FOCUS Staff and Volunteer Bulletin Oct/Nov 2014 TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS

“Thank you”, you are all a very vital part of the St David’s Hospice team. Without your support, dedication and enthusiasm, we could not continue to serve the community with our much needed services. Volunteers at St David’s Hospice outnumber paid workers by almost four to one and, in monetary terms, save the Hospice over £250,000 each year in salaries!

To say thank you the Hospice team are in the throes of organising a Volunteer’s Christmas Party on Wednesday 3rd December at 2pm in the Langtry’s Bar, Grand Hotel, Llandudno. A list with details has been sent to all the shops, donation centre, lottery, fundraising and notices are displayed on volunteer boards in Day Care, Inpatients and café, and on reception. Unfortunately, due to limited space at the venue, we are unable to accommodate partners this year. If you would like to attend, all names must be submitted to the General office (01492 879058) or to your Team Leader by Friday 14th November.

CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING

A team of 20 Sainsbury’s Local employees pulled out the paint brushes to help St David’s Hospice.

As part of their charity of the year, the Llandudno store organised a team of volunteers to give the Hospice fences a much needed lick of paint, as part of their ‘great place to meet’ gathering.

Llandudno Store Manager Julian Larthe said “Painting the fence was an extremely worthwhile and rewarding exercise that everyone enjoyed and felt they played a part in. The weather stayed nice for us too.”

THANK YOU

Thank you to Hospice volunteer Alan Scott and friends who organised a BBQ in Penmaenmawr in aid of the Hospice. He would like to thank his friends, family and also the Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr Rotary Clubs for all their help in making the day such a success. They raised £649 for St David’s Hospice.

ON THE WARD

The last few months have been very busy on the ward – our occupancy rate is over 90% for all but one month this year. This is a higher rate of occupancy than most hospices where 80% occupancy is the usual level.

The figures below show a high number of deaths in August and increased admissions in September which is has been a challenging time for the all members of the Hospice team. A big thank you to them all for their hard work and commitment to best patient and family care.

However, you will also see that a number of our patients are discharged too which is important for us all to know. It takes a lot of preparation to discharge our patients safely which involves a big multidisciplinary team at the hospice co-ordinated by our Social Worker Suzanne.

Kirsten Foster Alexander (Matron)

STAFF NEWS

Helen Hughes has started a new role at the Hospice. She is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner which is a skilled advanced nursing role complementing the Medical and Nursing teams to enhance patient care at the Hospice.

JOB VACANCY - Finance Assistant An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, well organised Finance Assistant to play an important role in ensuring that we use our finances as effectively as possible to support our patients.

The successful applicant should possess excellent organisational skills, to manage a varied workload, including Bank reconciliation, purchase ledger, knowledge of Sage Accounts and good working knowledge of databases. Must be able to problem solve and a give a high level of attention to detail. The ideal candidate will be AAT qualified and have a pro-active enthusiastic approach with a willingness to learn. For further information please go to www.stdavidshospice.org.uk/about-us/job-vacancies or contact Chris Jones, H.R. Manager on 01492 879058 by e-mail on hr@stdavidshospice.org.uk

NEW ARRIVALS

Congratulations to Dr Kate Davie on the early arrival of her baby boy Thomas and to Staff Nurse Diane O’Toole who has become Grandma this month to a beautiful baby girl.

HOSPICE SHOPS

Our team at the St David’s Hospice Shop in Porthmadog got into the spirit at the town’s Victorian Weekend. They looked the part and also dressed the windows in a Victorian theme. Porthmadog shop, on the High Street, is currently seeking volunteer shop assistants to help man the shop. For further information, please contact the shop on 01766 513155 or drop in for a chat with the Team Leader Janine.

HOSPICE OPEN DAY

Monday 24th November 2pm – 6pm All welcome - take a look inside and find out more about how St David’s Hospice is supporting your community. A chance to ask any questions about our services.

FUNDRAISING

Christmas is a very busy time of year for the Fundraising Team and there are plenty of events coming up in the next couple of weeks to get you into the festive spirit!

Friday 7th November - Bonfire and Fireworks night, Llandudno Junction Community Club 6pm to 10pm Club House open for food and drinks, stalls and Tombola, organised by PCSO Duncan Midgley, North Wales Police. Proceeds to St David’s Hospice.

Saturday 8th November An afternoon of Song with the award winning Wessex Male Choir. 1pm – 2pm St John’s Methodist Church, Llandudno (next to M&S) Entry free, donation welcome.

Thursday 13th November Christmas Shopping Trip to the Trafford Centre Coach travel pick up points Llandudno, Penryhn Bay, Rhos on Sea. Tickets £15 per person Limited spaces available To book call: 01492 873674

Friday 14th November Knights Christmas Lights switch on at 6pm. At 16a Maes Clyd, Craig y Don. The lights will be displayed every evening from 5pm. Donations to St David’s Hospice. Saturday 15th November St David’s Hospice Christmas Fair 10am – 2pm Ty Hapus, Ffordd Penrhyn, Llandudno. (Behind ASDA) Lots of Christmas stalls, and a free Santa’s Grotto with Mr & Mrs Christmas from Snowdonia Nurseries.

Can you help the fundraising team? They require the following donations for their stalls: bottles, toiletry sets, chocolates, CDs, DVDs, teddies and items for our nearly new stall Please could items be dropped off at the St David’s Hospice Reception.

Thursday 20th November Coach trip – Manchester Christmas Market Includes a trip to the Slattery of Manchester, patissier & chocolatier Coach travel – pick up points Llandudno, Penrhyn Bay and Rhos on Sea Tickets £15 -All proceeds to St David’s Hospice Limited spaces available. To book call: 01492 873674 (Please note this is the date for the second coach)

Saturday 13th December The St David’s Hospice Crystal Ball Celebrate Christmas at our winter ball. Set in a beautifully decorated marquee in the grounds of Robertson, Llanrhos. The evening includes a sparkling reception, three course meal, wine on the table, live music plus disco – central heated marquee and bar. Dress code: Black tie. Tickets £65 per person, book your tickets 01492 873665.

AND FINALLY – JANET FLEW!

Hospice Administrator, Janet Magill bravely took part in the Zip Wire Challenge last month in aid of the Hospice. Publicised as “The Nearest Thing to Flying”, it is the longest zip line in Europe and the fastest in the world, where riders can exceed 100mph at 500ft high over the quarries in Bethesda. Janet said “That was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done! But it was really worthwhile. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me and to everyone who came to support me on the day.” Janet challenged herself to raise more than £5000 and she

raised a fantastic £5453! Well Done Janet! You can still sponsor her at: www.justgiving.com/Janet-Magill-ZIPWIRE

Thank you cards

The patients’ families often send cards to thank us for our work at the Hospice. So that all staff and volunteers have an opportunity to see a copy of them,

please find a selection of scanned thank you cards below. (For privacy reason names have been erased from the cards)