Minutes of the AGM May 2007

The League of Friends
of Fairford Hospital

( Reg. Charity No: 1006416 )

MINUTES OF THE AGM 10 MAY 2007
Present: Mr Martin Harwood (Vice-Chairman) and 15 members. 1.1 Apologies were received from Mr David Phillips, Mrs Margaret Pursch, Mrs Sue Rowe, Mrs Jo Williams, Mrs Pat Harris, Ms Frances Whiteman, Dr Guy Knights, Sir Peter Miles and Mrs Sue Souter.	2.1 Minutes of the last AGM on Wednesday 10th May 2006 were available in the room for those who had not seen them and were signed and accepted as an accurate record. 3.1 Matters Arising: There were no matters arising not covered by the Agenda.
4.1 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
The Vice Chairman gave the apologies of Mr David Phillips, Chair, who was unable to be present due to a family commitment but had prepared his report which was read to those present. Fairford and Lechlade Hospital Project - during the last year the League has continued to work with Shaw Healthcare, the PCT, local Doctors and the Ritter/Thompson families with a view to building a new medical facility in Fairford. Shaw Healthcare has now drawn up what we expect to be a final plan of the development. The accommodation consists of a 48 bedded care home to include 10 Intermediate Care beds, outpatient facilities, shared Physio and Occupational Therapy suites and a lunch club on a 2¼ acre site. Lawyers for the League and the Ritter/Thompson families are in touch about the drawing up of an Option Agreement in an endeavour to secure the land. Negotiations with the PCT have not progressed as quickly as we would have wished. In October 2006 the 3 Gloucestershire PCTs merged and the new PCT is looking afresh at the provision of Intermediate Care beds in Fairford. This is to be discussed at the PCT Board meeting on 31st May. If the response is positive all interested parties can move towards drawing up Heads of Agreement and proceeding with a planning application. Thus a new build medical facility remains a possibility for this area of SE Gloucestershire and the League’s Management Committee continues to work towards this end. I would like to pay tribute Jim Barge and Alison Ward for all their hard work on our small negotiating team. The League has had a very busy year with its traditional activities. There will be separate reports on the Hospital, Fairford Surgery and Home Nursing to follow under item 5. Volunteer Drivers’ Scheme - Mary Stephens, who has been our Co-ordinator for the past 2 years has given up this role as she has gone into business with her family. I am sure you would wish to thank Mary for her hard work over the past two years and wish her well in her new venture. We have been fortunate that Val Harvey, one of our voluntary drivers who has covered Mary’s absence on several occasions, has agreed to take over the role with immediate effect. As you know, there are a lot of changes in the National Health Service which are having an effect on our car service as some patients are being referred to different hospitals and we are now also working in co-operation with the Cotswold Council of Voluntary Service who do the car journeys for the ambulance service and transport patients who are entitled to free transport because of specific medical conditions. The Friends’ voluntary car service will remain independent and operate separately but there are occasions when we help each other if there is a problem finding a driver for a specific appointment. We are preparing leaflets about the car service, explaining to patients how to make contact to arrange transport and giving more information about the service. At the same time, we are advertising for more drivers for the Friends’ Voluntary Car Service. Our drivers made 156 journeys for patients from the Fairford Practice between January and April and 72 for patients from the Lechlade Practice. Most of our volunteers have other commitments and are not available every day of the week and we try not to call on any of them too often so we would like more names on our books. Most journeys are to the surgeries, Cirencester, Cheltenham, Gloucester or Swindon and drivers can specify which days they are not available and whether there are any hospitals they prefer not to do. If you are able to help us – or can persuade anybody else – please ask them to contact Val Harvey, our new Co-ordinator on 01285 750557. Swindon Contract - The Great Western Hospital at Swindon now runs regular successful out patient clinics at Fairford Hospital and some local patients go to Swindon for investigations and treatment. This has affected the pattern of our transport service, but with the co-operation of the hospital administration parking is easier than in the past and discussion is in progress about providing assistance to take frail patients to the various departments and re-uniting them with their drivers when they are ready to go home. The revised road lay-out on the A419 now make it easier to reach the hospital. Counselling - the counselling sessions at Fairford and Lechlade cost the League £10,150 in 2006 against almost £13,000 the previous year. We finance about 2/3rds of the total cost. Thanks to the Edna Dawes bequest we have continued our counselling service commitment to Farmor’s School. We are in the last year of a 2 year pilot scheme costing £7,500 per annum so that students can be counselled at school. There are a surprisingly wide range of dilemmas requiring support and we are glad to have an opportunity to assist young people.	