families enjoying exclusive character meets, epic Marvel adventures, accessible carnival ride and themed shows (see attached for more details).

BE A WISH MAKER

As a Wish Maker, you will be part of a team of volunteers who will capture wishes for children as part of a wish discovery. You will be involved by meeting children virtually and helping them to unlock their wildest imagination to create their wish story. You will be led by the wish granting and wish referrals team. You will be fully supported and given the relevant tools, training and support for the job. Wish discovery meetings can take from 30 minutes to two hours. It promises to be a very rewarding role.

• 10 volunteers needed
• Currently open only to Derian House staff and volunteers
• Minimum age 18
• Must be available for training on Monday, 13 March from 11.30am to 1pm.
• To apply in the first instance, you can express an interest here: https://forms.office.com/e/F0aFifgMik by this Friday, 3 March (shortlisting will be done on Monday, 6 March)
• Once we have selected the 10 volunteers from Derian House you will be required to complete an application form with Make a Wish UK (you will be a Make a Wish UK volunteer – not Derian House)
• Full training will be given.
• Find out more about the role here: Wish Maker (Derian House) | Make-A-Wish UK Volunteering

I’m sure many of you will want to be part of this exciting new opportunity, and so encourage you to express interest quickly.

Best wishes,

Karen

We’re extremely proud to announce that Derian House has been shortlisted for ‘Student Placement of the Year: Community’ in the Student Nursing Times Awards 2023 

Year on year, we receive excellent feedback from student nurses who are on placements in community settings 

We offer them outstanding support, one-to-one help when they need it, and first-hand experience with children and young people who have complex conditions 

It’s an honour and a privilege to be recognised for the work we do, and we look forward to finding out if we’re the winners at the prestigious awards ceremony on Friday 28th April 

It’s been almost three weeks since our new CEO, Karen Edwards, took to the helm at Derian House. Before she gets round to meeting you all, here’s a bit about her and what she’ll be getting up to here at Derian House.

After spending 27 years of her working career at another North West charity, Bolton Lads & Girls Club, Karen was overjoyed to be approached about the top job here at the hospice, and threw her hat into the ring straight away due to it being too good of an opportunity to miss.

One of the things Karen is most looking forward to about starting is getting to know all of the teams, both here at the hospice and out in our retail network, and also the 400 families we care for. In her previous role, she got to see a lot of the work that went on, and wants to have that same visibility to our families who use Derian House services.

Over the next three months, Karen wants to well and truly soak up everything ‘Derian’ – what our vision is, what our plans are, and enabling all of us to go on that journey together. There’ll be plenty of collaborative work going forward as she learns more about the world of palliative care… and she’s excited about all of it.

When she’s not heading up hospices, Karen enjoys singing, so she’ll be joining the Derian Voices as their newest member. She’s got a husband, Peter, two sons aged 12 and 13, and four dogs. They’re an active family, and enjoy lots of days out walking when the kids aren’t busy with their social lives!

FUN FACT: Karen hasn’t just climbed Kilimanjaro once… she’s tackled it twice!

…and if you thought you may recognise her familiar face, for fans of the iconic British TV quiz show Blockbusters – you’ll be surprised to find out that as a 17-year-old, Karen represented Wigan College and won all five ‘gold runs’, with her prize consisting of an all-expenses-paid trip to New York, a month down the East Coast of America, and a flight back to Miami on Concorde!

MONDAY 27^th

• Give a warm welcome to our new Head of Finance, Colin Taylor, who starts at the hospice today.

TUESDAY 28^th

• Trustees will be at Derian for the meeting of the Finance & Income Sub-Committee will take place this morning.

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

WEDNESDAY 1^st

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

• Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus to all of our Welsh members of staff and volunteers. May your day be filled with Tom Jones playlists, castles and daffodils!

THURSDAY 2^nd

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• Interviews for the new Head of People & Culture will take place today in Vinten Meeting Room.

• John Pilling (Family Counsellor) will be hosting his fortnightly wellbeing/relaxation session for all staff in the Cinema from 4:00pm today.

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 murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone! J

Good morning everyone,

Given the increase in COVID cases on site we are implementing the following restrictions with immediate effect;

• Please can all staff start daily lateral flow testing for this week only
  • We have test kits available in HR and the Care Team Office if you no longer have any at home
• If you are negative but have any symptoms please wear a mask whilst moving around the Hospice and Vinten Place
• Please limited table numbers in the dining room to no more than three

It’s been some time since we had restrictions in place so if you have any questions please ask.

On Monday 20^th February 2023 we are launching our Summer Raffle Campaign, which will give our donors the chance of winning £10,000! The campaign will run for 10 weeks and will close on the 2^nd May 2023, with the draw taking place on the Friday 12^th May 2023.

On 20^th  February 2023,  books of raffle tickets will land on the doorsteps of 15,000 of our donors and it will go live on our website and social media platforms also.

