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BLOG: Shock donation was too hot to handle

We never cease to be amazed by some of the weird and wonderful things that turn up in the thousands of bags of pre-loved goods people generously gift to St Luke’s charity shops each year, but last week’s decommissioned hand grenade was a first!

Volunteers at our Drake store in Plymouth city centre got the shock of their lives when they discovered the fortunately harmless weapon of war in a bag handed in on Wednesday morning. They couldn’t believe their eyes when they found the heavy, metal object nestled amongst toy soldiers and other items dropped off by a mystery gentleman.

Staff shop assistant Toby was immediately concerned and called his area manager for guidance.

“I’m a bit of a history fan and the grenade looked genuine to me – and it turns out that it was,” said Toby, one of five staff and volunteers on duty at the time. “Our first job was to contact emergency services and follow evacuation procedures to get everyone out of the building.”

Police were on the scene within minutes and placed a 100-metre cordon around the premises. Royal Navy experts arrived to identify the object, while curious passers-by gathered in the street outside, and Plymouth Live carried the story on their breaking news page. Image credit: Plymouth Live.

After careful examination, the specialist RN team confirmed that the item was, indeed, a potentially deadly hand grenade, but that, thankfully, it was deactivated and therefore not dangerous. They took it away for safe disposal, and it was business as usual at the shop within a couple of hours of the alert being raised.

We’re not sure what went through the donor’s mind when they popped the grenade in the bag. There are very strict legal controls around the sale of military supplies and it’s certainly not the kind of donation St Luke’s is in a position to handle!

“I can’t imagine it was done maliciously or as a prank, but it does make you wonder what they were thinking,” said Toby.

The grenade is probably the most alarming donation St Luke’s has ever received, closely followed by two boxes of live ammunition previously gifted to our Saltash shop by mistake and reclaimed the next day. But you’d be surprised by some of the unsuitable and useless things our staff and volunteers discover on a regular basis, like unwrapped sharp knives and meat cleavers, broken toys, soiled clothing, empty DVD boxes, chipped crockery and half-used tins of paint.

Some items, including sofas, prams, electrical items and extension leads, can’t be resold because they have no appropriate health and safety regulation marks.

“We are always grateful for your donations – we do get some really beautiful things – but please be mindful that we need items that are in good condition and saleable,” added Saltash shop manager Hayley. “Our bill for tipping stuff that’s not suitable for sale is really expensive.

“Some people are really thoughtful about what they give to us. The trick is to think about whether it is something you would be willing to buy. And do bear in mind that a staff member or volunteer (like Rob, pictured) will be sorting through that bag you bring us!”

See the “guide to donating” on our website.

Good condition women’s clothing is always on St Luke’s bestseller list, but each of our shops has its own most popular and seasonal lines. If in doubt, do phone or pop into your local store and have a chat before donating.

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BLOG: Open Gardens 2024

A stunning selection of gardens in West Devon, the South Hams and East Cornwall will be opening their gates once again in aid of local hospice care.

St Luke’s annual Open Gardens scheme is launching in March, providing avid horticulture fans the opportunity to explore amazing private plots, large and small, many not usually open to the public, while supporting our end of life care in your local community. All proceeds from the ticket sales will be playing a vital role in helping us to meet the rising costs of our dedicated care teams offering free specialist hospice care, when and where it is needed.

This year’s programme, running through to September and kindly sponsored by NFU Mutual Plymouth, promises plenty of inspiration for keen gardeners, as well as a proper treat for anyone who enjoys a fresh air outing in a beautiful environment.

Wayne Marshall, St Luke’s Open Gardens Co-ordinator, said: “We are really excited to kickstart the 2024 Open Gardens season. We have chosen a diverse selection of beautiful gardens to inspire and delight, many of which are not normally open to the public, so offer a unique insight into garden design.

“This year we are honoured and delighted that the highly successful local artist and St Luke’s patron, Brian Pollard has kindly created such an enchanting image for the cover of our Open Gardens brochure.

