News Summer 2020 Charity Number 1038021
Tie A Yellow Ribbon Display a yellow ribbon at home in memory of your loved-ones (page 8)
Dear Friends Welcome to our Summer newsletter. Dear Friends, It’s only been a couple of months, but our last newsletter seems another lifetime ago. Let me start by paying tribute to all of those who have died during the COVID-19 pandemic and to the family and friends who have been left behind. Our thoughts are with you all.
donation, fundraised at home and took the time to enquire how things were for the hospice’s patients and staff. This was a much needed boost to morale and your kindness is greatly appreciated.
All of the Hospice’s teams have had to work differently in order to meet the needs of our patients and those closest to them. It has been incredibly difficult at times due to extremely restricted visiting hours, which puts tremendous emotional pressure on patients and their loved ones, the wearing of PPE making communication more It has been a period of great difficult and the inability to upheaval and change for all of us. physically comfort a relative at the This has led to feelings of anxiety, darkest of times goes against the guilt, anger, resentment, very grain of palliative and end-ofhelplessness and sadness, but it life care. As they always do, each has also given rise to hope, a sense team has done the very best they of community, belonging and can for those they care for in truly thankfulness when we look at the exceptional circumstances. many acts of kindness which have Every area of the hospice be that occurred. And although Forest counselling, community nurses, Holme Hospice Charity has been inpatient nurses, administration, hit hard financially, your acts of doctors, hospital nurses, kindness have been a warm light housekeeping, therapies and the during these difficult times. charity staff have had to work Thank you very much to anyone differently in order to meet the who clapped on a Thursday needs of our community. evening, handed in toiletries such You will read about some of the as hand cream, baked lovely ways in which this is happening goodies, sent in refreshments, made PPE for the teams, gave a 2
Charity Manager, Anne Currie later in the newsletter. It has been a learning curve for everyone as we learn to adapt to this new way of being. There are lots of positives to be taken from the collaborative working across a range of organisations during this period and we look forward to that continuing. A lot of our supporters have been asking how all of this has affected the Charity. We took the decision not to furlough our staff and the team have been doing all they possibly can to support Forest Holme’s work during this difficult time. Like many other charities we have seen our fundraising activities completely disappear overnight and that will have a significant impact on the amount of money we will be able to raise this year as we plan to have a deficit of at least £350,000 for this financial year. As we are an NHS Hospice, we are unable to benefit from the Chancellor’s £200m financial package to the hospice sector to help increase capacity for the NHS. Therefore, we are working with Macmillan Caring Locally, and other charities which support NHS hospices across England, to explore what avenues of funding may be available for our hospices. Simply put, we have a challenging year ahead.
Contents 2. Welcome 4. Thank You 6. “I want to stay at home” 8. Tie A Yellow Ribbon 11. Hospice News 14. Fundraising Thank You 17. Care Opinion 18. Tree of Celebration 20. Dates For The Diary 22. Craft Club 23. Wing Walk There’s unity in community and this has shone out from every area of the Forest Holme family over the last few, testing months: volunteers, supporters, suppliers and staff. We can’t begin to thank you for everything you have done for us to date and hope that we can rely on your continued support as we look to the months and years ahead. With best wishes, Anne
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Thank you We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness from our local community, as well as from our own staff, during the Covid-19 pandemic. There has been deliveries of everything thing from PPE and homemade scrub bags to soaps, goodie bags, plants and lots of delicious cakes.
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Thank you
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“I want to stay at home” “I want to stay at home” has been the frequent request heard by the community specialist palliative nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic…. and “we will do all we can to enable this” has been our reply. As a team of 7 community specialist palliative care nurses based at Forest Holme Hospice (Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust), working across an area of East Dorset spanning from Bere Regis to Swanage to Cranborne in the North, we have continued to support the many differing and complex needs of our patients during this pandemic in ways we could not have imagined. Their already complex journey is now one of exacerbated and increased isolation, where family and friends cannot meet with them, hug them or support them in ways previously enabled. Their goals can no longer be met in the way they had hoped for. Their families face constant conflicts such as needing to safely collect medication or shop for the food that their loved one suddenly fancies whilst navigating escalating anxiety and distress caused by long queues, fear of bringing home ‘the virus’ and increased time away from the patient. 6 6
Fear surrounds every conversation and there is so much of it - fear of admission to hospital or the hospice, fear of catching the virus, fear of not seeing family again, fear of things worsening, fear of the unknown and all this fear is alongside much isolation.
Now wearing uniform and PPE at each home visit, our communication is muffled through surgical masks. Management of difficult and distressing symptoms and provision of psychological support is negotiated along a more complex path of accessing medications and support amidst reduced and changing resources. Visits now have to be carefully planned ensuring infection control precautions and social distancing rules are adhered to. Conversations undertaken are carefully and sensitively negotiated as children previously at school are now at home in earshot.
