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Hospice
SPRING 2015 NEWSLETTER
HIGHLAND HOSPICE
Project Build Appeal – Update
2015 promises to be a year of big changes
at Highland Hospice, and most exciting
of all the changes will hopefully be the
commencement of the rebuild of the In
Patient Unit. Tenders for the building
contract are due to be returned to the
Hospice in March. Assuming these come
back within current cost estimates and
fundraising continues to do well, building
is expected to start by early summer with
completion mid-way through 2016.
Over the past year our architects have been
working closely with the clinical team to
develop a detailed design for the building.
The architects are experienced in hospice
design and their feedback is that they have
never participated in such a wide-ranging
and effective staff consultation before.
They have no doubt that the final building
will be much better because of it.
amount of additional space for allied health
professionals and administration. Our day
therapies centre and family support team will
move to a unit on the Cradlehall Business
Park in Inverness. Work will be undertaken
on both properties to ensure they meet the
needs of our patients and staff.
As the project has developed it has been
necessary to increase the total budget from
£6.5m to just over £7m in order to ensure
the new unit meets all the requirements of
patients, families and staff and to maintain
service quality during the decant period.
Fortunately, since the decision was made in
2012 to undertake this project our reserves
have increased as a result of improved
fundraising income, cost savings and stock
market growth. This means we are now in
a position to increase our commitment from
£2m to £2.9m from reserves and make sure
this vital project goes ahead without asking
our supporters for more money.
Nonetheless, with over £1.5m of the Project
Build Appeal target still to raise, in addition
to the regular fundraising required to run
our day-to-day services, we need the support
of the Highland community now more than
ever. We encourage you to look at our 2015
Events Diary – enclosed with this newsletter
– or to undertake some of your own
fundraising in your community.
If you want to get involved and raise
money for the Project Build Appeal
please contact the fundraising team on
projectbuild@highlandhospice.org.uk
or 01463 246471.
Running in parallel we have finalised the
plans to ensure our services continue to
the highest standard possible during the
construction period. In patient services
will decant to the empty Fyrish Ward at
Invergordon Community Hospital. This
will provide 10 single rooms and a limited
This month we are featuring
Everest Trek
Fundraising News
365 Days of Happiness
Challenge of a lifetime … page 2
Little Black Dress Fashion Show … page 2
Positive posts extend to 365 days … page 3
I N S I D E : L AT E S T N E W S / U P C O M I N G E V E N T S
Fundraising News
Everest Trek
In November, four of our most adventurous supporters took on the challenge of a
lifetime to trek on foot to Everest Base Camp. John Urquhart from Ullapool, Alex
Mackenzie from Cawdor, Mark Bain from Glenferness and Susan Drew from Kirkhill
set off from Lukla (Nepal) on a 13 day expedition through remote valleys and forests
to an altitude of 17,700 feet. The four companions, who previously had very little
mountaineering experience, were tested by the cold temperatures and the effects
of altitude on the final stages of the ascent. However, the men in the team braved
the conditions and wore their kilts every day of the trip. Wearing the kilts not only
attracted a lot of attention from other trekkers and locals, but could also have
secured them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, as it is believed that
no-one else has trekked to Base Camp in a kilt. Mark, Alex and John have previously canoed down
the River Zambezi in 2012 during Highland Hospice’s 25th Anniversary Zambia Challenge, and the intrepid trio jumped at the chance
to raise more cash for the hospice, along with their new team member. The foursome have raised a total of £14,176 for Highland Hospice
– a fantastic reflection of their determination and hard work!
Saints & Sinners are fundraising winners!
The Anniversary Ball held in November 2014
at the Drumossie Hotel in Inverness, was the
most successful yet for Highland Hospice, due
to the record-breaking £130,000 raised by the
event. The annual fundraiser was a complete
sell out, and was themed to give guests the
choice of angelic or devilish evening attire.
Entertainment was provided by the Red Hot
Chilli Pipers and Inverness based Scooty and
the Skyhooks. There followed a live auction
and a silent auction with incredible items
donated by local businesses and supporters.
Of the total raised, £25,000 was bid by one
generous supporter to sponsor and help build
a counselling room in the new In-Patient Unit.
Incredibly, this sum was then matched by
a further well-known Hospice supporter.
Little Black Dress Fashion Show
is a Stylish Success
More than £4,000 was raised for our Project
Build Appeal at a sell-out fashion show
held in the Eastgate Centre in November.