“Excitingly, Brian has generously donated to St Luke’s the framed original acrylic painting and we are including it as an amazing prize in our Open Gardens raffle, so be sure to buy your tickets when you visit one of the gardens.”

The artwork is currently on display at Kaya Gallery, Plymouth where you can also buy raffle tickets for either £1 or £5 for a book.

Stretching from the outskirts of Plymouth right across our catchment area in the South Hams, Dartmoor, West Devon and just over the border into Cornwall – from Kingsbridge to Lewdown, there will be a varied selection of popular gardens opening during the season alongside some exciting new additions, including the beautifully unique The Garden House in Yelverton on Thursday 18 April and Wednesday 14 August and Highwell in Churchstow, offering five acres of wonderful garden spaces on Sunday 12 May.

Highlights of the season include a special Easter Sunday opening of Gnaton Hall, near Yealmpton and a familiar favourite of the landscaped grounds of the Grade One listed Flete House, near Ermington, which will be opening on Sunday 28 July between 12pm and 5pm.

There’s no need to book in advance for any of the gardens – just turn up on the allotted date and time and follow the orange St Luke’s signs to car parking and the gardens themselves and pay on the gate with cash or contactless card; tickets cost £6 and under-16s have free entry.

Once again we will be working in partnership with the team at Drake’s Island to provide guided tours. Set in the beautiful surroundings of Plymouth Sound, Drake’s Island boasts unique views across Cornwall, the city and beyond. Funds from the ticket sales will go to St Luke’s, apart from a small booking fee. Tickets will be available exclusively here.

Wayne added: “As a charity, we couldn’t survive without the kindness of all our supporters. This includes everyone who attends our Open Gardens, the big-hearted garden owners who welcome them, and not forgetting our proud sponsors NFU Mutual Plymouth. Together over the last 14 years that the scheme has been running, more than £540,000 has been raised for our patient care, which is incredible, thank you.”

You can pick up a copy of our Open Gardens 2024 brochure and view the full list of gardens on offer at any of our charity shops, at local garden centres and supporting businesses, or you can download it online here.

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BLOG: Shining a light on St Luke’s apprentices: National Apprenticeship Week 2024

This week is National Apprenticeship Week (5-11 February) in honour of that we want to shine a light on the vital team of apprentices who have been working hard behind the scenes.

St Luke’s currently has seven apprentices, ranging from nursing to IT, data, Finance and administration, with a mixture of those currently working towards their apprenticeship or being newly qualified.

Our apprentices are a special bunch, which is why we wanted to honour them this week, by holding a lunchtime celebration on Wednesday 7 February at our specialist unit at Turnchapel.

The event was an opportunity to recognise the outstanding contribution they have all made to St Luke’s and included food, cake and drinks. The apprentices were accompanied by their mentors, who have been providing them with ongoing support throughout their apprenticeships.

During the afternoon, St Luke’s CEO George Lillie and Director of People Services Adrienne Murphy, thanked both apprentices and the mentors for their contribution to St Luke’s and the patient and their families we support.

George said: “Every one of our apprentices plays a vital role at St Luke’s in helping us to deliver the high standard of care we strive for. As an organisation we are committed to providing on-the-job learning opportunities to people as well as supporting existing staff in up-skilling. We pride ourselves on ensuring that all our apprentices are part of the St Luke’s family benefiting from our values and support.”

We caught up with IT support apprentices James Dyer and Aden Webb, who are just over six months into their 18-month apprenticeships.

30-year-old James Dyer is an IT support apprentice. His role has been facilitated by Estio Training Apprenticeships. He first discovered that St Luke’s provided apprenticeships at a National Apprenticeship Week event last year at the Plymouth Job Centre. St Luke’s Head of IT Faye Cockerton and Group Head of IT Aaron Smallshaw were attending the event and after chatting with them, his apprenticeship developed from there.

