Update from the Chair
Dear Team Derian,
As promised, I am writing to update you on discussions at our Trustee board meeting last week.
It was really pleasing that we had the opportunity to discuss a number of areas where we are performing exceptionally well. We were delighted to note the financial position at the year end. We are in a strong position and, for this year, and despite some challenges we are hopeful that we will retain a good level of statutory funding. We were also pleased to note that we have seen significant improvements in our retail offer and performance. Thanks to the efforts of the team we now feel in a position where we can start to further develop and build our retail offer. This is a significant shift from where we were twelve months ago.
We were also delighted to hear of the progress that is being made in strengthening our governance arrangements. This work will continue over the year and will be a continued focus for the board.
Our performance in marketing, retail and income generation remains strong and today I have been delighted to see our Derian advert on television for the first time.
One of the key decisions that the board took at its meeting this month was to approve the annual pay award of 3% which will be applied with immediate effect. We will of course keep our eye on the pay award given to the NHS and may decide to review our position in light of that announcement later in the year.
We were delighted to read a number of impact stories that were presented to us. It is really important that we continue to understand the significant difference that the smallest thing can make to our children, young people and their families. The impact stories are a really good way of reminding us what we are here for and the board takes great pleasure in recognising the achievements of our teams.
So whilst there was lots for us to celebrate, we were also extremely concerned to hear of a number of incidents which may impact the safety of those in our care. We expect that our services are of the highest standard not only from a safety perspective but from an experience perspective. Our families deserve no less than the absolute best. They deserve safe, compassionate care and in every contact should expect to experience our teams professional and ‘over and above’ response. Catherine shared with us the care improvement plan, which we were pleased to see but we need to see urgent progress made in this area. Care is our core business and we have to see urgent and significant improvement in this area. If we fail in providing outstanding care, all our other achievements are meaningless. It is for this reason that following the board meeting and a further issue on Sunday, I took the decision with the Karen our Chief Executive to suspend our in house overnight care services for a period in order that we can undertake a ‘reset’. I ask that all those in the care team, look to themselves and take personal responsibility for supporting us to be the best we can be for those we serve. I will be in regular contact the team to ensure that we are seeing the required change brought about.
In the meantime, thank you for all you continue to do to support our children, young people and their families.
| Karen Swindley Chair |