What to do if you receive a raffle ticket enquiry:

During office hours (9-5 Monday – Friday):

–  All Telephone enquiries should be directed to the Fundraising Team. (ideally Sarah Proctor – Ext 263 or 305)

–  If any members of the public walk in to reception to buy a ticket please call a member of the Fundraising Team to attend reception.

Out of office hours evenings and weekends:

– Direct any calls or walk ins to our website – www.derianraffle.co.uk to purchase online/virtual tickets. Alternatively, ask them to call the fundraising team on 01257 271 271 during office hours to request Physical tickets.

Please Note: Raffle Tickets will not be sold in our shops at the present time.

Staff, volunteers and Trustees CANNOT enter the raffle

Unfortunately, all employees, volunteers and trustees of Derian House Children’s Hospice and their immediate families are explicitly excluded from entering the Derian House Raffle.

Please note “immediate families” means spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses regardless of where they live.

Hi everyone,

Here is this month’s SMT round up! Any questions, as always please ask.

Health and Safety

It is really important that health and safety incidents are reported on Vantage so actions can be taken.

SMT

• We know there are challenges for parking and whilst we continue with the options appraisal, we have engaged with contractors to review the site to see what opportunities there are for extra training.
• Agile working and how we can work more flexibly (which will help parking) will be discussed at We Are Derian on the 16^th March – Karen is Chairing the next working group- please pop along.

• Clinical Update:
  • Consultant post has been advertised externally which is very exciting and there is interest for the post already
  • There has been an increase in incidents and errors, there is a new Standard Operating Procedure which will be being cascaded to all the Clinical Team
  • Work on referrals and reviews is going well
  • CQC have been updated on the phishing incident.
• Retail
  • Really good start to the year – well done!
  • Offers are being made on other properties with openings in Quarter 2
  • Properties underway include Leigh, Nelson, Darwen, and further properties are being reviewed.
• People Services
  • This was Ben’s last SMT meeting thank you Ben for all your contributions!
• Facilities
  • We will be expecting the first stage of our fleet replacement to happen over the next few weeks where all 4 Nissan Micra’s will be replaced. We are currently managing changing scheduled delivery and transfers dates so please anticipate possible disruption when booking fleet vehicles. Please direct any queries to the Estates department
  • Our phone system will be moving to cloud based storage. Appointments will be made soon with each department to review needs.
• Compliance
  • Phishing incident has been reported externally and we have been visited by the police to gather evidence and for them to offer support and training – watch out for Detective Dave who will be coming back in, a number of families have contacted us – please pass on any requests for further information to Vanessa (spinks@derianhouse.co.uk)
• Comms and Marketing
  • Good start to the year – well done!
  • Oscar’s story has gone really well, Karen is going to the BBC today to be interviewed about it
  • Spring campaign is being developed
  • 30 years campaign is well underway
  • Gold Badges for major donors are going to be produced to thank donors
  • Raffle launches on Feb 20^th – staff and volunteers are unfortunately not able to enter
  • New telephone campaign for the lottery is underway, any questions please contact the Fundraising Team
  • First family newsletter is being designed to send out to all our families following their feedback from the Family Survey.

We had a meeting with the CEO from Make a Wish last week…..watch this space for some exciting news……….

Hello Team Derian !

I thought I should say an e-hello to everyone as getting round to personally say hi would literally take weeks.  I’m now in Week 2 and have had the most wonderful warm welcome from everyone which has helped me really settle in, so thank you for that, I really appreciate it.

My first few weeks are fairly jam packed and so I might not get the chance initially to meet or chat with you directly, but be assured that once my formal induction process concludes I will absolutely be coming out and about, across offices and the hospice site, across our community services and across our retail sites, I’m very much a believer in getting under the skin of an organisation through its people and so I’m looking forward to seeing, hearing, experiencing and learning about everything that we do.

A little bit about me, we I’m 51 (crikey!), married to Peter, and have two adopted children, Mason and Dylan.  I absolutely love dogs, and have four of them, Angel, Moose, Barney and Amber.  I live in Westhoughton, and was the CEO at Bolton Lads & Girls Club, a charity supporting children, young people and their families across Bolton, before joining Derian.  I may as well it get out there…. I’m a Man Utd supporter, don’t judge me, and quite like a glass of wine or two at the weekend.  Things that are important to me are integrity, compassion, respect and doing the right thing.

So what am I going to be doing ?

1. My first three months will really be about understanding all aspects of the charity, across all departments, and this will include talking to families and key stakeholders.  I’ll be building a picture of who we are, what we do, what our strengths are and where our areas for development are, and I’ll need each and every one of you to help complete that picture.  From this I’ll be pulling together my recommendations and thoughts going forward.
2. Many of you will know that the SMT and the Trustees had commissioned a scoping exercise to look at how we might develop the site, this was known as an option appraisal or a Fit for the Future report, this was paused when David left awaiting my arrival.  I’ll be getting up to speed on this and will share an update on the current position for all staff on this very soon.
3. I will revisit our Strategic Plan to make sure that its fit for purpose and relevant, and clearly outlines what our aims and objectives are, and we will do this through a series of focus groups, sessions and consultation to ensure that everyone’s voice can be included and heard.  It’s important for me that everyone owns the plan and is committed to playing their part in its success.

