Meet our Patron and Trustees
HospiceCare North Northumberland is governed by a Board of Trustees who are appointed to undertake the role on a voluntary basis. They are recruited from the beneficiary community from a range of professions and bring a range of skills to help manage and lead the direction, policy, and strategy of the organisation. We’re always interested to hear from people who feel they have the skills and energy to contribute to our ongoing success and who wish to put themselves forward as a potential trustee. For an informal conversation about the role, please contact our Chair of Trustees by email: admin@hospicecare-nn.org.uk. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Trustee then please scroll to the bottom of this page...
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Lady Joicey
Patron
Harriet hails from Scotland but has lived in Northumberland for almost thirty years, bringing up her four children in the countryside where her husband grew up and where they live. Harriet has been involved with her community and with various charities during these years.
During 2019 and 2020 she has been High Sheriff of Northumberland travelling around the county getting to know many parts of it much better and seeing what wonderful work goes on, much of it voluntary. She has long been a supporter of HCNN and was honoured to be asked to be Patron.
Elaine Beauchamp
Chairperson Board of Trustees
Elaine graduated as an engineer and then worked for Unilever for 20 years, where she qualified as an accountant. As a Unilever manager, she travelled worldwide on business, living in The Netherlands for 5 years. She has extensive experience in corporate and company accounting, internal risk and audit, leadership, and strategy roles as well as the development of diversity within the workplace.
Elaine now works as a self-employed accountant. She has 3 children and lives with her partner in North Northumberland. This is her first voluntary and trustee role. She enjoys many outdoor activities including swimming, cycling, walking, and sailing.
Sue Sherrard
Vice Chair of Trustees & Chair of Clinical
Governance Committee
Sue qualified as a pharmacist and worked as a clinical pharmacist in a number of roles in hospitals in Edinburgh, London, and later in North Tyneside Hospital. She also trained with Macmillan as part of their bereavement befriending team in North Tyneside.
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When Sue and her husband Scott moved to the Scottish Borders in 2011, she took on the role of clinical pharmacist for Berwick and Alnwick Infirmaries, and Rothbury Hospital. At that time Sue joined the Berwickshire Association for Voluntary Service (BAVS) as a trustee athen as vice-chair. She enjoyed those roles until she retired. Sue enjoys cooking, walking, pilates, theatre, and music. She also enjoys travel both in the UK and Europe, especially Italy.
John Cooke MBE
Trustee
John spent many years in the hospitality industry in training, marketing, and operational roles with Scottish and Newcastle Breweries before joining Northumberland Training and Enterprise Council (NTEC) as General Manager of the Enterprise Division. Subsequent to the closure of TEC’s John became Managing Director of Northumberland Guidance Company, Connections, and other companies within the Longhirst Group.
John has performed a number of public service roles including being a Member of the Independent Monitoring Board, HMP Acklington (now HMP Northumberland), Northumbria Police Authority, and as a Pension Scheme Trustee/Director with the Water and Associated Employers Pension Scheme. John has been a Reader in the Church of England for over 39 years currently serving at the church of St Michael and St. Paul Alnwick. In his spare time, John enjoys cooking, walking, and travel, especially to Thailand.
David Thorne
Trustee
David is a former Registered Nurse and NHS senior manager having worked in many north east NHS organisations. He has also worked within global pharmaceutical and medical device companies. He continues to work part time with local GP practices and in consultancy around health care innovations.
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David lives in Rothbury and enjoys the opportunities available to get out with his energetic dog. He has been a past trustee and chair of charities and is eager to support HospiceCare North Northumberland.
Sir Alan Craft
Trustee
Alan was born in Newcastle and qualified in medicine there. He pursued a career working with children and established a regional cancer service for children. In the early days, more than 80% of children with cancer died so palliative care was an important part of his work. He has undertaken reviews of children’s and adult palliative care for the Secretary of State for Health.
Alan is President of Together for Short Lives, the national charity for children’s palliative care. He lives in Embleton with his wife who was formerly Chairman of St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle. He is also a non-executive director of Northumbria NHS Trust and Chairman of Governors of Embleton Primary School.
Alyson Raine
Trustee
Alyson was born in Alnwick and has lived and worked in Northumberland as a Registered Mental Health nurse. She started in the NHS in 1986 and Mental health and well-being have always been her priority for patients and staff. She currently works part-time in Northumbria Health Care as a deputy director after flexi retiring. She has experience in managing a range of acute and community services.
Alyson is from a large family and likes to spend time with her family and friends. She likes trying fresh scones in a local cafe after a walk in our local area, and enjoys reading or travelling both abroad or for weekends away in the UK. Alyson is the chair of the Northumbria retirement fellowship which helps retirees from health and social care keep social connections with colleagues during the transition of retiring.
TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
Every charity has a Board of Trustees – a group of volunteers who ensure that the charity is effective in carrying out its charitable purpose. Trustees have responsibilities for overseeing the work of the charity, ensuring it is financially stable, well run, compliant, and fulfilling the charity objectives HospiceCare North Northumberland Board of Trustees has a wide range of expertise and every Trustee is passionate about the care we provide to our patients and their families.
Training and support are provided, and this is ongoing. There are 6 main elements that trustees must:
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Follow the rules in the charity’s governing document
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Understand the finance
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Check that controls and procedures work
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Ask difficult questions and challenge assumptions
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Follow proper decision-making principles
Our Board of Trustees currently meets 6 times a year for two-hour evening meetings, as well as being a member of at least one subcommittee which also 6 times a year. Usually, membership of a subcommittee involves a trustee’s field of expertise, a particular interest, or skill. Ideally, the minimum term for a Trustee is three years.​
What you do as a Trustee
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Use your insight and experience to help us achieve our goals and ambitions.
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Contribute to strategic thinking and planning particularly regarding the future direction of the Hospice.
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Act in the best interests of the Hospice.
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Act as an ambassador for the charity.
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Attend Board meetings and allocated designated sub-committees.
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Work closely with the Chief Executive, and Senior Management Team.
Skills and attributes required to be a Hospice Trustee
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Passionate about the work of the Hospice. At HospiceCare North Northumberland the needs of our patients, their families, and their carers always come first and are at the heart of everything we do.
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Be committed and ensure you have the time to attend meetings.
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Bring specific knowledge and experience.
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Can think strategically, critically and maintain confidentiality.
Recruitment to the Board of Trustees
The Hospice usually recruits on an annual basis, but we are always keen to hear from people interested in the role throughout the year. We have a process for the recruitment of trustees ensuring that we can draw on a diverse range of skills, expertise, experience, and backgrounds and that the Board is a representative of the community we serve. If you’re interested in becoming a Trustee, please email a copy of your CV with a cover letter or supporting statement highlighting the value to feel you can bring to the team at the Hospice to: admin@hospicecare-nn.org.uk