Disparate family members now require more of our support with long telephone conversations to help ease their worries and we’ve had to adapt to enable further support via virtual technology. For everyone, there is the increasing awareness of how often a small touch or brief physical human contact would make such a difference and never more so than in a time of such uncertainty in all aspects of life. And yet we can’t.
professionals to ensure patients’ needs are met as best as possible despite demands and limitations on all our services. We can still spend time each day on the phone with relatives needing to know that someone is supporting their loved one through this turbulent time. We can still remain the professionals we are despite appearances being changed by our outgrown haircuts, stiff new uniforms, gloves and aprons and our own human fears and And so whilst our smiles can no anxieties about Covid-19. Above longer be seen beneath our masks, all, we can still strive to maintain our focus is on what we can STILL dignity for our patients. do; our eyes and voices can still express empathy and compassion; Laughter can still be heard, we are we can still use our expertise to all hearing birdsong more acutely, manage and negotiate the complex we are all learning what matters path of pain, nausea and other most and we are all getting symptoms. We can still liaise through this together and doing extensively with our colleagues, what we do best - enabling GP’s, district nurses and other patients to stay at home. health and social care Community Specialist Palliative Care Nurse Team
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Tie A Yellow Ribbon
June would have seen the hospice host its annual Tie A Yellow Ribbon event in the garden as part of Hospice Awareness Month. However, due to Government guidelines on social distancing, we were sadly unable to accommodate it this year, so instead we have been encouraging people to display a ribbon in memory of a loved-one at home over the summer. Tie a Yellow Ribbon is one of the most important dates in the hospice calendar and is a special commemorative event for many of our supporters. The day brings the community together in joint celebration of our loved ones who are absent in body, but remain with us in spirit. Every summer the yellow ribbon dedications glisten in the sunshine outside the hospice and are a visual reminder of the love and fond memories we have of our partners, family members and friends. So instead we have expanded our yellow ribbon display out into the local community over the summer, so please join us in displaying yellow ribbons in your windows and gardens across Dorset and beyond. Please feel free to be creative with your designs but for ease, we have produced a pull out ribbon template in this newsletter (also available to download from our website) and you can make a donation using the form on page 9. Thank you to everyone who has participated and shared their ribbons with us - you can email them to fundraising@forestholmehospice.org.uk or post or message them to us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. See page 10 for a selection of some of the ribbons we’ve received so far. 8
TIE A YELLOW RIBBON Donation form I have displayed a yellow ribbon in memory of a loved-one and would like to make a donation and enclose a cheque payable to Forest Holme Hospice Charity for £…………. Title ………. Full Name…………………………………………….. Address …………………………………………………………………… ………………………………... Postcode ……………………………… Email address………………………………………………………….. Please return this form to:
TAYR Appeal, Forest Holme Hospice Charity, 5 Seldown Road, Poole, BH15 1TS Boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate In order to Gift Aid your donation, you must tick the box below. I want to Gift Aid my donation of £_______ and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past 4 years to Forest Holme Hospice. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less income tax and/or Capital Gains tax in the current tax year than the amount of Gift aid claimed on all my donations, it is my responsibility to pay any difference. Signed _______________________ Date _______________________ 99
Tie A Yellow Ribbon
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Hospice News
CQC Inspection Just before lockdown inspectors from the CQC gave our end-of-life care special praise, recognising the incredible lengths staff go to at this most difficult of times.
Consultant Connect Palliative care doctors at Forest Holme Hospice and the Macmillan Unit are working together to make it easier for GPs to contact us. Consultant Connect is an app for GPs on smartphones and now includes palliative care along with other specialties. Rebekah Wilson, specialty doctor at Forest Holme Hospice, has set this up, working with colleagues at Dorset CCG and senior doctors at Forest Holme and the Macmillan Unit. This is an additional way to contact us, along with our existing 24/7 palliative care advice line. It is open to GPs across Dorset.
NHS Thank You We were so touched to receive a selection of lovely pictures for the hospice created by Alice and Penelope Hickson during lockdown.
Goodbye Deana It was very sad to say goodbye to Deana Godwin, our Ward Sister at Forest Holme, but staff managed to give her a lovely send off, which was helped by all your kind messages of love and gratitude on Social Media. 9 11
Hospice News Staff Wellbeing Christine Riches and Carol Rainford, both complementary therapists based at Forest Holme, have been making aromatherapy inhalers free for members of staff who may be experiencing additional stress and anxiety at work due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Attend Anywhere We are now using Attend Anywhere, a secure video calling system, as one way to make it easier to continue to support people safely in their own home. It makes it possible for family members to join the call too, even if living hundreds of miles away.