Please do drop me an email, or give me a shout to say hello or send some feedback or even share some good news. Feel free to arrange to have a chat with me if you have ideas or concerns, I operate an open door policy and will always make time for our workforce.  I’ll also be chairing the We Are Derian group so please do come along.

I’m looking forward to working with all of you over the coming weeks, months and years, and together taking Derian House to its next exciting phase of development.

Keep being brilliant…..

TUESDAY 14^th  

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

• The SMT and Health & Safety subcommittee meeting will take place this morning in the Conference Room.

• Individual and group sessions of music therapy with Martha will be orchestrated in the Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm this afternoon.

• Happy Valentine’s Day! We’ll be celebrating with a themed t-shirt day. Pinks, reds, hearts – spread the love (but not viruses, so remember to adhere to IPC policies when choosing your outfit)!

WEDNESDAY 15^th

• The HR Strategic subcommittee meeting will be held in the Conference Room this afternoon.

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

• Youth Forum will take place in the Lodge this afternoon from 2:00pm – 4:00pm.

THURSDAY 16^th

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

FRIDAY 17^th   

• Local businesspeople will be joining us from 7:00am – 10:00am this morning for our £50 Challenge Networking Breakfast. Our Fundraising Team will be doing a presentation and encouraging guests to sign up to this year’s challenge, which will see businesses handed £50 in the hope of turning it into much more for Derian House.

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 murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone! J

Dear All,

I have just had the pleasure of meeting with our new Chief Executive, Karen, as part of her induction.  I know that over the coming weeks Karen will be meeting with a number of colleagues and getting her face known around the organisation, so be sure to say a big ‘Hello’!!  Karen will initially be taking some time to get to know our team, our partners across the system and giving some thought to how we continue on our journey of excellence.

The Board and I are looking forward to working with Karen and I am sure you will all join me in giving Karen a fabulous Team Derian welcome and getting to know her over the coming months.

Regards,

Karen Swindley
Chair of Trustees

On Tuesday 14th February (Valentine’s Day), there’ll be a love-themed t-shirt day for all staff and volunteers to get involved with.

Get out your reds, pinks and heart-patterned clothes for a day to celebrate luuuuuuuuuurve <3

Please remember IPC policies when choosing your outfits.

At the beginning of this year, we said hello to Denise, Derian House’s brand new Complementary Therapist.

As part of the brand new role, Denise will be providing various treatments and therapies such as massages, reflexology and reiki sessions to help tired and stressed out families.

Denise joins us from Pendleside Hospice, where she worked in a similar role covering a staff member’s maternity leave, and prior to that at The Christie where she adapted her therapies for cancer patients.

Since starting, Denise has really enjoyed setting up the Wellbeing Service from scratch, and has dozens of ideas that she’s excited to work on over the coming months. Last week, she welcomed her first batch of clients, and the feedback so far has been nothing short of amazing.

When she’s not at work, Denise likes spending time in nature – specifically bird-watching and doing yoga. She’s also a member of many community groups where she lives in Aspull, and even volunteers for the hedgehog ambulance!

SATURDAY 4^th

• Today’s activities are themed to celebrate both International Lego Day and National Storytelling Week – there’ll be Lego print painting fun in the Messy PlayZone, and story time in the Lounge.

SUNDAY 5^th

• There’s fun and splashes in the hydrotherapy pool for all of our in-house children and young people this morning.

• Join us for an afternoon of baking in Danni’s Diner – what will we make?

MONDAY 6^th

• Our new Chief Executive Officer, Karen Edwards, arrives at the hospice today.

TUESDAY 7^th  

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

• Lynn (Director of Clinical Services) and Karen (our new CEO) are attending a Palliative & End of Life Care Summit in Manchester today.

• Individual and group sessions of music therapy with Martha will be orchestrated in the Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm this afternoon.

WEDNESDAY 8^th

• Karen (CEO) and Lynn (Director of Clinical Services) will be attending a GM Hospices meeting at Bury Hospice this morning.

• This afternoon, Karen will be meeting our GPs at their quarterly meeting with the Senior Care Team.

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 9^th

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

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 murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone! J

SATURDAY 21^st

• There’ll be plenty of fun and splashes in the hydrotherapy pool this morning for our in-house children and young people.

• Danni’s Club – for our younger siblings – will kick off their year of activities in the Seaside Room this afternoon.

• Our under 14’s will be at the Lodge this weekend for the first ever social weekend – three days of fun filled with friends, food and lots of activities!

