Four new members welcomed to the board at Willow Wood Hospice

Willow Wood Hospice has warmly welcomed four new members to its Board of Trustees.

The group were sworn in at the Hospice’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 28th January.

Their recruitment follows an appeal last summer for skilled and experienced people to help shape the future of the Hospice, which provides specialist, compassionate and dignified care to patients with a life-limiting illness from Tameside and Glossop.

Phill Brown MBE is a Tameside businessman and entrepreneur who has chaired boards at Tameside Council, Active Tameside and Tameside College, as well as served as a trustee for the Stockport County Community Trust.

Julieann Carter is a qualified nurse whose career in healthcare has spanned both clinical care and management across hospitals, community settings and hospices. She was honoured to be named Marie Curie Nurse of the Year for England in 2000.

Chris Hinds has lived in Tameside over 45 years and runs his own marketing and web design consultancy in Glossop. Alongside his wife Joanne, he has volunteered at the Hospice since 2009 and helped to raise tens of thousands of pounds.

Karen Richardson has spent nearly 40 years in nursing within Greater Manchester as a Staff Nurse and Ward Sister before specialising as a Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist in Palliative and End-of-Life Care and, more recently, moved into commissioning and service transformation.

The quartet of new trustees join as Timothy Jackson assumes the role of the Chair of the Board, succeeding Philip Millson, who has stepped down as Chair but will continue to serve as a trustee.

Timothy said: “I am proud to take on the role of Chair, working alongside a dedicated team of trustees and senior management who each bring expertise to support our mission and vision.

“I look forward to continuing to ensure our services remain equitable, timely and tailored to meet the needs of our patients and those closest to them.

“The collective passion, collaboration and commitment of everyone at the Hospice truly makes Willow Wood a special place.”

Tracy Minshull, Chief Executive Officer of Willow Wood Hospice, commented: “I would like to sincerely thank Philip for his valuable leadership as our Chairman over the past four years and we are grateful to have his continued support as a trustee.

“I am delighted to welcome Timothy as our new Chairman and introduce our four new trustees, who each bring a diverse range of skills and experience. This will be vital as we continue to provide compassionate care to our community while evolving to meet future challenges and opportunities.

“They join at an exciting time for the Hospice as we finalise our new five-year strategy, which has been shaped by our workforce – our staff, volunteers and trustees.”

Trustees are crucial to the work of Willow Wood. With their support, scrutiny and challenge, the Hospice is able to grow and operate effectively.

Working on a voluntary basis, they ensure the organisation’s strategic direction, governance and financial sustainability. Trustees also act as ambassadors for the Hospice out in the community.

Willow Wood needs at least £3.6 million every year to run and, with only around 21 per cent of that amount coming from the Government, the Hospice relies heavily on the generous support of the local community to continue providing its essential services.

Seventy per cent of those services are provided by Willow Wood’s Community Services teams – in the Hospice, based in Ashton-under-Lyne, and in a patient’s own home.