“What stood out to me from Faye and Aaron from the other representatives in attendance was their passion to develop me,” James said. An apprenticeship was not something James had previously considered.

“I must admit my knowledge of apprenticeships was limited, I thought they were generally trade based and something you couldn’t do when older. I was really surprised by the variety of apprenticeships out there and that age is no limit.

“St Luke’s really appealed to me because of the cause, it had meaning behind what you were doing.

“I was surprised at just how many departments and people it takes to run a hospice, all with different IT needs and abilities. In fact, it’s not just one hospice at St Luke’s, I am working across three hospices including Rowcroft Hospice in South Devon and St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester. That really gives job variety as each hospice is so different.

James primarily works on the support desk for the hospices. “I love the variety and challenge of learning something new. Whether it is a new system or solving a problem.

“It could be anything from a call for a password reset, to hardware failure or something that is critical to the delivery of patient care for example the phones going down or our electronic prescriptions to ensure patients remain pain free. That is always in the back of my mind, the patients and their families. All the support teams including IT play such an important role alongside our doctors and nurses in achieving that outstanding expert care.

“It really is such a privilege to be a part of St Luke’s.”

Fellow IT support apprentice, Aden Webb has made working in a hospice a family affair, as his mum also works in a hospice up in Lancaster. This meant that the taboo around hospices and death and dying didn’t phase him, instead giving him an insight and a stepping stone into the world of hospice care.

The 24-year-old’s apprenticeship has been facilitated by Skills Launchpad Plymouth, following his degree in computing and games development.

Aden has been providing IT support for all departments across the hospices, from the clinical teams to fundraising and People Services.

“I’ve learnt you really have to adapt your communication style depending on the type of enquiry you get and their IT ability. It surprised me how much work goes on behind the scenes to ensure the IT systems are up to date, functioning and more importantly, secure to protect confidential patient information.”

Since the pair have been working at St Luke’s, they have been encouraged by the feedback from staff, reminding them what an intrinsic part of the St Luke’s team they have become.

Aden added, “We’ve both received a lot of positive feedback from the people we’ve helped. For people to go out and verbally acknowledge us, it feels like we are making a difference.

“Everyone has been so friendly, it has been a great supportive working environment.”

Thank you to all our apprentices for their hard work and dedication to St Luke’s.

If you are interested in an apprenticeship with St Luke’s then find out more here https://stlukes-hospice.org.uk/apprenticeships-and-placements/

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BLOG: Introducing Nick Thomas, the new chair of St Luke’s board of trustees

 

Nick Thomas, a highly experienced NHS senior manager, has been announced as the new chair of St Luke’s Board of Trustees.

The retired deputy CEO of University Hospitals Plymouth is passionate about quality and believes St Luke’s has a pivotal role to play in raising the standards of end of life care across the wider local system, while maintaining its own well established commitment to service excellence.

He takes over the voluntary role from Charles Hackett, who had been chair since December 2022 and previously served as a member of the board for five years.

“It is a massive privilege to take on a role such as this because St Luke’s has such a huge reputation,” said Nick, who has enjoyed a rich career encompassing multiple aspects of health and care at UHP, including planning, IT, estates and finance.

“You can stop almost anyone on the street in Plymouth and they will have a story to tell about St Luke’s and it’s always positive, which is remarkable. I cannot think of a more prestigious charity to be involved with.”

Originally from Llanelli in South Wales, Nick has lived and worked in Devon for nearly 30 years, becoming part of the community in Ivybridge and in Plympton, where he and his wife now live.

He first came across St Luke’s in the late 1990s as part of a Common Purpose development initiative for board level managers, building a network around how Plymouth is run as a city through core areas like housing and health.

“That is when I first discovered the impact the work of St Luke’s has on end of life care. Then, during my time at Derriford, I became much more aware of St Luke’s.

“At a workshop to discuss health care of the elderly, virtually every example of best practice in end of life care related to St Luke’s; which is remarkable.”