SUNDAY 22^nd

• Kung Hei Fat Choi! It’s Year of the Rabbit, so we’ll be celebrating Chinese New Year the way Derian does best – chopstick games, Chinese cooking, and arts and crafts throughout the day.

MONDAY 23^rd

• There’ll be a virtual contract review meeting with LifeNoW taking place this morning.

• Interviews for the Head of Finance position will be held in the Conference Room this afternoon.

• Our children and young people will be enjoying messy tactile arts and crafts in the Messy PlayZone to kick the week off in style.

TUESDAY 24^th

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

• Lynn (Director of Clinical Services) and Karen (our new CEO) are attending a Palliative & End of Life Care Summit in Manchester today.

• What’s that smell? You’ve got to be in it to win it in the Messy PlayZone this morning.

• This afternoon, we’ll be getting our Bear Grylls on and cooking outside by the firepit in Smile Park.

• Individual and group sessions of music therapy with Martha will be orchestrated in the Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm this afternoon.

WEDNESDAY 25^th

• Och aye the noo! Happy Burns Night everyone – we’ll be in Messy Play this morning with a Scottish themed Music & Movement session.

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• Derian Dads will be out at Escape Entertainment Centre in Chorley for a game of bowling and a catch-up from 7:30pm this evening.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

• Our brand new donation of Lifelites equipment will be arriving at the hospice today, with many of our team attending a training session to get to know the new goodies that we’ve been provided with.

THURSDAY 26^th  

• G’day mate – it’s Australia Day! Our children and young people will be in the Messy PlayZone doing themed arts and crafts this morning.

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• Join us in the Messy PlayZone this afternoon for bushtucker trials! Will you dare to take on a challenge?

• Swimming lessons with Caroline W (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will be held in the hydrotherapy pool from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.

FRIDAY 27^th

• Caroline W will lead a Sensory Story session in the House Lounge this morning.

• Claire (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will lead a therapeutic TAC PAC session in the Sensory Room this afternoon.

• Lynn is meeting with the Lancs & South Cumbria Hospices Together group virtually this morning.

• A social weekend for our older Friday Night Club attendees will kick off tonight in the Lodge.

SATURDAY 28^th

• Today’s activities are themed to celebrate both International Lego Day and National Storytelling Week – there’ll be Lego print painting fun in the Messy PlayZone, and story time in the Lounge.

SUNDAY 29^th

• There’s fun and splashes in the hydrotherapy pool for all of our in-house children and young people this morning.

• Join us for an afternoon of baking in Danni’s Diner – what will we make?

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• Our New Year sale is now ON in all of our stores and online. Get 50% off all 2023 diaries and calendars, whilst stocks last.

• Our first line-up of 2023 events has been announced! From skydiving, abseiling AND bungee jumping this summer as part of Dare for Derian, to walking your dog for the entire month of February to win awards whilst supporting Derian House, check out our Events page on derianhouse.co.uk/events to find out more about how you can get involved.

• Our friends at Mercure Hotel Bolton are offering FREE use of all of their facilities throughout January – all you have to do is show your Derian House ID!

• January 2023 is Make a Will Month here at the hospice, and we’re working with local solicitors to give our supporters the chance to write and update their Wills whilst supporting Derian.

• 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! J

With a new year comes a new calendar of fundraising events, and we’ve got plenty for you to get involved with in Derian House’s 30th year!

Derian’s Top Dog

It’s time for a W-A-L-K! Take the lead for the month of February and collectively walk 100km with your four-legged friends – all you have to do is raise a minimum of £100 on JustGiving! Your pampered pooch will receive a free bandana so they’re Derian-branded and raring to go!

£50 Business Challenge

Do you know someone who works for a business, or even owns their own? We’re challenging them to take on our famous £50 Challenge, and turn £50 into something much more by whatever means necessary! They could hold a bake sale, or even scale the Three Peaks – the world is their oyster! Who’ll come out on top and take the crown from our current champions, Anwyl Homes?

£50 Junior Challenge

NEW for 2023 is our school equivalent of the Business Challenge – think Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice… what will our schools get up to to raise as much money as they can from £50?

Morecambe Bay Walk

Derian House’s longest-running fundraising event is back and bigger than ever! 300 of our supporters will paint the Bay green on Saturday 27th May as we hike seven miles from Arnside to the picturesque village of Grange-over-Sands. Entry is just £50, or FREE is you raise a minimum of £50 on JustGiving.

Dare for Derian

Go on… we dare you! Due to the popularity of our Dive for Derian fundraiser, we’re tripling the adrenaline with the addition of a bungee jump and an abseil for this summer’s thrilling event. On the weekend of Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd July, take to the skies at Black Knights Parachute Centre, or climb the crane at Bolton Wanderers Football Stadium… Daring supporters must be 14+ for the bungee and abseil, or 16+ for the skydive, with minimum funds needed to be raised to secure your trip to the sky!

