QCH Report FINAL V2 - Flipbook - Page 7
Queenscourt Hospice (Registered number 2102320)
Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31st March 2024 (continued)
Corporate Services
All our patient facing services are enabled and supported by our Corporate Teams, including
Administration, Human Resources and Volunteering, I.T., Communications, Information Governance,
Data, Finance, Health & Safety, Estates and Income Generation.
2.
#teamqueenscourt
Our staff and volunteers are our greatest asset.
Most of our team are professionally qualified and many others are well qualified by the nature of their
previous experience and the training that we provide. Our volunteer roles are many and varied. We
have nearly 440 active volunteers supporting us across all areas including clinical services, catering,
the community, finance, fundraising and retail.
Since the pandemic we are seeing patients with increasingly complex physical, psychological, social
and spiritual needs. Working as part of #teamqueenscourt, although immensely rewarding, can offer
challenges. We offer a range of support to help with individual health and wellbeing and a key strategic
objective is to ensure that we are a compassionate employer. Specific initiatives during 2023/24 have
included:
• Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and Champions embedded to support the staff further to ‘speak
up’ or raise any concerns.
• Monthly Carers group for staff and volunteers to discuss helpful information, advice and support
to other carers.
• Promotion of free Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) services and Wisdom App for
access and support 365 days pa, including counselling and physio services
• Wellbeing initiatives with awareness and information events including Menopause Week,
Mental Health Awareness Week, Neurodiversity Week, relaxation sessions, yoga and
meditation.
• QCH staff flu vaccinations.
3.
The future and Queenscourt Strategy1
As Trustees we oversee the ongoing development of our Strategic Direction. What we do now, and how
we do it, will continue to be driven largely by factors that we can only hope to influence, rather than
control. It is vital that we continue to engage in the regional and local landscapes of Integrated
Commissioning Boards (ICB), Integrated Commissioning Partnerships (ICP), Place Based Partnerships
(PBP), Primary Care Networks (PCN) and the 2 Hospice Provider Collaboratives across the ICB
footprints, of which we are a member and with whom we engage in awareness raising campaigns.
Following the amendment to the Health and Care Act 2022 and the development of the PEOLC
Commissioning Investment Framework that defines core / specialist palliative care as the responsibility
of the ICS and / or Local Authority, there has been increased media awareness. Whilst this resulted in
some parliamentary debate that recognised the value that hospices bring to the whole system, this has
not as yet translated into increased contribution by statutory bodies to the ever-increasing expenditure
that is required to maintain and develop our service offer.
As a Council we continue to balance the need for investment in service development and the needs of
our local communities with the responsibility to move toward a sustainable budget. We retain a strong
level of reserves and are able to use these to achieve this balance in the medium term. However, this
position requires proper stewardship and an ability to accurately forecast our future financial health,
allowing us to adjust our budget plans accordingly. We have mechanisms in place that allow us to
accurately forecast the impact of expected or sudden fluctuations in expenditure and income over the
1
Queenscourt Strategic Direction 2021-2026
Page |7
