Over the summer, our Trustees spent time job shadowing teams across the charity, giving them the chance to hear first-hand from employees about what is impacting them and their work and to get a real understanding of the difference Havens Hospices makes to the lives of those we support.
This week is National Trustees Week, the perfect opportunity to introduce you to them and tell you about their experiences!
Here’s Liz Mell’s experience …
Liz joined the Havens Hospices board in 2019 and became Chair of Trustees in 2020. Liz is a qualified nurse with a wealth of experience in the NHS and social care, working with multi-disciplinary professional and clinical teams.
“I spent the day with the Children and Young People’s Community Team because I wanted a chance to better understand the care we provide out in the community to our families and see this first-hand as it’s not as easy as just popping into the hospice.
“Over the course of the day, I spoke with many employees about their experience working for the charity and also met some of the children and families we support. I spent time talking to one young person who has been supported by Little Havens for many years; it was great to hear from them about the difference our support has made to their life, how important our volunteers are and the long-term relationships they build with our families, too.
“It was both an enjoyable, uplifting and inspirational time which will support my continued work as Chair and Trustee. I saw the trust built between the Care Team and the families they support and the importance of this to families and young people. It is clear that the usual elements of day-to-day life are complex, complicated and time-consuming to navigate and whilst parents can often feel the need for respite, allowing others to take on these tasks can be difficult. The skills required to build trust and confidence are many and varied, practical and interpersonal, professional and human. They require both knowledge and skilled application to get it right for the particular family or circumstances, and I was proud to see our Care Team being so trusted by the families we support.
“Speaking to the team enabled me to understand more about how our services fit together to support children and families and how they integrate (or not sometimes!) with the other support available in the community. With our resources limited, it was a reminder of the importance of ensuring that we do not replicate what others are doing but do our best to find and bridge the gaps for families receiving limited support from elsewhere.
“Spending time at Little Havens after visiting a family in the community also gave me a chance to meet and talk to George, our Youth Worker. It was interesting to hear about this new role and the value it can add to the multi-disciplinary team supporting the young person.
“The day I was at Little Havens, there had been a recent death, and a family was using the Woodland Suite. I was able to experience the subtle and important ways in which this was so sensitively managed and communicated to the other people using the building and to hear and feel the care, kindness and comfort being demonstrated to the family at such a difficult time.
“My day with the Children and Young People’s Care Team gave me more examples of the complexity of supporting our families, the level of skill required to do this well and evidence of the importance
of this to young people and their families. It was a reminder of the need to ensure that we have the best systems and processes to support, develop and retain the best staff. The things I saw and heard will support my thinking when we have decisions to consider and information to discuss in meetings.”
Published on 8th November 2024
