Paul Lamb - CEO

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

I write this reflecting back on our 2017/18 financial year which has just been finalised. It has been a time of significant challenge through rising expenditure as we continue to meet growing service demands and increasing operational costs. Our combined income through community donations, retail shop and government funding was largely static over this time which has contributed to some complex decision making across our organisation as we look to our future.

Our retail network has completed a review resulting in changes around shop layout, signage, product placement and staffing structures. Recently our Stratford Shop team have won local and regional awards as best service business and charity shop – a fantastic result. We have also opened a ‘pop up’ shop in Waitara for a four month period with a view to it becoming a regular shop if our donation and income expectations are met. Our charity shops are operating in a changing environment and we need to also change how we operate to continue achieving this critical income for our organisation. 

Over this year we have said goodbye to several long serving staff and welcomed in a new mix of age, gender, ethnicity and experience to our care teams. We have appointed to a new role of Medical Team Leader with a changed direction for this senior role amongst our hospice doctor team. Four of our nursing and management team members have celebrated twenty years of service to our hospice and the communities we are part of, an amazing achievement in their commitment to what we do.

In the near future we are launching our upgraded website which will contain more interactive features and personalised stories of patient and family experiences with our services. We have now completed changes in rationalising and upgrading the vehicle fleet that our shops and care teams use. This month we start an exciting new project in collaboration with the Taranaki District Health Board by hosting doctors completing post graduate study. Each placement is for three months around developing knowledge and experience of providing specialised palliative care, part of our education and capacity building initiatives in the community.

So it seems to have been an action packed 2018 so far across all facets of our organisation. However all of the work we have done, are doing and will do- would not be possible without the incredible support our communities, our health partners, staff and volunteers give us every day. To continue to provide the breadth of services we do to anyone anywhere at anytime at no cost does require a combined and dedicated approach. We are so fortunate to be regarded as the most highly respected community health provider across our province by all of our people.

A huge thank you from all of us to all of you who support what we do knowing the importance and difference this makes for thousands of people across Taranaki.

Kind regards Paul Lamb

18 Dec 2018