Over the years his attention has returned again and again to the importance of end of life care and a deepening appreciation St Luke’s values around death and dying.

A very personal experience shone the spotlight even further on the importance of everyone having the chance of a “good death”.

“When my father-in-law was coming towards the end of his life he was admitted into hospital. They said he was responding well to treatment and gave the impression he was getting better. No one mentioned the ‘d’ word.

“When I pulled the doctor aside and asked what the prognosis was, he said my father-in-law might recover from his current infection, but then there would be another and maybe another and eventually he would run out of physiological reserve and die. I remember thinking that we need to talk in a different way about this and not give false hope on the premise that it is somehow ‘kinder’. My mother-in-law needed to prepare herself mentally for the inevitable and this sort of ‘kindness’ simply delayed the inevitable reality.

“A pathway coordinator said that he would be discharged into residential care, adding, ‘I’m sorry, but he’s not close enough to death for St Luke’s’. I’m not sure what that meant, but he died a week later.

“I think part of St Luke’s responsibility is to show what good looks like and help others to attain those heights.”

An accountant by training, Nick has most recently been involved in making business cases and business plans and putting commercial projects together.

He believes his experience chairing two other local charities: the Eddystone Trust supporting people with HIV and other blood viruses and Plymouth Access to Housing working with the homeless and people at risk of becoming homeless, will stand him in good stead at St Luke’s.

His other experience includes being a non-executive director at Plymouth Science Park, a member of the Scan4Safety and Quality Improvement national advisory boards, treasurer of Elfordleigh Golf Club and board advisor to Plymouth CIC Engaged Communities.

Trustee and deputy chair Martin Walker said: “All the trustees were delighted to formally approve Nick’s appointment as our new chair. During his application and interview, his leadership skills, charisma and broad experience stood out. Nick brings a wealth of experience from senior NHS management roles, commercial projects, and several positions in the charitable sector. We all look forward to working with him in the years ahead.”

Outgoing chair Charles Hackett added: “I can’t think of a better person to succeed me as chair of the board. Nick is fully in tune with the organisation’s values and the bigger picture of what St Luke’s incredible expertise and strong reputation can offer the broader healthcare system in Plymouth and beyond, and passionate about quality of care.”

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BLOG: Lewis flies the flag for finance and St Luke’s apprenticeships

National Apprenticeship Week 2024

When accounts assistant Lewis Kendall posed for a photo in his gown and mortarboard outside Exeter Cathedral recently, it wasn’t only his long-awaited college graduation he was celebrating.  

The occasion also marked the official end of his time as a St Luke’s apprentice and acknowledged his role as a fully-fledged, permanent member of our Finance Team. 

This week is National Apprenticeships Week (5-11 February), a chance to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

Lewis, from Plympton, is now a proud ambassador for St Luke’s apprenticeships, speaking up about how they allow you to learn on the job as well as support you to study for relevant qualifications.  

It proved to be the perfect option for the 27-year-old who was thrilled to find an alternative route into his chosen field of finance and accountancy.  

He explained: “I didn’t really know what to do after A levels. I got three Bs in Maths, History and Business and went to university at Swansea for a while. I liked the course and the subject, but I didn’t get along with the university style of teaching, so I decided to come home and work for a bit.  

“If someone had told me at the time that there was a really good apprenticeship scheme, rather than going to university, then I would have jumped at that.” 

Lewis struck lucky when he spotted an advertisement in May 2019 for a finance apprentice at St Luke’s. 

“I had a really good interview and was taken on by St Luke’s as part of the finance team, with a day of study leave each week to work towards professional qualifications with the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) through Exeter College. 

“I would definitely recommend apprenticeships. I liked the way I could be taught on day release because you are not just studying, you have work responsibilities too. You pick up practical skills in the workplace – stuff that you would not learn in the classroom. I also felt really supported, not like Uni where you can feel like you are on your own. 

“And because St Luke’s were so generous in paying for my course, I felt a good pressure to do well.” 