Over 100 interpretations of the little
black dress from Eastgate retailers were
modelled along with dance performances
by local dance group TFX and Strictly
Inverness 2014 winners. The event featured
complimentary French Martinis on arrival,
a raffle and a silent auction of pampering
treats and stylish dresses.
Joey Macleod receives
BRC Humanitarian Citizen’s Award
As reported in our Autumn 2014 newsletter,
one of our youngest supporters Joey Macleod
(12) was shortlisted in the British Red Cross
Humanitarian Citizen Awards 2014 after
his Highland Hospice nomination. We were
delighted to hear that Joey was selected
to attend a Ceremony in Westminster on
Tuesday 18th November where he received
his award. It’s a fantastic accolade which Joey
is very proud of, and we congratulate Joey
on his well-deserved recognition. Kind hearted
Joey has helped his grandmother Annie to
raise funds for the Hospice in a variety of
ways – from selling raffle tickets to holding a
sale of his old toys. He also organised a ceilidh
by himself which raised over £3,000.
Run for Smiles
Back in June last year Highland Hospice
again invited youngsters to participate in
an annual fundraising challenge, a 5k race
just for families called Run for Smiles. There
were prizes up for grabs for those raising
more than £50 and we were delighted that
brother’s Lewis and Arran Holmes (aged
5 and 6) raised £532.10. Their Granddad
was a Hospice patient and they wanted
to do something to help the Hospice
in his memory. They hugely enjoyed the
day and are really happy that they could
do something to help the Hospice. The
brothers came to meet Bobby the Bee at
the Christmas Fayre in December (pictured).
Staff and
Volunteer
News…
Retiring Times
In October 2014 we sent Dr. Stephen
Hutchison off in style with a tea party
in the In Patient Unit followed by
a retirement ceilidh to celebrate his
20 years’ service at Highland Hospice.
In December we said a fond farewell to
our long-serving Fundraising Manager,
Linda Macdonald who retired after
12 years in the Fundraising team.
Linda will continue to be involved in
the organisation and smooth-running
of Strictly Inverness 2015, but is also
looking forward to more time with
her grand-children. Also retiring at
the end of January this year was Paula
McCormack who served as Head of
Clinical Services and Deputy CEO for
13 years.
365 Days of Happiness
In January 2014 our fundraising team decided to participate in the #100happydays campaign
on facebook. We posted a photo of something positive every day, and such was the popularity
of these posts, we extended the campaign – and made it to 365 happy days! The idea to
focus on the positive things in life is one the team has embraced and want to continue with
in 2015 social media posts. Visit and like our Facebook page to keep up with all our positive
posts at www.facebook.com/yourhighlandhospice.
Take the 500
Challenge –
Set Yourself a
Target this Year
Whether pedalling hard in the Black Isle Cycle
Challenge, dodging paint in Run for Colour or
organising your own fundraiser why not set
yourself one extra challenge – raise at least
£500 for Highland Hospice. Over the next
12-18 months Highland Hospice needs to
raise over £1.5m to complete our Project Build
Appeal whilst also ensuring enough funds are
available to provide our much valued services.
We need your support now more than ever.
Sign up for the ‘500 Challenge’ today and
make your commitment to raise £500 for
Highland Hospice. Membership includes a
Facebook ‘picBadge’ to overlay on your profile
picture, recognition on our 500 Challenge
wall in the rebuilt Highland Hospice and your
photo in the 500 Challenge book published
at the end of the Project Build Appeal.
Go to www.highlandhospice.org/500
to register now.
New Highland
Hospice Shop
for Dornoch
Highland Hospice is opening a twelfth
shop in Dornoch at the premises currently
occupied by the Post Office. The Dornoch
shop will be opened in April and will be run
by the current Supervisor of our Alness shop.
Volunteers are urgently sought for various
shifts at the new shop, so if this is of interest
to you or someone you know then please
get in touch.
Email volunteer@highlandhospice.org.uk
or phone 01463 243132.
Highland Hospice
Coffee Shop
The Coffee Shop located in Ness House will
be closed over the period of the In Patient
Unit re-build project. The Coffee Shop will
close at the end of May, and will re-open in
2016 when the build project is complete.
B A C K PA G E : S TA F F P R O F I L E !
