Paddy
Stewart-Morgan joined the Board of Trustees six years ago. A chartered
surveyor, he joined Cluttons in Bath in 1969 and came to live
in the city the following year. He has been associated with Dorothy
House since 1986, when he organised the first fundraising auction
- there have been 11 since. Paddy is married to Chris and has
two daughters, Helen and Polly. Now retired from partnership,
he continues to work as a consultant with Cluttons.
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As
I write these words in July, we have just submitted a planning application
for two major extensions to the hospice premises at Winsley, one
to extend the existing Day Care and therapy services, the other
to provide dedicated space for the expanding education service.
Much thought and energy has been injected into the detail of the
plans by both senior staff and trustees over a period of a year,
involving consultations with staff, patients and volunteers. We
believe this project will cater for the developing needs of the
hospice for the next 15-20 years. Let us hope that by the time you
read this in October, the district planners have confirmed they
feel the same way.
These are exciting times for Dorothy House and I am privileged to
be starting my chairmanship at such a time. However, to take over
from Helen Chalmers is indeed a hard act to follow as she has provided
strong and effective leadership over the past three years. I am
personally delighted that she is remaining as a Trustee and available
to give us all the benefit of her professional expertise and general
wise counsel.
This past year has been a particularly busy one for both staff and
volunteers as the additional funding that we have negotiated with
the four local NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) has enabled us to
develop services in line with the hospice's five-year strategy.
These included a offering up to 24-hour Hospice at Home care and
lymphoedema key workers across the whole area we serve. At the hospice,
additional Day Care sessions are now offered for patients earlier
in their illness and on discharge from the main Day Care. The social
worker for children and a adolescents extended her hours to full
time to meet demand from families pre and post-bereavement. A joint
educational post with the University of the West of England has
been funded to offer more education and training to health and social
care professionals. There has been an additional consultant session
each week at the Royal United - Hospital.
There was a
satisfactory financial outcome to last year, with another good year
for legacies. As ever, we are most grateful to all those who remember
Dorothy House in their will.
My particular interests have for many years been in fundraising
and also the shops. Fundraising remains hard work and the competition
from the many other charities is ever present. To achieve its targets
the team has had to create more innovative events and involve more
people in the community we serve. This year's new events have included
the Valentine Ball at Longleat and the Streets Ahead Challenge.
The retail team has continued the programme of upgrading and |
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refurbishing
our existing shops. We also added a new shop in Corsham and one
in Argyle Street, Bath, making 18 in all. This programme, together
with a stronger management structure, has resulted in an excellent
increase in net profit of more than £80,000 over 2002/03.
In September, the Princess Royal visited the hospice and spoke to
many patients and staff. As our Royal Visitor, she will continue
to make such visits as and when her diary permits.
I was also delighted earlier this year to welcome to Dorothy House
Her Grace, The Duchess of Beaufort, who has generously agreed to
become our first Patron.
I would like to thank the two Trustees who retired during the year
for their dedication and advice. Julie Farrar completed nine years
on the board and made a tremendous contribution, particularly in
helping us adopt a more professional and proactive approach to both
fundraising and retail. Kevin Allen was not with us for quite so
long but his wise words on matters financial were much appreciated.
They were replaced by two new Trustees who I welcome to the Board,
Sheila Reiter comes with wide retail experience while Brian Terry
is a very experienced risk manager working with local NHS trusts.
The Trustees are all aware of the loyalty, team work and dedication
of the Senior Management team, the Staff, Volunteers and all those
who have given generously be it financially or through their time
and talent, which makes the Board's governance role easier to achieve.
On their behalf, I thank you all for a great year's work.
It
is with great sadness that we report the death of the Reverend
Prue Dufour MBE (formerly Clench). Prue, the founder and inspiration
of Dorothy House, died peacefully on 21 August 2004 in St Margaret's
Hospice, Taunton, near her home. She had been ill for several
months with a brain tumour but had faced her life threatening
illness with courage and her strong Christian faith. |
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