Jo's Final Farewell

18th December, 2023

Goodbye and Thank You!

It’s with a mixture of sadness and excitement that I write this final newsletter: sadness because the best and most rewarding job I have had is about to end, and excitement because I am looking forward to a happy, healthy retirement with my husband, hopefully filling our time with lots of travel, reading and dog walking.

The new hospice CEO, Rob Jones, and I are fortunate to have a three-month handover period and he will be taking over the full-time running of our operation from the start of January. He is well prepared for the task, and I believe he is exactly the right person to take the hospice forward as it enters a new chapter in its history. Rob is not another me! His skills are what the hospice needs now with his background being in finance and accountancy rather than nursing. He has also been CEO of a hospice in Wales. You will hear more about him in the January newsletter.

I’m a Kentish girl who came to Guernsey for the first time in September 2006. Before then, I spent 13 years as the Director of Nursing at Pilgrim’s Hospices in Margate, Canterbury and Ashford - and was responsible for the running of all three institutions as part of the senior medical team. I enjoyed my time there but, as the organisation got bigger, I found I was getting further and further away from our patients and spent a large amount of time travelling. At the time, I was approaching 50 and decided that it was the right time to move on.

In 2006 I knew very little about Guernsey but saw an advertisement for someone to run Les Bourgs. I liked the fact that it was a small operation on one site, and I was excited by the prospect of project managing a new hospice build as I had at Pilgrim. I felt strongly that this would fit my skill set and allow me to work with patients and their families again.

I came to Guernsey on a five-year licence but expected to complete the building project after three years. As it turned out it took longer than expected to get planning permission, raise the required funding, and get the new hospice built. My licence was extended to seven years and then a 15-year licence was agreed as there were still a number of tasks that needed to be completed.

I have been here ever since, and it has undoubtedly been the best part of my career. I started nursing at 17 and have been extremely fortunate and have managed to avoid spending too much time in operating theatres and maternity wards, both of which I didn’t enjoy. I came into hospice care in my forties which was probably the right time, and I am pleased to end my career at Les Bourgs as we have a fantastic hospice, a wonderful team, loyal supporters, and I wanted to go while I was still enjoying it.

The operation is very different and much bigger now compared to the day when I started, all our running costs have gone up and we have to comply with more regulation such as cyber security and data protection. We have to operate with sound business practices and Rob’s experience in these areas will be invaluable. This doesn’t detract from what happens in the In Patient Unit. We will still deliver care to them in an exceptional way via an exceptional team. That will never change.

I work with some lovely people and I’m very proud of what they do. Stephen Oliphant has retired from the hospice board of directors, and I thank him for his valuable input over the years. John Roche has joined and will be an important member of our team in the future. At this point I want to thank the entire board, all of whom are volunteers, for supporting me and giving me the structure that has allowed me to do the job.

Most importantly I want to thank the people of Guernsey for their wonderful support. They raise funds for us year after year and without their kindness and generosity we would not have such a fantastic hospice, of which I am extremely proud!

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Jo