News

Hi everyone,

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

 

Hospice

• The SMT would like to formally thank Rosie for her role as interim Hospice Manager.
• This period has seen the highest rate of occupancy, matched with the highest rate of sickness/absence relating to rise in COVID infections and contacts. Thank you for all the continued hard work in what has been a challenging time
• Further tree felling shall commence this month due to the spread of Ash Dieback. Our trees shall continue to undergo regular health checks and we shall be working on a scheme of re-planting to replace those which have been removed. Please be aware that there may be some impact with some areas being restricted around the hospice and a reduction in some parking spaces. We will let you know the dates in advance
• The memorial garden is nearing completion. The water feature is due to be fitted, filled and fully operational soon. We shall also be further enhancing the provision of plants and bushes whilst completing snagging with the landscaping contractor on areas such as the pathways.
• The sensory garden sails have now been installed. Works for the full renovation of the sensory garden are scheduled to begin in August. To maximise the usage of the area over the summer, the Estates department shall be making the area good for all to use.
• The holiday lodges have all undergone a minor refurbishment over a three week shutdown, ready for families to be back to enjoy a break.

 

Finance, Income, Comms and Marketing

• The 2021 year end results are £270k ahead of the revised forecast. The largest increase was in Corporate donations, with Community a close second
• Great Big House Giveaway had huge boost in ticket sales after appearing on Granada Reports (see here: https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-01-26/the-house-that-will-keep-derians-house-childrens-hospice-running-for-at-least-a-month). This exposure resulted in £21,500 ticket sales in one week and 1,800 clicks in minutes.
• The new PR and Comms Officer Becca has started and is already producing lots of positive stories with the Care Team
• We are now on Tik Tok!

 

Retail

• We have recruited a new manager and assistant manager have been recruited for our Preston store. The SMT shared praise to the fantastic effort to counteract this period of staffing shortages with fantastic flexibility to ensure we remained operational
• New stores in Bury and Accrington are being worked on with other potential towns being closely monitored.

 

Staff news

• Do you have a bright idea on how we can improve our services for our families? Don’t forget you can make a staff proposal to SMT. This will be an agenda item for discussion at the next We are Derian staff forum.
• There are lots of awards and articles which can be published about the amazing work we do at Derian House – if you have an idea please let us know