Coming soon…

• The Great North Run (Skip the ballot and speak with our Fundraising Team today to secure your FREE place)
• Born Survivor

Visit our website to find out more about each of these events, or pop upstairs in Vinten Place to speak with our Fundraising Team today – https://www.derianhouse.co.uk/events/.

SATURDAY 14^th

• Music and Movement with Claire will take place in the Messy PlayZone.

• What lovely smells will be coming from Danni’s Diner today? Join us for an afternoon of baking to find out.

SUNDAY 15^th

• A sensory journey and guided relaxation/massage session will be held in the Sensory Room.

MONDAY 16^th

• Design a Derian word search in the Messy PlayZone this morning to help celebrate Global Word Search Day.

TUESDAY 17^th

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

• Caroline W (Play & Wellbeing Worker) will lead sensory Story Time for our in-house children this morning.

• Individual and group sessions of music therapy with Martha will be orchestrated in the Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm this afternoon.

WEDNESDAY 18^th

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• The Audit & Risk Sub-Committee meeting will be held in the Conference Room this morning.

• We Are Derian will commence from 2:00pm in the Seaside Room for a member of staff from each team to attend.

• It’s Winnie the Pooh Day, and what better way to celebrate than with themed arts and crafts in the Messy PlayZone.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 19^th

• What will we find on our scavenger hunt around the hospice this morning?

• ITV Granada Reports will be here at the hospice to film a piece about Oliver, a six-year-old fundraising superstar who’s scaling the height of Mount Everest by climbing 12 of the UK’s highest mountains to raise money for Derian House.

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• John (Family Counsellor) and his fortnightly wellbeing session will return to the Cinema from 4:00pm. Anyone is welcome to attend.

• Claire (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will lead a therapeutic TAC PAC session in the Sensory Room this afternoon.

• Swimming lessons with Caroline W (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will be held in the hydrotherapy pool from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.

FRIDAY 20^th

• Caroline W will lead a Sensory Story session in the House Lounge this morning.

• Music and Movement with Claire will take place in the Messy PlayZone this morning.

• A social weekend for our younger Friday Night Club attendees will kick off tonight in the Lodge.

• Join us in Danni’s Diner for yummy pizza making this afternoon.

• Our siblings group, Chill Out and Chat, will meet for the first time this year in the Seaside Room this evening.

SATURDAY 21^st

• There’ll be plenty of fun and splashes in the hydrotherapy pool this morning for our in-house children and young people.

• Danni’s Club – for our younger siblings – will kick off their year of activities in the Seaside Room this afternoon.

SUNDAY 22^nd

• Kung Hei Fat Choi! It’s Year of the Rabbit, so we’ll be celebrating Chinese New Year the way Derian does best – chopstick games, Chinese cooking, and arts and crafts throughout the day.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• Our New Year sale is now ON in all of our stores and online. Get 50% off all 2023 diaries and calendars, whilst stocks last.

• Happy Birthday Derian House! We’re entering our 30^th year, and we can’t wait to share with the world all things past and present as we delve through the archives and open up those dusty photo albums. Make sure you’re following us across our social media platforms to get involved in our year-long celebration.

• Our first line-up of 2023 events has been announced! From skydiving, abseiling AND bungee jumping this summer as part of Dare for Derian, to walking your dog for the entire month of February to win awards whilst supporting Derian House, check out our Events page on derianhouse.co.uk/events to find out more about how you can get involved.

• Our friends at Mercure Hotel Bolton are offering FREE use of all of their facilities throughout January – all you have to do is show your Derian House ID!

• January 2023 is Make a Will Month here at the hospice, and we’re working with local solicitors to give our supporters the chance to write and update their Wills whilst supporting Derian.

• 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! J

Hello everyone,

Here’s some news and updates from this week’s SMT meeting:

• Mandatory training for all requires completing by the end of the month. Please ensure you have no issues logging in and have scheduled the appropriate time to complete
• Retail are having a successful start to the year and are also looking into securing new stores to add to their portfolio.
• We have successfully recruited an ACP and are excited to introduce Kev to Derian in April
• There has been a few changes to the fire evacuation procedure for the main hospice, this is available on the intranet https://derianintranet.co.uk/download/facilities-infrastructure-procedures/ . Please make sure you are aware of your responsibilities and bring any questions to Luke.
• DSE self-assessments are being collated. Please ensure you complete your form if you have not already done so.
• We are aware the dining room can be very busy at key times of the day. We are looking into plans with the Catering team to help with this including putting an extra table into the area but please be mindful when scheduling your time in there
• Nissan are replacing our 4 fleet vehicles with Nissan Juke’s on February 17^th . Please ensure your day is scheduled around this and communicate with the Estates team for a ‘getting to know you’ session with the new cars.
• The staff survey is now closed. Thank you to all who took part. Your feedback is valuable
• Both Ribby Hall holiday lodges are soon to be refurbished, ensuring they look and feel amazing for our families to enjoy their holidays post the shutdown period. If you are planning a visit, please make sure you confirm this with the Estates team
• This was Diane’s last SMT Meeting and we all wish her well for the future!