Staff Changes
We were pleased to welcome Roy Stark
as Facilities Co-ordinator in September
2014, Dr Gordon Linklater as the new
Consultant in Palliative Medicine in
December 2014, Kathryn Hamling as
Director of Clinical Services at the end
of January 2015, and to congratulate
Amanda Burt on her promotion
to Fundraising Manager, also in
January 2015.
Staff News
Congratulations to Wendy Clark
(Communications Officer) and
Marie-Anne Vrac (Regional Fundraiser)
who both began maternity leave in
October 2014 to be mum to Calvin and
Lily respectively, and to Emily Patrick
(Voluntary Services Co-ordinator) on
maternity leave from January 2015
to be mum to Finn.
www.highlandhospice.org
Staff Profile
Simon Spence,
Counsellor –
Family Support Service
Tell us a bit about your role in the Family
Support Service at Highland Hospice.
The Family Support Service is very much
part of the wider multi-disciplinary team
at the Hospice, and includes counsellors,
a social worker, and the Hospice chaplain.
As well as attention to patients, the
Hospice’s philosophy of care makes explicit
commitment to those close to them, both
during the times of illness, and continuing
into bereavement. The Family Support
Service pays attention to the wide concerns
of patients and family members and
aims to offer practical, emotional, and
spiritual support.
Please support your
Highland Hospice
Highland Hospice, Ness House,
1 Bishops Road, Inverness IV3 5SB
Tel: 01463 243132 Fax: 01463 709601
Website: www.highlandhospice.org
What is your role in the team?
My particular role is as a counsellor and the
majority of my work is with people following
their bereavement, offering support with
the many challenges which grieving often
presents. Much of my work is on an individual
basis, but a colleague and I also regularly
facilitate groups in which people who have
been bereaved are supported to share and
explore together what really matters to them
and to look at different ways of coping with
what life is demanding of them.
Were you always keen to work
in a Hospice setting?
It was never part of any career plan, but
seems instead to have been part of how my
life has developed. Whilst death and dying
have certainly been significant factors in
my own life, I originally trained as a teacher
after studying philosophy and literature.
I worked in adult education for a number of
years, particularly with people with learning
disabilities, before training in counselling
and psychotherapy. I then worked with
voluntary organisations and in the NHS
before coming to work at Highland Hospice
soon after the millennium!
What do you enjoy/what gives you
fulfilment in your role?
I have always felt very fortunate to do this
work. It is immensely rewarding to get to
know people as, with support, they find
their own ways through their grieving,
and to witness their growing ability to find
ways forward, difficult though these may
sometimes continue to be. We often say in
the team that we aim to ‘make ourselves
redundant’; when I finish work with an
individual, I may experience some sadness
to say ‘goodbye,’ but this is more than
compensated by the reward of knowing
they are now able to take their next steps
without my assistance.
What aspects of your work do you
find most challenging?
The death of people we love and who are
important in our life and its meaning, is
something we are all very likely to have
to face at some point in our lives. This
reality can be a bewildering, painful,
and distressing one and I am sure I am
not alone in sometimes wishing to live
in denial of it. My work of course makes
this impossible and I spend a lot of time
engaging with it, and witnessing others
wrestling with it and all it entails.
Tell us a bit about yourself
outside of work…
One of the great privileges of my work is
that I am reminded on a daily basis about
the things that really matter in life! Outside
of work I try as best I can to pay attention
to things and to give time to the important
people and concerns in my life. I love food
and cooking it, wine and drinking it, music
and listening to it, ‘chat’ and indulging in it,
and the great outdoors and being in it with
the people I love.
Who can make use of bereavement support
through the Family Support Services at
Highland Hospice?
The service is available to the family and
friends of anyone in whose care Highland
Hospice was privileged to be involved. It
is also available to those close to someone
who, in their illness, was a patient of one of
the specialist Nurse Practitioners in Highland
(MacMillan nurses, MND, Parkinsons, COPD,
renal, etc).The service is available whether
the death has occurred recently or at some
point in the past. If you are unsure about
being eligible, speak with your GP who
may be able to clarify things, or contact
the Hospice directly.
Why do you Support Highland Hospice?
Do you have a special reason as to why you support Highland Hospice? We would love to
hear from you if so, as sharing positive experiences is a really effective way of attracting
people to our charity. Please email your stories or photos to Hayley Muir,
Communications Officer h.muir@highlandhospice.org.uk
Company Number: SC 093464.
Highland Hospice is a registered
Scottish charity, No SC011227.
www.highlandhospice.org