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Chairman’s Report for AGM held on 25th November 2009 see News page for minutes
20 November 2009
Dear Member,
This is my final report, having served the constitutional maximum of three terms. It has been a fascinating time and I have tried to get to know as much as I could about hospice care as a locally based provision based on intense community support as well as a national phenomenon of huge proportions. I have sought to understand the issues which matter to hospices as well as issues which matter to others but have significant impacts on hospices. By attendance at a variety of groups within Help the Hospices I have contributed to and learned from the debates and have reported to the executive and, through my letters and annual reports, to members. I hope that the Forum feels itself to be in good heart – it certainly is an important part of the structure representing (through chairs) the trustees of independent hospices who carry the ultimate responsibility for everything which hospices do. George Hibberd (now, MBE for services to his hospice) has recently stood down from the chairmanship of the South Central Region and has been succeeded by David Perry. We welcome David and thank George for his wise counsel to the Forum over many years. The executive is now all new blood since I first arrived on it and the current membership is at least as vigorous in its pursuit of the interests of hospices with particular regard to trusteeship. I thank the members for their interest and support, the executive likewise for their friendship and hard work to advance our cause. Most of our working relationships are with Help the Hospices and I have been fortunate to be welcomed most warmly by everyone there – the organisation has certainly taken great strides since the change to membership. I would like to thank everyone connected with the organisation for the collaborative way in which we have been able to work together in the interests of our hospices.
I am sure my successor will be able to continue and enjoy this fruitful relationship.
I am writing this report for the AGM for circulation in advance again this year to allow efficiency in the meeting by reducing the need for a verbal report although, of course, I will gladly take question.
The Hospice Movement, Help the Hospices and FCIH have been well occupied during the last year and I have sent a couple of updates during the year. So much of the activity has been widely reported and/or is covered in the conference that I will not give repetitious detail. I have visited more of the regions this year, have been made most welcome and have found it interesting to see both the variation in the ways which our colleagues work and yet the unity of purpose which is shared by all of us. I have not been to the Eastern Region and Scotland but would hope that I (or my successor) will be able to manage to get to them.
The National Executive has met twice since the last AGM to discuss a number of issues which are covered, I hope, in reports from your regional representatives and below in the description of the work we do with HtH and other groups. What I do think has been a major change with the onset the HtH Membership structure is the opportunity for member Hospice personnel to be kept up to date. Any chair or trustee can arrange to receive Hospice News online and or Executive News online, Advisory Council minutes are circulated and the members of the Advisory council are charged with ensuring two way flow of information to and from regions and HtH. The new website is a little behind schedule but our arm of it is available (www.fcih.org.uk) – a plea! Is anyone willing to offer themselves as a co-opted member to act as moderator? Information received from HtH or executive would be sent to the moderator who would edit it and place it on the website and keep things tidy and up-to-date. Computer literacy needs to be at an everyday level and training would be provided.
Our conference this year is alongside the HtH AGM and covers a wide range of issues, but has been notified previously so I shall not enlarge here. Much of the major policy work of the last year will be reviewed here.
HtH has changed substantially in the last year. The organisational structure has evolved in response to membership and events to which it, and we, need to address. Parts of the organisation have been updated and some new areas have been put in place to provide a more appropriate way of dealing with today’s issues. Regional meetings have been attended more frequently than hitherto by members of the Leadership Team, which has been a very welcome development and re-enforces the relationship of both regions and local hospices with their umbrella body. FCIH has been involved in the following areas of work with HtH
Advisory council – we have observer status on this committee and I attend the majority of meetings. The minutes are circulated to member Hospices and with the regional reporting structure there is plenty of opportunity for members to be well informed and to feed in to the Advisory Council, which is the source of the Board’s advice on the issues which it needs to consider in setting the policies and objective for the organisation. Once again, I will not include any report on this activity since it is so widely available and fluid.
Network of Professional Associations. A major review of thispart of the organisation has taken place. The outcome has been largely accepted by HtH. The network covers the joint and individual interests of professional groups who work in Hospices and includes FCIH although we are not quite in the same category as the other members. The frequency of meetings has been reduced but the infrastructure of support has been strengthened.
Policy and Communications Group. This is the reference group headed by Jonathon Ellis and Olivia Belle (Directors of Policy and Parliamentary Affairs and Communications respectively). I have been attending its meetings on behalf of FCIH and it has been useful to see the excellent work done by the two departments over the last year and to have been able to feed in a trustee view to the deliberations. You will all have received the high quality work produced on the End of Life Care Strategy and had the opportunity to attend regional meetings with HtH to assist thinking about our role in this new challenge.
Governance and Organisation Development Group: We have, of course, a seat on this group, dealing as it does with our own core interests of Governance as trustees. The training work is continuing and you will have received the notice of the availability of training courses on a regional basis for new trustees especially. This group will be taking into account the results of the trustee survey to which many of you contributed and which will be published soon. The group will continue under the new HtH structure but is to be developed into a more wide ranging group to cover all areas of governance – not just charity governance, but right through to clinical governance. Jo Blackburn (HtH Clinical Director) is working on this and we have been fortunate in having an offer of co-option to the executive from Sheila Reiter OBE (Chair of Dorothy House, Bradford on Avon) to join the group to keep FCIH informed and to oversee our input.
National Council. I am remain on their Cancer Policy Forum (Independently of FCIH)
Finally, as always, thanks must go to Anne Garley who manages to keep on top of our administration, to colleagues at HtH for their willing and friendly support and to the members of the executive and forum as a whole for their interest in the work we do and the inspiration it gives me.
Mike Warren
Chairman, Forum of Chairmen of Independent Hospices
