Category: Staff

Chief Executive Karyn Johnston received a special surprise to coincide with 10 years of service at East Cheshire Hospice.

Karyn was given a prestigious award for community service by Clare Hayward MBE DL, the High Sheriff of Cheshire.

The award, made at Art Fair Cheshire, recognised Karyn’s efforts leading a team which continues to put the Hospice at the forefront of end-of-life care.

Karyn joined the Hospice as head of income generation before assuming the role of chief executive six years ago.

Karyn said: “This recognition only came to me because I work with great people. I know this award is down to the team effort.

“I was embarrassed to receive a personal accolade which really belongs to my colleagues and others who support the Hospice in many different ways.”

Karyn Johnston (left) with Clare Hayward MBE DL, the High Sheriff of Cheshire.

The Hospice cared for a record 1,277 patients and thousands of family members last year, further illustrating its value to the community.

Karyn said: “Last year, via all our services, we helped the most patients in any single year in the Hospice’s history.

“That was before the extension of our new Sunflower Living Well Centre, which opened in April, so we can probably expect that figure to go up this year.

“Our aim is to help more patients year-on-year. We are driven by the needs of the community.

“For instance, we realised that people in the community wanted more care at home, so we added two more teams to our Hospice @Home service.

“This doubled the number of our teams serving our community in the comfort of their own homes.

“Our ambition does not diminish in the slightest. We’ll soon be announcing another big project to make end-of-life care even more accessible.”

The 25^th year of the Art Fair was once again a major success, raising vital funds for the Hospice.

A VIP gathering to launch the fair raised a substantial sum from the sale of artwork, setting a pattern of generous giving which continued during the week-long event.

Karyn said: “The Art Fair was yet another glorious example of a superb collective effort, involving artists, buyers, sponsors and other supporters, including our wonderful volunteers.”

Art created by schools and colleges added to the community feel, as did a special display by those who access childhood bereavement counselling at the Hospice.

Guests included key Hospice sponsors and supporters, including Macclesfield MP Tim Roca.

Sponsors were AstraZeneca, The Little Greene Paint Company, Thorneycroft Solicitors, Estate Planning Solutions and MacPac.

The new-look Sunflower Living Well Centre at East Cheshire Hospice is already reaping rewards for patients and staff.

The £1.3m facility opened four months ago and is a vital community hub for healthcare.

An extensive range of services is available for day care patients diagnosed with a life limiting illness with more programmes on the way. Many patients can get involved with the arts and crafts that the activity coordinator provides.

Modern surroundings can be adapted for courses, enhancing the visitor experience.

Exactly how health care professionals envisaged it when plans were drawn up.

Sunflower Sister Sharon Hurley said: “Everyone is delighted with how we’ve settled into our new home. It’s a fantastic facility and most importantly provides the best possible environment for our patients and staff.

Sharon Hurley, Sister at the Sunflower Living Well Centre.

“It’s not often you go to a place where everything is brand spanking new. Everywhere is lovely, fresh and bright with reclining chairs that have pressure relief cushions and bifold doors which give patients access to the garden.

“I must admit we had to get savvy with all the gadgets, but we have piped music which means we could have ABBA in the dining room and Queen in the main room.

“We’ve become quite techy and it’s lovely to have a larger nurses’ station where we are situated near the patients.

The main lounge at the centre.

“The kitchen and dining room are in dementia friendly colours, and we love the glass corridor which avoids interrupting patients during their visit.

“There’s a quiet room with its calming environment. We can divide up the main room to hold separate activities.

“It’s still early days as we get things implemented. For instance, we may bring in volunteers to run activities at Halloween or Christmas.”

Staff mark the opening of the Sunflower Living Well Centre in April.

The extra capacity means the Hospice has started hosting stand-alone courses with the Look Good Feel Better charity.

Volunteers from the beauty and wellbeing industry offer advice remotely to cancer patients via a giant screen on the third Friday of every month, which is held here in the Sunflower living well centre.

The Sunflower centre have worked with the Macmillan cancer resource centre in Macclesfield who refer for these one-off sessions.

Leaflets are found within the Macclesfield area and on the Hospice website. Participants receive a goodie bag of products and courses for men will hopefully run in the future.

There is also a six-week Live Well Feel Well programme aimed at anyone living and coping with the effects of their illness and treatments.