Who wants to start the year off as a winner?!

An exciting competition to ‘Draw it for Derian’ will see one budding artist’s masterpiece emblazoned on the front of a Volvo truck to celebrate 30 years of care at Derian House.

Youngsters up to the age of 16 are asked to submit their birthday-themed art for the challenge, led by truck dealers Thomas Hardie Commercials Ltd, and are encouraged to get as creative as possible.

The winning design will feature a ‘text to donate’ number that will encourage donations while the truck is out on the road or at events. Every customer that uses the vehicle will also be invited to make a voluntary donation.

Thomas Hardie launched their successful ‘Drive it for Derian’ campaign back in 2021, which saw their unmissable Derian-branded truck hit the road and raise over £7,500 for the hospice in the process.

Entries need to be returned by the end of January, and the winner will be chosen on Friday 3rd February. Visit our website below to download the design sheet and get involved… good luck!

https://www.derianhouse.co.uk/draw-it-for-derian…/

FRIDAY 6^th

• Music and Movement will be taking place in the Sensory Room for our in-house children and young people.

• Join us in Danni’s Diner for an afternoon of tasty baking.

SATURDAY 7^th

• What will be find on our treasure hunt around the hospice?

SUNDAY 8^th

• Let’s get arty! Come to the Messy PlayZone this morning for syringe painting!

MONDAY 9^th  

• We have a new starter today in the form of Derian’s Complimentary Therapist, Denise Doe.

• Join us in the Messy PlayZone for messy play with our children and young people.

TUESDAY 10^th

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

• We’ll be out in the Woodland Walk to forage for a forest art session with Arron (Wellbeing & Play Worker) this morning.

• Individual and group sessions of music therapy with Martha will be held in the Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm this afternoon.

WEDNESDAY 11^th

• Our fun weekly singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am.

• Some of our youngsters will be on a trip out to Rainbow Hub for an afternoon of rebound therapy.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

THURSDAY 12^th

• Our children and young people will be enjoying fun and splashes in the hydrotherapy pool this morning.

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• John (Family Counsellor) and his fortnightly wellbeing session will return to the Cinema from 4:00pm. Anyone is welcome to attend.

• Claire (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will lead a therapeutic TAC PAC session in the Sensory Room this afternoon.

• Swimming lessons with Caroline W (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will also return to the hydrotherapy pool from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.

FRIDAY 13^th  

• Caroline W will lead a Sensory Story session in the House Lounge this morning.

SATURDAY 14^th

• Music and Movement with Claire will take place in the Messy PlayZone.

• What lovely smells will be coming from Danni’s Diner today? Join us for an afternoon of baking to find out.

SUNDAY 15^th

• A sensory journey and guided relaxation/massage session will be held in the Sensory Room.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

• Our New Year sale is now ON in all of our stores and online. Get 50% off all 2023 diaries and calendars, whilst stocks last.

• Happy Birthday Derian House! We’re entering our 30^th year, and we can’t wait to share with the world all things past and present as we delve through the archives and open up those dusty photo albums. Make sure you’re following us across our social media platforms to get involved in our year-long celebration.

• Our first line-up of 2023 events has been announced! From skydiving, abseiling AND bungee jumping this summer as part of Dare for Derian, to walking your dog for the entire month of February to win awards whilst supporting Derian House, check out our Events page on derianhouse.co.uk/events to find out more about how you can get involved.

• 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!

Just a reminder that if you haven’t had a chance to complete Staff Survey Temperature check, the survey will be open until Sunday 8th January 2023.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=L4KxNBc8uk-2fphc2W8kL2p8YNixmbxBmbI38i7OQhNUREg3S1VQUVdJVDA4UDYyQU1UMTU4S0VGOCQlQCN0PWcu

Happy New Year!

To thank our team for what they do, Mercure Hotel (Bolton Georgia House) are offering FREE access to their club and facilities throughout the whole of January free of charge.

All you need to do is show your work ID badge when attending, and there’s no limit to how many times you can go into the club for the month!

SATURDAY 24^th

• T’was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, the hydrotherapy pool was open for our children to splash about!

SUNDAY 25^th

• IT’S CHRIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAS! Merry Christmas everyone – have a great one, whatever you’re up to!

SUNDAY 1^st

• Happy New Year! Here’s to 2023 – enjoy celebrating with your loved ones. At the hospice, we’ll be doing themed arts and crafts in the Messy PlayZone.

• Our children and young people will be enjoying a sensory story in the Lounge this morning.

MONDAY 2^nd

• We’ll be busy making 2023 calendars in the Messy PlayZone this morning.

