LANCASHIRE LEADERS By Rob Kelly
me to Rossendale Hospital. I ended up working on an older people’s ward and just loved talking to people.”
From there, she trained at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, worked across the NHS and Scotland, and eventually returned to Lancashire.
Helen, who has two children and three grandchildren, says: “My heart had always been in palliative and end-of-life care. Working in hospice care is what I went into nursing to deliver.”
She has held multiple roles at Pendleside – from health and wellbeing manager to clinical manager – before becoming chief executive a decade ago.
Helen McVey A CARING APPROACH
Helen McVey is a passionate advocate for the hospice sector and the urgent need for fairer funding to support the vital care they deliver to the communities they serve.
As chief executive of Pendleside Hospice, which delivers specialist palliative care to more than 2,000 people annually across Burnley and Pendle, she is acutely aware of the growing financial pressures facing the sector.
Unlike the NHS, hospices like Pendleside are not fully funded by the state and rely on charity contributions for about two thirds of their funding. And the squeeze is on.
The need for a better funding model is becoming increasingly urgent. In October Hospice UK, which represents more than 200 institutions, warned hospices in England were “on the brink” as a result of “surging costs.”
It revealed that 16 hospices had already made “significant service cuts” and that two in five of all UK hospices were planning cuts this year.
We’re fighting that corner for palliative and end-of-life care to be better funded nationally.”
Pendleside is continually looking for ways to engage with business, and is a leader in the sector with innovative fundraising ideas that range from ‘Race Across Pendle’, inspired by the TV show Race Across the World, to its ‘Great Iceland Trek’ which took place in October.
Last year’s Pendleside Does Strictly event, based on the popular BBC dance show, raised more than £88,000.
Helen says: “Corporate fundraising is so important to Pendleside and indeed to all hospices.
“Businesses support the hospice in so many ways including fundraising, donations in kind, and volunteering. We are so lucky to have the support of our business community in Burnley and Pendle.”
The 55-year-old adds: “We’ve had such positive feedback from those who get involved about how collaboration with the hospice has
My heart had always been in palliative and
end-of-life care. Working in hospice care is what I went into nursing to deliver
More than 75 per cent of Pendleside’s operating costs are staff-related, with the remaining 25 per cent covering its vital support services.
And with annual operating costs of £6.5m, the Burnley hospice relies heavily on community and business support for its survival.
Helen, who also chairs the Lancashire and South Cumbria Hospices Together collaborative, made up of leaders from the hospices across the area, says: “Nationally, more than 90 per cent of hospices are running with deficit budgets. In other areas, we’re seeing hospices close down.
“We’re working with our integrated care board to develop a business case for better funding.
helped raise their profile, created networking opportunities, and brought teams together – helping with recruitment and retention.
“Our events are a really important part of income generation. It’s imperative they appeal to a wide demographic and provide a positive experience. Our fundraising team are fantastic and really forward-thinking.
“We’re exploring fresh ideas, including how digital technology can enhance our fundraising efforts.”
Helen’s journey to leadership could have taken a different path in her teenage years.
She says: “It all started when I was 14. I wanted to do catering but couldn’t, so my school sent
“I’ve worked in lots of other organisations, but working in hospice care is different,” she says. “People want to do a good job, and we’re all pulling together.”
HELEN’S TAKE ON LEADERSHIP
What do you think makes a good leader?
You need to be empathetic, a good listener, take time to do your homework properly and be a real team player. You need to gain the trust of those you work with whether that be in your own organisation or working collaboratively with others outside your business. Ultimately, it’s about working together to create that vision for the future but accepting when things need to change and adapting when required.
Which leaders have inspired you and why?
Starting with my dad, he was a global sales manager for a chemical company while I was growing up, and I always admired him for what he did. He’s been my inspiration throughout my career, sadly he died in 2010.
Others are Dame Ciceley Saunders, a nurse and social worker, who subsequently trained as a physician and founded the modern hospice movement. Muriel Jobling was the first female lawyer in Burnley and subsequently founder of Pendleside. What I admired most about Muriel was how she rallied people from across the community together to build a hospice.
What qualities does a leader need?
It is important to be interested in the people you work alongside and ultimately being able to connect with others. It’s that ability to work strategically and look to the future, through an internal and external lens. To be open to challenge, new ideas and ways of doing things.
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