St. Catherine’s Hospice Annual Review 2005/6

Thank you very much indeed for reading our Annual Review 2005/6.  This is one of five important documents that St. Catherine’s has produced this year.  They are as follows:

Annual Review 2005/6     

A summary of our work, achievements and activities during the year from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 all of which has been made possible through the remarkable commitment of local people in Chorley, Longridge, Preston, South Ribble and surrounding areas.

Annual Statement of Accounts 2005/6

A formal document that includes a full statement of accounts and Trustees Report written to regulatory requirements known as the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP)

5-Year Strategy 2006/11

This document describes goals that St. Catherine’s has set for the next five years.  They have been worked out together through discussions involving Trustees, employed staff, volunteers and colleagues working in related healthcare organisations.

Business Plan 2006/7

This summarises the actions that we are carrying out during the first year of the 5-Year Strategy up to 31 March 2007.

Healthcare Commission Self Assessment

This is a document that we are required    to complete for the annual inspection by the Healthcare Commission to ensure that we satisfy stringent Department of Health standards.

What does St. Catherine’s provide?

St. Catherine’s Hospice warmly welcomes people with progressive illness, that is no longer responsive to curative treatment, into a highly professional, specialised, caring atmosphere. 

St. Catherine’s recognises the uniqueness of each individual and those who are important to them, by providing a very positive approach to care that is thoughtfully adapted to meet personal needs and wishes.

The Aim of St. Catherine's Hospice is:

‘To provide the best possible specialist palliative care’

Palliative Care is a technical term for the total care that is offered to patients with conditions that are treatable but not curable.  It is about quality of life and the alleviation of distressing symptoms within a coordinated framework of care, one that considers all aspects of someone’s situation such as personal, practical, emotional or spiritual issues, as well as medical conditions. 

Palliative Care includes support systems that are not only for patients but also for those who are important to them, whether in the hospice, community or at home. 

St. Catherine’s is firmly committed to helping each patient’s experience to be as positive as possible, by providing care that:

• Meets individual needs
• Is unconditionally given
• Is at no cost to the patient 
• Welcomes people from all backgrounds and cultures

To ensure that we continue to provide the best possible specialist palliative care, St. Catherine’s adopts an approach of ongoing research, development and improvement in partnership with local colleagues. 

Our designated area is Chorley, Preston, Longridge and South Ribble. 

What have we achieved in 2005/6?

St. Catherine’s has continued to develop and expand services throughout 2005/06.  Our current provision is as follows:

St. Catherine’s Specialist Palliative Care Services

• In-Patient Care (i.e. where patients stay overnight in the hospice)
• Day Care
• Lymphoedema Services
• Community Services through Clinical Nurse Specialists
• Family Support, Bereavement Support and Chaplaincy
• Physiotherapy and Complementary Therapies (including Creative Arts)
• Special support services include our medical secretariat, housekeeping, catering and Day Care transport.  These are carefully shaped by experienced colleagues to meet individualised patient and family needs.

Many, if not most, of our improvements during 2005/6 have not been new initiatives but refreshed ways of ‘doing what we do’.   Having been established for over 21 years it is vital that we constantly develop our services to ensure they meet increasingly stringent Department of Health standards, and are continuously adapted to meet varying medical conditions and personal circumstances.

Examples of this include our new approach to admissions, ongoing commitment to professional development, and close partnership working with local healthcare providers to make our patient ‘journeys’ as smooth as possible.

Improved admissions arrangements for patients

St. Catherine’s Hospice has provided admissions to in-patient beds since 1985.  However, since we now provide and work with organisations delivering a much broader range of services than those available 20 years ago, and since demands for our services often include patients with combinations of complex conditions, we have had to consider new ways of determining how we may best serve each individual. 

To do this we have established a daily ‘admissions meeting’.  This is a simple but very effective development that enables relevant staff from different departments to discuss referrals received to determine the most appropriate arrangements for each patient and their families.  For example, this includes our Community Clinical Nurse Specialists identifying care that can be provided before or instead of patients being admitted into the hospice.

There is little doubt that we are now busier than ever.  We are working very hard to ensure that the exceptional quality of care upon which St. Catherine’s renowned reputation has been built, is as widely available as possible.  This is not easy to manage because on the one hand we want to do our utmost to care for as many people as we possibly can, but on the other hand we must ensure that our staff have sufficient time to provide the quality of care that we believe is so important.  To achieve this and maximum bed availability, we are unable to provide specialist respite care at the moment although we wish that we could.  This will, however, be reconsidered if the local situation changes or we are able to further expand the Hospice. 

Improved care through advanced training and education

Another area of improvement is continuous professional development.  Over the years, colleagues employed at the Hospice have become well known for their specialist skills.  To ensure that this continues to be the case staff have been eager to build on St. Catherine’s tradition of developing excellence and expertise. 