Video calls with GPs and nurses Hospice staff have been joining some practice meetings remotely to work with GPs and nurses in the community, helping each other to respond to the pandemic. All GP practices are invited to contact us to arrange this, if it would be helpful.
Weekly video calls and bulletins Staff are taking part in video calls each week with people and organisations who are supporting people towards the end-of-life, and contributing to regular updates - within Dorset, across the South West, in Wessex, and nationally – to help learn from and share good practice. 12 18
Hospice News
The Bubble The outpatient clinic room at Forest Holme has been turned into a pop up wellbeing room to give all members of staff a place to go and relax for short periods during this challenging time. Called The Bubble, the room is for times when staff need to take five minutes, breathe and recharge. The room has been stocked with soft furnishings, mood lighting, ambient music, an aromatherapy dispenser tissues and refreshments, alongside much needed hand and face creams created due to the impact of continually wearing PPE. Our supporter Jane Young has also provided mindfulness resources and techniques to be used by the teams.
Counselling Our counselling team have been using video and phone calls during lockdown to offer support to people after bereavement or for those who have had a cancer diagnosis. The charity helps fund the service, which especially during this current Covid-19 crisis, is so crucial for those who are unable to be close to a dying loved-one or find closure from a proper funeral. The team were delighted to have iPads kindly donated by DPD UK to help them with their work.
New Recruit Congratulations to Fundraising Intern Charlotte Franklin, who has now officially joined the charity team on a part-time basis as she finishes the final year of her degree at Bournemouth University.
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Fundraising - thank you
The ladies from the Beyond the Blue open water swimming group (above) raised ÂŁ440 for the hospice in memory of their friend and fellow swimmer Susan Northcott (above right). 10 year old Fraser Burnet (right) is replicating swimming the English Channel by completing 2817 lengths of his pool to raise money for Forest Holme Hospice in memory of both his Daddy and Grandpa.
During lockdown our End-of-Life Nurse Specialist, Vanessa Barents (left), slipped a disc in her lower back that required emergency surgery, so she decided to use her rehab to raise some money for the hospice through walking up and down her stairs at home on her crutches, until she's done the equivalent of Mount Everest. Jack Rutterford (left) has been using daily exercise to help raise money for Forest Holme by completing 350 miles minimum on a bike. Dean Hayward (right) raised ÂŁ2,730.00 at a Black Tie Charity Auction for Forest Holme before lockdown. 14
Fundraising - thank you
Forest Holme consultant Dr Bev (above) completed a 10.4 mile bike ride with the family to raise money for the hospice.
Teresa Caron and her family (right) have been entertaining us with weekly dance routine videos. Teresa was due to be running both the Paris Marathon and Southampton Marathon, so instead been recording family music videos and asking for donations to support Forest Holme. Volunteer Karen Hesketh, tasked herself to raise ÂŁ1,000 during the period of isolation by undertaking a number of challenges, including selling sunflowers, Easter cards, and bunting (right). Poole Bobbin Lace Circle (right) kindly made a donation of ÂŁ500. Sue Austin (right) organised a family sweepstake for the Grand National (left) and a virtual VE Day tea party in memory of her son Karl. Supporter Kelly Jennison kindly created some special Forest Holme Hospice candles and wax melts (left), which can be purchased online via
A special thank you must go to all our volunteers and supporters who set-up fundraising stalls to help raise money for the hospice during lockdown, including Dawn Hutchings, Bobby and David Jones, John Merrifield, David Manns Ione and Malcolm Barents, Gill Biles, Georgie Brown and Hayley Darmody.
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Fundraising - thank you Lisa and Mark (right), landlords at The Pilot pub in Canford Heath, who raised £80 for the hospice through a virtual meat raffle. Our volunteer gardeners David and Viv (left) very kindly went and bought plants - Phlox and Geraniums - which they kindly donated to brighten up the pots and boarders at the hospice. Here are the pair of them with Petula (front) busy planting them. The Charity of the Year partnership with Stewart’s Garden Centre (left) concluded with over £20,000 raised for the charity.
The charity has been successful with a number of grant applications, bringing in over £30,000 from Nationwide, The Talbot Village Trust, National Lottery and AFC Bournemouth’s Community Fund (right). The fundraising team have been keeping in regular contact with all the volunteers during lockdown and they hosted a virtual Tea Party (left) to celebrate national Volunteers' Week and say a big thank you for all their incredible support during these difficult few months. The charity’s Board of Trustees (right) checked in with staff before their first online meeting during the pandemic. They volunteer their time for Forest Holme and we'd like to thank them for their support during this time. 16
We are excited to announce thanks to successfully securing funding from the Dorset Clinical Commissioners. Forest Holme Hospice, alongside the palliative care services at Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, Lewis Manning Hospice Care and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have teamed up with independent website Care Opinion (www.careopinion.org.uk) to make it easy for people to share their experiences in their own words online in a way which is safe, simple and anonymous. Patients, and their families or friends, can share their story - giving feedback on what was good or what could have been better or didn’t work for them. In turn, we can respond to your stories directly. This more personalised approach has been shown to have a positive impact for both patients, their families and staff as well as having the potential to bring about change to improve the services for all. We have already received our first few stories here at Forest Holme Hospice and at Poole Hospital. The learning has begun and as a service we are excited to bring about positive change to meet the needs of our patients and their families across the board – whether cared for at home, the hospice or hospital itself. So please simple click on this link to find out more and share your story: https://www.careopinion.org.uk/ We look forward to hearing from you.