The Edna Dawes Lunch Club - the Club now meets in the sitting room of the Hospital. It is at full capacity of 16. Sally White, the co-ordinator, works extremely hard to ensure a wide variety of events and food is now prepared by an outside caterer. Terese Wrona, Sally’s deputy, was appointed during the year adding greatly to the smooth running of the Club. Unfortunately she resigned recently because she is looking for fulltime employment. We are pleased to report that Pat Harris has agreed to take on her role. Physiotherapy - since 2005 the Friends’ have had a contract with the Primary Care Trust Physiotherapy Service to run the scheme which provides physiotherapy to elderly patients on the recommendation of the GP’s. Normally this results in a shorter waiting time for appointments but there have been some delays this year because of staff absence. The problem is now resolved and the service should shortly be back to normal but it is kept under regular review. New Initiatives First Responders Scheme - we are now supporting a First Responders scheme in this area. First Responders are adults of either sex who have been trained to support the Ambulance service in their response to emergency calls. First Responders are people who live locally and who respond to local emergencies. They are linked to the 999 service and will be contacted by the emergency service at the same time as the ambulance is called. Thus, if a First Responder lives in Fairford he or she is likely to be called before the ambulance arrives. First Responders are not only trained to deal with an emergency but carry with them a defibrillator and other equipment. The scheme is limited to the Fairford and Lechlade areas with expenditure capped at £10,000 and has proved to be very successful. Community Friend - it appears that many people are not aware of the support services which are already available to patients in the community and the Friends are proposing to appoint someone later in the year who will draw up an information base of the services which are available and how to get them. We shall be able to identify any gaps and then discuss what action we can take to fill them. Support to people in their own homes is going to become increasingly important in the future and many people do not know where to get advice and information – we hope to fill that gap by providing a Community Friend who will be easily accessible and provide this service. House to House Collection - in the circumstances we had an excellent response this year by raising £18,000. I must pay tribute to Gail Bloxham, who co-ordinates the event. The Management Committee is particularly grateful for all the hard work Gail puts in for this and other matters. Clearly the House to House would not have been so successful without the help of our co-ordinators and collectors. The House to House is our major fundraising activity and I am really very grateful to everyone who helped. I am aware that a number of Friends have questioned the need to continue to give donations in the light of what happened at Fairford Hospital. Irrespective of the outcome of the Fairford and Lechlade Hospital Project the League will continue to provide services in the community which seem to be in ever greater demand. Donations through the Hospital are inevitably down and in order to continue our activities must be funded. We rely entirely on donations and fund raising events to achieve this. I must conclude my report by saying a very big thank you to all the members of the League of Friends and in particular to the many helpers from drivers to receptionists, from house to house collectors and co-ordinators, from fund raisers to coffee makers, from nurses to physios, and to the members of the Management and General Committees and I must also say thanks to all those who have supported us financially. It would be invidious to mention some because I could not mention everyone. Thank you again to all our supporters in Lechlade, Fairford and the surrounding villages. We are indeed lucky to have so many generous people prepared to help their community. If there are no further questions or comments I am now proposing to ask Maureen Burton to report on Fairford Hospital.
5.1 REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES
Hospital – Maureen Burton advised that the last year had seen many changes in the Hospital. In-patient services closed at the end February 2006. The changes to the hospital commenced in June 2006, following many consultations with the Cotswold and Vale PCT and both Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation Trust and Swindon & Marlborough NHS Trust to develop out-patient services. In August, Swindon was awarded the contract to develop the out-patient services, and the first clinic commenced in September 2006. At that time the staff numbered just 4, herself and the part-time staff consisting of receptionist, porter/handyman and housekeeper. The clinics from Swindon had increased slowly, but were continuing to increase. To support some of the clinics, the hospital had an xray department, which offered limited services. The hospital also maintained some Gloucestershire Foundation Trust clinics and a PCT dermatology clinic run by a local GP. There was also the podiatrist attending 2 full days per week, and the physiotherapy department providing 2 days per week for a rehab/falls service and also 2 physiotherapists providing an out-patient service also on two days per week. In October all 3 Primary Care Trusts in Gloucestershire merged into the Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust. The Trust was currently developing a new structure of management and it was hoped that the new structure would continue to support the new development of increased out-patient services and look for ways to ensure the future of the hospital. The staff had now increased with the addition of Ann Speller, who many may remember as a Sister at Fairford in-patients for many years, and also Dianne Gunn who again worked as a Health Care Assistant, working with the in-patients. It was felt that this was a good sign that Fairford still had a valuable use for the community. Many of the people attending the new services were pleased that the hospital remained open, the Consultants enjoyed the clinics held there and all looked forward to the future increase in activity.	Fairford Surgery – Dr Andrew Sabourin expressed the appreciation of the doctors, nurses, staff and patients of the surgery for the help provided by the League of Friends. Support for counselling had made a huge difference and following modernisation of counselling services patients could now use a computer programme. This had been very successful resulting in less direct counselling consultations. Similarly the Volunteer Car Drivers were a great help as was the prescription delivery service, particularly for those patients without transport and it was hoped this would be extended to other villages. The changes in providing physiotherapy had gone seamlessly. Home Nursing – Ros Hart reported that the Home Nursing scheme was set up 10 years to look after sick and terminally ill patients at home and this service was much appreciated by patients and their families. The number of nurses had reduced by 2 to 8 and Barbara Gibbs had retired as Deputy Co-ordinator and been replaced by Sally Salter. Thanks to the League for funding the scheme and new nurses would always be welcome.