A number of colleagues are now undertaking advanced communication skills training, degrees and diplomas.   Additionally, many new regulations require nurses to update their knowledge.    For example all qualified nurses are now undertaking extra training in medicines management, administration of blood transfusions and some other key areas.   This has a very positive impact on the care that we provide but also creates an additional burden in terms of cost and management. 

We are also delighted to play a role in the training and education of tomorrow’s doctors and nurses, introducing them to the practice of effective specialist palliative care.   This includes student nurses and those undertaking specialist courses in palliative care and junior doctors spending time with us as part of their training to become general practitioners. 

Improved patient journeys by working closely together in Lancashire

In striving to improve the experience of patients and their families St. Catherine’s continues to strengthen its links with relevant organisations in the region.  The aim is to ensure that patient experiences are the best that they can be, especially when moving from one situation to another.

In healthcare we enjoy an excellent relationship with Vine House and our local hospitals.  This includes the Cancer Care Unit and Palliative Care Teams, and Consultants in Palliative Medicine.  We are also working closely with the new ‘End of Life Observatory’ at the University of Lancaster.  The Observatory is exciting, innovative and comprehensive in its approach to ensure that our field of work is backed by the very best and most relevant research possible. 

Relationships with many other organisations and local companies are very important too, such as our County and Local Councils in Chorley, Preston and South Ribble, educational establishments and the Business Venture Group.  Without these links the quality of our services would undoubtedly be much poorer.

How have we achieved this?

Looking after our people

The heart of St. Catherine’s is undoubtedly dedicated, talented and committed people.  St. Catherine’s currently employs 154 staff.  During 2005 we had 19 new starters and 15 leavers.  We know that we are really fortunate to have such a committed and loyal workforce and there is no question that St Catherine’s would not have its renowned reputation without them. 

Furthermore our marvellous teams of tremendously hard working volunteers are second to none.   Within the Hospice, Promotions Company and Trading Company we currently have over 550 volunteers.  In 2005 it is estimated that our volunteers gave over 62,400 hours.  If we were to pay just the minimum wage for these hours (and of course they are worth far, far more than that) it would cost over £250,000.  There is no question whatsoever that our Hospice could not survive without your support.  Thank you! 

Of course we are always keen to hear from people who would like to volunteer.  If you are at all interested in helping in any way, big or small, please contact our:

Volunteer Services Manager on 01772 629171.

As part of our support for colleagues we actively encourage personal development and training.  During 2005 we ran 54 training sessions: these not only improved our medical and clinical expertise but also helped staff to develop new skills that enabled St. Catherine’s to meet all our regulatory requirements.  In 2005 we successfully won over £5,100 in grants from Help the Hospices to support our training programmes, enabling more locally raised funds to go directly into patient care.

Supporting colleagues at St. Catherine’s sometimes involves responding to external factors. The new NHS pay and conditions programme Agenda for Change is one of them.  This programme is changing long held conditions of employment throughout the NHS.  To protect the work of St. Catherine’s, we are therefore reviewing our own pay and conditions to ensure that we offer our staff a competitive remuneration package, and one which will attract the very best possible candidates in future recruitment.

Looking after our income

To raise the funds necessary to provide our specialist services, 2005/6 was an exciting year!

This was because 2005 brought our 20th Anniversary celebrations.  In September we had a week of events in a giant, luxury marquee which was situated in the Hospice grounds.  From a Business Dinner, in partnership with South Ribble Business Venture, to a Concert, to a ‘Boogie Night’, to a Celebration Ball, it was a wonderful week which enabled us to share with so many of our staff, volunteers and supporters the success that St. Catherine’s undoubtedly is.  We even made some money at the end of it!

As part of our celebrations we undertook a complete refurbishment of the in-patient areas and the ‘Love Jeanette’ Appeal was launched.  With the Lancashire Evening Post we set out to raise the £200,000 needed for all the new equipment and furniture.  Alongside this, Davy Patterson, one of our patients, wrote a remarkable ‘warts and all’ diary.  The overall result was amazing with the target being exceeded within 10 months.

On top of all this, of course, we still needed to raise the very substantial amounts of money needed to run the Hospice on a day-to-day basis.  As always we received tremendous support and the results are to be seen in the financial reports. 

In particular we have had a very successful year with legacies. These are proving to be an ever more important source of income and we are extremely grateful to those people who kindly chose to remember us in their wills.  However, it is an income stream that is completely unpredictable and important though they are, it would be dangerous for us to become too reliant on them.

Over the last few years the Trading Company has grown at a tremendous rate and now makes a substantial contribution to Hospice funds without which we would definitely not be able to provide the range of services that we do.  We currently have 12 shops spread throughout our designated area including clothing, books and furniture, new and high quality used products and emerging internet trading through ebay.  The Trading team of staff and volunteers should be proud of what they have achieved.