There are multiple services including topics such as breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety, complementary therapies, befriending, art therapy, counselling, lymphoedema, physiotherapy, dementia support, motor neurone support, staying strong and keeping safe.

* Contact the Sunflower centre on 01625 665685 for full details.

The new look Sunflower Living Well Centre at East Cheshire Hospice has welcomed its first patients.

The facility has undergone a major transformation to become one of the most modern healthcare centres in the region.

The Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire Lady Alexis Redmond MBE officially declared the centre open after a nine-month building project costing £1.3m.

The Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire Lady Alexis Redmond MBE cuts the ribbon to reopen the Sunflower Living Well Centre.

There to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony were long-standing Hospice supporters Anna Rains, Thelma Jackson and Madge Slater whose fundraising exploits created the original Sunflower Centre in 2000.

The new complex on the same site adjoining the main Hospice building is equipped to meet a rapidly growing need for the Hospice’s services.

Patient and carer capacity will eventually more than double from a weekly rate of 179 to 400.

More services can now operate simultaneously and during evenings and weekends.

The new design in dementia-friendly colours allows natural light to flood the main room. Smart technology is also incorporated.

The interior of the new centre.

The work was funded by significant grants from The Hargreaves Charitable Trust, The Mather Family Charitable Trust, The Wolfson Foundation and Garfield Weston. The balance was met from the charity’s reserves.

Guests included Robbie Hargreaves, co-founder of Proseal UK which provided funds for a new Hospice wing opened three years ago, and patrons, trustees, ambassadors, vice presidents and volunteers.

Contractors celebrated the opening with staff, including project manager Mike Drew.

Chief Executive Karyn Johnston said: “This is an important day in the history of East Cheshire Hospice.

“I want to thank everyone who has supported us to make today a reality, enabling us to extend and develop our care to anyone, anywhere and anytime they need it.

The entrance to the new look Sunflower Living Well Centre.

“We’re delighted Lady Redmond, a fervent supporter of the Hospice movement, can be with us today, along with her husband Sir Phil Redmond, and our donors without whom this building would not have been possible.

“Our staff are the best team any organisation could ever hope to have.”

Lady Redmond said: “This is such a special place and I congratulate you all. The aim of the new centre is to be at the heart of the hospice’s commitment to making sure those with life-limiting illnesses are supported to live as well as possible right from the point of diagnosis.”

The Northern Chamber Orchestra, sponsored by CDL Software, entertained guests with a demonstration of Mind Music, a project exploring the effects of live music on those living with dementia.

Helen Trueman, CDL’s Internal Communications Manager, said: “We were delighted to sponsor the Northern Chamber Orchestra to play at the opening of the Sunflower Living Well Centre, and to be part of celebrating the addition of this wonderful resource for the community.

“CDL has a long-standing relationship with the orchestra who work to widen access to live classical music in a range of settings, including care homes, schools and in this case, by bringing through their ‘mind music’ initiative to East Cheshire Hospice. Congratulations to all involved.”

Helen Henshaw only wanted a new carpet for her beloved Sunflower Living Well Centre at East Cheshire Hospice.

Her wish was granted and she got a lot more besides.

Helen Henshaw, who has worked at East Cheshire Hospice for 25 years. 

A glimpse inside the plush new complex shows the scale of a stunning facility.

Helen, the centre manager, said: “All I asked for in the first place was to replace our dark carpet which wasn’t classed as dementia friendly and this is what we’ve ended up with!

“People with dementia can be reluctant to walk on dark colours. They feel it could be a hole or a puddle.

“The new centre is lighter and brighter and has opened everything up, using technology to give a new perspective.”

Staff toast the opening of the new look Sunflower Living Well Centre.

Helen has worked at the Hospice for 25 years. She said: “When I first came we had a small day care set up in one of the side rooms near the inpatient unit before opening up the main room in 2000.

“Now we have a built-in sound system and can dim the lights for relaxation sessions and project presentations on to a big wall.

“Before we were a general day care unit. Now we’re progressing into a wellbeing centre giving information and guidance on managing conditions.

Centre manager Helen Henshaw presents flowers to Lady Alexis Redmond MBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire, watched by Hospice Chief Executive Karyn Johnston.

“People were frightened and apprehensive of the word hospice. We want this to be a community hub accessible to all where people feel comfortable and relaxed.

“We’re offering services from the point of diagnosis and want family and social groups to use these facilities.”