6.1 TREASURER'S REPORT
The Vice Chairman thanked Jim Barge for his hard work as Treasurer over the year and advised that the Accounts had been audited and approved by the Management Committee. The Treasurer distributed Summarised Accounts for 2006 and explained that the Edna Dawes Bequest was ring fenced for specific schemes and Physiotherapy funds were also ring fenced. Physiotherapy showed income of £4,719 with expenditure on charitable activities of £3,042. Under the General column gross income for the year was £73,644 with administration and fund-raising expense of £10,513, resulting in a net income for the year of £63,131. Total net income for the year was £68,200 with total expenditure of £45,824 showing a surplus of £22,376 and total funds of £474,676.	The Treasurer advised that whilst the House to House Collection was slightly down on last year the number of completed Bankers Order forms had increased. He further advised that if a new build was undertaken the land would cost £125,000 and there would be substantial legal costs but that the League had funds of £353,813 freely available (not ring fenced). The question was raised about the drop in physiotherapy costs between 2005 and 2006 but this was due to changes in operation of the physiotherapy service. The point was made that headed notepaper for the First Responders acknowledged support from the Edna Dawes bequest and the League should receive similar acknowledgment. It was proposed by Gerry Willis and seconded by Alison Ward that the Accounts should be approved – AND AGREED.
7.1 ELECTION OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Vice Chairman explained that members of the Management Committee were by definition management trustees and had the associated legal responsibilities for management of the charity. These responsibilities were not onerous but nevertheless existed. The Constitution required a minimum of 10 and not more than 20 members of the Management Committee who would select a Chairman at its first meeting and David Phillips confirmed that he was happy to stand again as Chairman if the Management Committee so wished. He paid tribute to Ros Leigh who resigned from the Management Committee the previous year to undertake 6 months missionary work in India for her contribution to the Committee over the years, both in the capacity of Vice Chair and on the negotiating group with regard to a possible new build medical facility. He also advised that Sue Rowe did not wish to stand for re-election and thanked her for the knowledge and experience of the voluntary sector that she had brought to the Committee.	The following had agreed to stand again on the Management Committee: Mr David Phillips, Mr Jim Barge, Mrs Barbara Gibbs, Mrs Ros Hart, Mr Martin Harwood, Dr Guy Knights, Dr Veronica Sawicki, Mrs Jo Williams, Mr Gerry Willis, Ms Alison Ward and Dr Roger Johnson. In addition Mr David Chapman offered to stand on the Management Committee. In an ex officio were: Mrs Pat Harris, Maureen Burton and Mrs Val Harvey officio capacity. Proposed by Dr Sabourin, seconded by Frazer Hart – AND AGREED.
8.1 APPOINTMENT OF THE SOCIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE
The Chairman expressed thanks to all those who serviced on the Social Events Committee. The following had agreed to stand: Mrs Sue Souter, Mrs Ann Brill, Mrs Pat Harris, Mrs Ros Godden, Mrs Margaret Pursch, Miss Frances Whiteman, Mrs Iris Ward and Mrs Madeline Phillips. Proposed by Gerry Willis and seconded by Barbara Gibbs – AND AGREED.	The Vice Chairman advised that after 35 years of loyal service Jean Bartlett had resigned from this Committee and as a tribute for all that she had done towards the social activities of the League she was presented with garden centre gift vouchers and flowers.
9.1 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The Vice Chairman announced that Sir Peter Miles had resigned as Vice President of the League as he had moved house. The Chairman would write to thank him for all his support. There then followed a series of questions: Q. The differences in cost and services provided by car driver schemes operated by the League and the CCVS? A. This was under review and the League were keen to keep this service going, Q. How much benefit the new medical facilities would be to the local doctors? A. 10 medical care beds would be available for use by the local community. All 4 Fairford Doctors were very keen to support the new facility and understood that the Doctors at the Lechlade Surgery were of the same opinion.	Q. About looking after patients that were from outside the area? A. The League of Friends wanted to tie the PCT down as to what the beds would be used for and Fairford Surgery would also endeavour to do this.Q. What is an intermediate care bed? A. Social Services had one definition, Doctors would have another. Q. Would Fairford Surgery in time become part of the new facility and if so was more land needed? A. The idea of moving the surgery into the new facility in the fullness of time would not be ruled out and when the plans for the new facility were finalised perhaps some provision could be made for this possibility. As there were no more questions the Vice Chairman advised that the formal business of the meeting was concluded and invited those present to remain for tea or coffee.