Our biggest single source of raised income is our Lottery and once again the Lottery team have raised over £ ½ million!  The first draw took place in 1993 and since then the Lottery team have raised over £6million! During this year we had an additional 20th Anniversary draw, which proved a great success and indeed we intend to hold further special extra draws in the future. We were the first Hospice to establish a registered lottery and as a result of its success many other Hospices around the country followed suit raising many millions of pounds each year.

The General Fundraising Team has had a very busy and successful year working alongside the Lancashire Evening Post on the Love Jeanette Appeal as well as correctly handling all the donations that we receive and running and facilitating countless community activities and events to raise necessary income.  These days there are many, many other good causes and the ‘competition’ for the pound in peoples’ pockets is stronger than ever.  To help us develop this area we were joined by two new members of staff in the latter part of the year.  John Penswick is working part time to raise money from charitable trusts, and Barbara Conroy joined us as Events Manager to increase the amount of money we get from this source.  

Looking after our beautiful grounds and buildings

During 2005 we successfully completed the upgrading of our In-Patient unit and this was officially opened by HRH the Countess of Wessex prior to our anniversary celebrations in September.  The area has been sympathetically refurbished to improve comfort, choice and facilities for patients.  Working conditions for our staff and volunteers have also been refreshed to enable more effective working arrangements.  Special thanks must be given to our honorary architect Mr Ken Latham who has supported the Hospice for many years.  Furthermore without the support of the general public through the Love Jeanette Appeal (mentioned in more detail above) these special improvements would not have been possible. 

The Hospice is a lovely mixture of old and new buildings that everyone delights in but this means that we must be particularly careful to ensure effective maintenance.  For example within the next few years we will need to replace our heating system and large sections of the roof will need to be retiled.  As projects like this are developed we will look for fuel efficient, ‘green’ options that create long term savings in our running costs.  In fact we have already made a start by significantly increasing the amount of waste we recycle. 

Our grounds continue to look splendid thanks to Billy Allsop’s excellent work.  This makes such a difference to patients and families, offering a delightful view and quiet space.  With the energetic support of Preston North Rotary Club we now have a new garden in development.  The area covers over an acre in the old walled garden that had slipped into an unusable state.   The project will be finished off with a mosaic created by our day-care patients (with special help from Lancashire College) and a sculpture by students at Lostock Hall High School. 

As you would imagine, the health and safety of our patients, their families, colleagues, contractors and visitors is paramount.  Furthermore today’s society is a very litigious one and we have to ensure that we meet a very wide range of regulatory requirements.  To help this process the Hospice has recently undertaken a full health and safety audit with the assistance of an external consultant and a rolling programme has been established supported by a forum of trustees, senior managers and colleagues. 

What are we doing next?

St. Catherine’s 5-Year Strategy and Year 1 Business Plan show in detail the next stages of our exciting journey and some of the key activities and challenges ahead.  Some of our immediate developments in patient care are as follows:

• Develop and adapt our Day Care and Family Support services
• Recruit a full time (medical) consultant in palliative medicine to ensure that we continue to embrace the highest possible medical and nursing standards, as well as satisfying Government requirements to ensure future funding for the Hospice.
• Improve feedback from patients, families, carers and the public regarding every aspect of the work of St. Catherine’s
• Work with the University of Lancaster to research future provision
• Make preparations to work with the Government’s challenging new funding scheme called Payment by Results that arrives in 2008.  This is vital to the Hospice.  If we aren’t properly prepared our NHS funding will simply disappear!  This includes setting up much more detailed data with regard to patient information and the costs of each individual element of our care services.
• Review accommodation needs 

So far as charitable income is concerned St. Catherine’s is constantly looking at all its sources of revenue and we are in no doubt about the considerable challenges ahead.  We are currently taking steps to try to maximise our income from all areas, with extra lottery draws, colleagues developing new specialised expertise, diversification in trading and more detailed expenditure analysis. 

Unfortunately our projections of future costs show that this will not be enough, and a major part of our work over the next 12 months will be to find new sustainable income streams to secure the Hospice’s long term future.  As many of you will know, this is not the first time that we have faced such a challenge!  In fact throughout St. Catherine’s history we have held a sincere belief that if what we are doing is right, then we will find the money we need.  So far that has worked and we look to the future with confidence.  It would just be handy if we could find the new income streams we are looking for sooner rather than later!

Thank you

In providing our specialist palliative care services and raising the resources to make it possible, we offer our grateful thanks for the dedication, hard work and unstinting commitment of our staff and volunteers.  This includes those working in supportive roles such as administration, catering, housekeeping, maintenance, human resources, finance and computer related activity as well as those directly providing care or working with the public to generate our income. 

However it would all be of little value if it were not for the remarkable support and generosity of the people of Chorley, Longridge, Preston and South Ribble.  This support is something we truly value, greatly appreciate and do not take for granted.  Your belief in our work and personal commitment enables St. Catherine’s to be the cherished organisation that it is.