Lewis did do really well in his Level 2 and 3 AAT studies, despite having to study mostly online because of Covid restrictions, so St Luke’s gave him the opportunity to carry on to Level 4 – the top AAT qualification. 

“This time I had to travel up to Exeter every Wednesday and St Luke’s were kind enough to cover the cost of my fuel, and in January this year I heard that I’d passed Level 4.” 

The icing on the cake was the chance to receive his certificates at a graduation ceremony at Exeter Cathedral last month, watched by his mum and dad and his girlfriend, Eloise. 

“It was a great day celebrating achieving my qualifications. My mum and dad were really proud, especially because I had previously withdrawn from university.” 

Numbers might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Lewis loves them and he’s proud to be part of a background team that is absolutely essential to the smooth running of the organisation. 

“We are quite an unseen specialist team that makes sure the hospice is financially stable,” he explained. “I think the best thing is knowing that the hard work that we put in helps support the services that all the people at front of house provide – our care teams, our fundraising team, our shops.” 

Before qualifying Lewis’s role was mostly dealing with day to day income and financial queries around donations, working closely with fundraising and supporter care. 

“My team is great. St Luke’s recognised my qualification and experience and had a reshuffle so I could have a place in the finance management side of the organisation.” 

As a fully qualified Accounts Assistant he spends more time now working with Management Accountant Nicola Willcocks. 

“The work I do now is really satisfying in that we are dealing with lots of income and expenditure, putting together all the backroom financial information, helping the management accounts team make decisions about, and analyse, budgets. 

“But I don’t just sit at a desk and play with numbers. I like talking people through the numbers if they need any help with that. Giving them all the information they need enables them to make decisions. I gather the data that helps inform those decisions.” 

Underpinning everything Lewis does at St Luke’s is a sense of pride in the organisation. 

“St Luke’s provides such a unique and great service. I live in Plympton, and it feels good to see our cars going out to see patients, knowing that our team helps to make that happen. It’s wonderful that people in the community look so fondly on St Luke’s and get so excited about fundraising for us.”  

When he can, Lewis likes to help out at some of St Luke’s flagship fundraising events.  

“Volunteering at Midnight Walk is probably one of my favourite things to do. It’s great to see so many people who are working a full day and then are prepared to walk miles around Plymouth until two in the morning to raise money for St Luke’s. I do the donations side, making sure the money collected gets safely back to Turnchapel. And I am there afterwards giving out tea, coffee, prosecco and chocolates. 

“It’s great being sat at a computer with the numbers but actually seeing people out like that is wonderful. It fills you with pride.” 

Outside work, Lewis lives at Chaddlewood with Eloise, and in his spare time he’s a keen golfer and one of the current captains of Thurlestone Golf Club. 

“I absolutely love it. St Luke’s was the club’s charity of the year last year, which was wonderful – they raised a lot of money for the organisation.” 

As a hospice, St Luke’s can offer a number of different apprenticeships like Lewis’ to both internal and external candidates. Apprenticeships can range from administration to events management, retail logistics to health and social care, roles in finance to leadership and management. We pride ourselves on ensuring that all our apprentices are part of the St Luke’s family benefiting from our values and support.

If like Lewis, you would be interested in an apprenticeship at St Luke’s you can find out more here.

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BLOG: Help shape our services in your community!

Do you work in health and social care? If so, we need your views to help shape how our services will look over the next three years.

At St Luke’s, we design our specialist care and support around the ever-changing needs of our patients and their families, and the contribution we can make as a partner in the wider health and social care system. Our community is so important to us, we trust and value your views and want to provide a service that suits you.

We’re putting together our three-year strategy. Would you help us get this right by taking part in our survey, answering key questions about what we do now and how we could best develop in the future? We will listen to all your feedback, together with that of patients and their families as well as our staff and volunteers.

Thank you so much – we really appreciate your insight and time.

Complete the survey here: https://forms.office.com/e/VYi687EHSA

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