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Tree of Celebration Dedicate a leaf in memory of a loved one
For a donation to Forest Holme Hospice Charity, each leaf will be engraved with a personalised message for your loved one. Each leaf has been handcrafted by Dolphin Marine, and secured on the tree designed and built by Elite Fabrication and Welding Ltd. Your leaf tribute will be displayed within our hospice garden for a year (from the day it is first mounted), after which you will be given the option to renew for another 12 months, or have your leaf returned for you to keep. You are welcome to come and view your leaf and reflect in relaxed and comfortable surroundings. To dedicate a leaf, please complete the form on the next page. We ask for a minimum yearly donation of ÂŁ60 to dedicate a leaf which can also be paid in monthly instalments of ÂŁ5. Each leaf tribute will be displayed within our hospice garden 20 18
Dates For The Diary 2020 Update Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent rules and guidelines on lockdown and self-distancing meant that we had to cancel the following events this year; April 5th: Great Hospice Hike - Studland April 11th: Quiz Night - Cobham Sports Club July 30th: Wareham River Cruise August 31st: Plane Pull - Bournemouth Airport September 18th : Charity Quiz Night - Swanage Conservative Club October 9th: Barn Dance - Cobham Sports Club However, as social distancing rules begin to relax, we remain hopeful that some events will still be taking place (see page 21). Please check our website and Facebook page for further updates.
Trolley Dash Due to the government lockdown, we were unable to draw the winner for our Trolley Dash prize at Sainsbury’s in Poole. However, we are in close communication with the store and as soon as it is safe to do so, we will confirm a new date and then complete the draw.
Unsubscribe from our mailing list You are receiving this newsletter because of your support of Forest Holme Hospice Charity. Your details will not be shared with, or sold to, any third parties. We would be sorry to lose you, but if you no longer wish to receive our quarterly newsletter please contact our charity office on 01202 670644 or email: unsubscribe@forestholmehospice.org.uk or contact us at the address below: Forest Holme Hospice Charity, 5 Seldown Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1TS 20
August Friday 7th: Wing Walk (Compton Abbas Airfield) Do something amazing for Forest Holme and take part in a charity Wing Walk and experience the wind in your hair at 130mph on top of a Boeing Stearman (see page 23).
October The Big Brunch Host your own Big Brunch during October to support Forest Holme Hospice. A Big Brunch is simple to organise – all you need is a date, a venue, a time, some food and guests. Saturday 3rd - Sunday 4th: Run Bournemouth Challenge yourself to one of the many races on offer and support your local NHS hospice. Choose from Half Marathon, Supersonic 10K, Supersonic 5K, Supernova 5K, Junior 2K, Junior 1.5K, Kids 1K or Dog Jog. Register by visiting the official website www.runbournemouth.com and then choosing to support Forest Holme Hospice. Friday 23rd: Charity Ball (Parley Manor:7pm)
Tickets for our Spring Ball are still valid for the new date in October, which includes a welcome drink, delicious 3-course meal (with 1/2 bottle of wine), coffee and chocolates. Hosted by Paul Kinvig, the evening will include live entertainment, disco, raffle and auction, plus a few surprises.
Visit www.forestholmehospice.org.uk/events or contact fundraising on 01202 676384 or email: fundraising@forestholmehospice.org 21
Forest Holme Hospice Charity volunteer Karen Hesketh has become a Craft Champion by setting up a Craft Club to support the hospice. She is looking to encourage people with a talent to knit, crochet, sew or 'other' to use their lockdown time and help make small things to sell at this year’s Remembrance Tree stall in the runup to Christmas outside M&S in The Dolphin Shopping Centre.
If you'd like to get involved, please email crafts@forestholmehospice.org.uk 22
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Enhancing Lives For 25 Years Charity Number 1038021
Contact Us If you would like more information about the care the hospice provides or how to fundraise for us, we would love to hear from you.
Forest Holme Hospice 5 Seldown Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1TS T: 01202 670644 (Charity) T: 01202 448118 (Hospice) E: fundraising@forestholmehospice.org.uk www.forestholmehospice.org.uk Forestholme
@ForestHolme
@forestholmehospice