Rambling Rich – December 2023

Kia ora everyone,

We have had a busy end to the year with the hospice services under significant pressure during an increasingly under-resourced period for the whole of healthcare. The team are working really hard to cover gaps in the team due to the difficult recruitment environment. With Christmas on the horizon I know that the team appreciate the support we get at this time of year from our patients, their families and our community in general.

In November we had our AGM where we said farewell to Vanessa Hamm, David McClatchy, and Glenda Hutchison from the Board. We welcomed four new Board members:

• Debbie Pattullo
• Simon Darmody
• Sue Lund
• Skye Duthie

I am also pleased to announce Debbie Pattullo is our new Board Chair and the team and I are looking forward to working with her.

You’ll see in this issue the large amount of work the team are also doing to raise funds for Waipuna Hospice services – these are so important for our patients and families, and we could not provide what we do without the excellent support from you, our community.

It is difficult to ask for funds when costs are rising for everyone – a fact that is now the subject of a national campaign being coordinated by Hospice NZ. You can find out more and learn about how to support this campaign by visiting www.hospice.org.nz/get-involved/fund-us-fairly/. This campaign is to advocate to the new incoming government that hospices are still experiencing inequity of funding compared with other health services provided by Te Whatu Ora.

As this is the last newsletter of the year, I wish you all a peaceful and merry Christmas. Remember when you get new to replace old – please consider donating your quality secondhand goods to our shops!

Ngā mihi,

Rich

This update was first published in our newsletter – Waipuna Connections, issue 85.