TUESDAY 3^rd

• Individual and group sessions of music therapy with Martha will take place in the Snug between 2:00pm and 6:00pm.

• Join Caroline (Wellbeing & Play Worker) for sensory story time in the Lounge.

• Cheers to 30 years! Our ‘30 years of Care’ campaign launches digitally this morning. Check out our social media cover photo, you may just spot yourself!

• Our in-house children will be enjoying fun and splashes in the hydrotherapy pool.

WEDNESDAY 4^th

• Heads down, it’s prize bingo time! We’ll be in the Lounge, with plenty of prizes to be won!

• Rachel the music lady will be here for an hour of sing-a-long fun in the Snug.

THURSDAY 5^th

• Greenhouse gardening fun with Gareth the Gardener will take place this morning up in Smile Park.

• Our Pet Therapy pooch Shuna will be on her weekly hospice visit. Say hello and give her a stroke!

• A therapeutic TAC PAC session with Claire (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will be held in the Sensory Room this afternoon.

• Caroline W will once again be teaching our youngsters how to swim with swimming lessons starting from 4:00pm in our hydrotherapy pool.

FRIDAY 6^th

• Music and Movement will be taking place in the Sensory Room for our in-house children and young people.

• Join us in Danni’s Diner for an afternoon of tasty baking.

SATURDAY 7^th

• What will be find on our treasure hunt around the hospice?

SUNDAY 8^th

• Want to get messy? Come to the Messy PlayZone this morning for syringe painting!

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 murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone, and I ho ho hope you have a brilliant Christmas and New Year J

Dear Derian House Colleagues and Friends,

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words over the past few weeks about me leaving Derian House.

It has been a privilege to lead this Outstanding charity for the past five years and prior to that being a member of the Board of Trustees for three years. Over the total of eight years I have met some amazing people, learned a huge amount and hopefully contributed to the future success of Derian House.

I feel I leave Derian fit for the future with great care for the children, young people and their families, amazing facilities, great holiday opportunities and of course leading the way in children’s hospice care in the UK.

Our Outstanding CQC rating is a source of pride for me and I am sure for everyone who works or volunteers for the charity and I am confident you will all continue that outstanding work.

I wish everyone all the very best and thank you for your support, trust and professionalism over the years.

With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to everyone.

T’is the season to welcome three more new starters to our ever-growing team here at Derian House, and our final recruits of 2022.

Andrea Cataldo – Chef

Andrea is no stranger to us here at Derian House, as he’s actually been with us since the middle of June working as part of the agency.

Working at Derian for the past six months led Andrea to applying for the full time Chef position, as he immediately fell in love with the place and loves the work we do. He’s also a father of three, and his eldest son was born with a genetic condition, so the reality of what we do here was quite close to home and he’s really looking forward to becoming a fully-fledged member of the team.

Before he became a chef, Andrea worked for NHS Track and Trace, and long before that spent an incredible 12 years as a street artist – yep, our multi-talented Italian dabbled in balloon art, juggling… and even fire breathing!

When he’s not rustling up a cheese and onion pie, Andrea is busy studying Business Studies at Manchester Met University on the weekends… such a busy bee!

Olivia Jones – Registered Nurse

Our newest nurse, Olivia, joins us after almost a year on Ormskirk’s neonatal ward. Since being a student here at Derian way back in 2019, she’s has always wanted to come back here… and now her dreams have come true!

Olivia is really excited about settling back into the team, and learning more about what Derian House is all about from a nurse’s perspective as opposed to a student’s.

When she’s not nursing, Olivia is proud mum to two boys – Teddy (aged 6), and Kit (aged 1) – and is a self-proclaimed social butterfly, who won’t say no to a bottomless brunch!

Heather Philip – Business Analyst

Heather joins us after a phenomenal 18-year stint in fashion retail, where she spent the past few years working in merchandising at Boohoo. She’s more than ready for a change of scene, and her exciting new role at Derian House is the perfect opportunity!

The role of Business Analyst is a new one here at the hospice, and Heather will spend a great deal of her days working closely with Vanessa to provide data and information so that we meet our legal requirements, supporting all teams in the process and getting the most out of their data.

Heather previously moved from her hometown of Glasgow ‘down south’ for work, and has been in Eccleston ever since. Her new job in the healthcare/charity sector means that she can use her transferrable skills in a much more wholesome environment, and she cannot wait to get started.

When she’s not tackling data, Heather is mum to three-year-old Maisie and cat Maxi, and spends the majority of her time doing child-related activities! She used to play the drums in a rock band, and has even been crocodile catching in the Australian outback!

FRIDAY 16^th

• David (CEO) and Lynn (Director of Clinical Services) are at St. John’s Hospice in Lancaster for a meeting of the Lancs and South Cumbria Hospices Group.

• Our siblings group, Chill Out and Chat, will be going out for a Christmas meal at Piccolo’s Italian Restaurant.

