Trustee Meeting Highlights
Hello everyone….
Following the last Board of Trustees Meeting which was held on 27th June, I thought I’d share an update with you all.
The Board Meeting began with Helen Fogg sharing a case study of the life of Leo, who first came to Derian House in 2021 and sadly passed away earlier this year. Dawn provided details of the review process following Leo’s death and the recognition Derian received for the sensitive and personal way staff focused on Leo and his unique personality. The Board welcomed the insights Helen and Dawn brought, which triggered conversations around the benefits of early referral and engagement with our families.
In my update to the Board I shared news of the kick-off workshop with The Care Database and the Board shared my enthusiasm in terms of having a system in place that is user friendly and will enable us to report efficiently and easily. We are hoping the system will be operational in November with a full go-live in the early new year.
News hot off the press that I was able to share with the Board is that we have been successful in appointing a new Head of Quality, Governance and Compliance. Lee Seymour will join us in October following his notice period with his current employer.
I presented the Trustees with a proposal for a new senior leadership structure for the organisation which will enable a more strategic approach, alongside a more encompassing operational management team. These proposals were approved and I will be able to start to share the details of this over the coming weeks. Lynn and I are also exploring changes to the delivery model, structure and staffing model within Care – but be assured, any changes will be made with full consultation with members of the team which will take place over summer.
Each of the Trustee Chairs of the various Sub-Committees, shared updates from their most recent meetings. The most significant news from the Finance and Income Sub-Committee was the Board’s approval of our proposal to bring the Lottery in-house, and run operations ourselves (rather than using a third party). This will create significant savings meaning that the Lottery is in a position to make a substantial contribution to our income. We expect these changes to take place in 2024.
The Hospice income as a whole is ahead of budget currently. The budget for the year was set at a £1m deficit position, which we wish to improve on, so we all need to keep tight reins on our spend to ensure we work towards a break-even point for the year. One source of concern remains The Retail model and this was a key focus and point of discussion in the meeting. Our shops as a whole are not performing as we would like and the Board have agreed a proposal for change, which we are now consulting with the team about, in order for us to try and turn things around. By making some changes we are confident that Retail can become a financial contributor to our income strategy in the future.
It was a great meeting, the new trustees are settling in well, and I’m sure you’ll see them around the hospice more regularly as we are really keen to see the trustee board more connected with the team. They are looking forward to our ALL STAFF away day in September.
As always, any questions, thoughts, comments etc please do give me a shout.
Have a great day
| Best wishes
Karen
Karen Edwards OBE |