• It’s ‘Wear a Christmas Hat Day’, so naturally – we’ll all be taking part! Wear your finest festive hats, but please adhere to IPC policies. To celebrate, our children and young people will be in the Messy PlayZone crafting their own hats.

• Heads down, it’s Christmas bingo time! Join us in the Lounge this morning.

• If you’re taking part in Secret Santa, your present needs to be in today! Please go and see Elf Tina with your gifts.

SATURDAY 17^th  

• Sensory Story Time with Caroline W (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will be held in the Lounge this morning.

• Danni’s Club, for our younger siblings, will be out and about at Wacky World inflatable park for their final outing of 2022.

SUNDAY 18^th

• We’re going to be celebrating Hannukah with themed art work in the Messy PlayZone this morning.

• Our Wellbeing & Play Team will lead a sensory journey in the hospice Winter Wonderland followed by a massage in the Sensory Room this afternoon.

• Christmas Dinner will be served in Danni’s Diner today for anyone working the weekend shift.

• Our Preston, Blackburn and Chorley stores will be open for one week only between the hours of 10:00am – 4:00pm so that Christmas shoppers can grab their last minute stocking fillers.

MONDAY 19^th

• David (CEO) and Lynn (Director of Clinical Services) are on an away day with Greater Manchester Hospices Group.

• BBC North West Tonight are visiting the hospice as part of a Christmas special on one of our children.

• Ssssssssh – it’s a secret! Elf Tina will be making her way around the hospice with everyone’s Secret Santa gifts today.

• Join us for Christmas arts and crafts in the Messy PlayZone this morning.

• From today, ALL Christmas Cards will be slashed by half prices across all of our stores and website, meaning you can get those last minute Christmas cards for just £1.75 for a packet of ten!

TUESDAY 20^th

• Visitors from Trinity/Brian House Hospices will be visiting Derian House this morning.

• Andrew (Head of Retail and Online Sales) is hosting a Retail team meeting in the Conference Room all day today.

• Actress Linda Lusardi will be visiting us, alongside the cast of Thwaites Empire Theatre’s Cinderella, to deliver presents and bring some festive joy this morning.

• There’ll be plenty of festive smells coming from Danni’s Diner when our children and young people take part in Christmas baking this morning.

• Bolton Wanderers’ first team squad will drop by not long after Cinderella has left with bags full of gifts for our children and young people.

• Individual and group sessions of music therapy with Martha will be held in the Snug between 2:00 – 6:00pm this afternoon.

WEDNESDAY 21^st

• Festive singalong with Rachel (Music Teacher) will take place in the Snug from 11:00am, after a morning session of Music and Movement.

• Sensory Story with Caroline for our in-house children will be held in the Lounge this morning.

• The Derian Voices will meet at their weekly singing session from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Seaside Room. Join us for an hour of vocal harmony, no matter your singing ability!

• A second helping of Christmas Dinner will be served up to our staff, families, young people and volunteers today from 12:00pm.

• A group of our children will be out on a trip to Rainbow Hub for rebound therapy this afternoon.

THURSDAY 22^nd

• Join our children and young people for Christmas party games in the Messy PlayZone this morning.

• Despite their workload, Santa and his elves will be making a special appearance here at Derian House to see who’s on the naughty and nice lists from 11:30am in the Messy PlayZone.

• John (Family Counsellor) and his fortnightly wellbeing session will return to the Cinema from 4:00pm. Anyone is welcome to attend.

• Our resident Pets as Therapy pooch, Shuna, will be visiting the hospice with her human, Linda, for pet therapy snuggles.

• This evening from 5:00 – 9:00pm, the gardens here at the hospice will be opened up for our special Trees of Love Christmas Evening, which will see over 250 Derian supporters take a look around our Winter Wonderland made up of 150 trees which have been bought in tribute to a loved one lost. There’ll be plenty of stalls, mulled wine, and even a Santa’s Grotto in Smile Park.

FRIDAY 23^rd

• Today is David’s last day here at Derian House. Good luck for the future David and thanks for everything you’ve done.

• Music and Movement with Claire (Wellbeing & Play Worker) will take place in the Messy PlayZone this morning.

SATURDAY 24^th

• T’was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, the hydrotherapy pool was open for our children to splash about!

SUNDAY 25^th

• IT’S CHRIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAS! Merry Christmas everyone – have a great one, whatever you’re up to!

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 murray@derianhouse.co.ukbefore Thursday the week before.

Have a great week everyone! J

Hello all!

Just to let you all know, rather than our usual menu we’ll be serving Christmas Dinner in Danni’s Diner this Sunday (the 18^th) and next Wednesday (the 21^st). Lunch will be a traditional Turkey Dinner or Mediterranean Vegetable Tatins, followed by mince pies. Hope to see you there!

Warm regards,

The Catering Team