St Giles Hospice has reinforced its trustee board with the recruitment of four new trustees who bring a wealth of experience to the charity as it plans for the future beyond COVID-19.  

The Board of Trustees is made up of members of the community which the charity serves. Trustees help to ensure that the community is represented in decision-making as St Giles meets its objectives while maintaining its core philosophy and values.  

Chair of Trustees Jo Maidment, who has been a trustee at St Giles since 2008, said she was delighted to welcome the new trustees, adding that they would bring a wealth of experience to the hospice.  

She said: “As a trustee board, we are committed to ensuring that St Giles Hospice is led and governed effectively and that we continue to meet the needs of local people living with terminal illnesses and their families.  

“Our four new trustees bring with them skills and expertise in their fields which will be key in helping St Giles Hospice to meet the challenges we will face in the years ahead following the Coronavirus pandemic, and include Paul Jennings, the new Chair of Hospice UK, the national charity which provides the voice for hospices and hospice care across the UK.  

“Our other new trustees bring international experience in transforming health systems and advising governments and industry, in promoting excellence and development of cancer care, and in running charities and community groups.  

“The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has had a devastating effect upon charities and voluntary services across the UK.  As a local charity, St Giles has also been affected, in particular due to the loss of income from its shop network and the cancellation of fundraising events.   

“St Giles is a well-known and respected local charity with strong financial oversight and governance, which received an “outstanding” rating following its inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last year, and we aim to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with a renewed resolve and clear vision for the future.”  

The four new trustees are:  

·         Paul Jennings, who is currently Chair of Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group. Paul has just been appointed Chair of Hospice UK, having just stepped down after serving ten years as a trustee and latterly Chair of the ExtraCare Charitable Trust. He is also Chair of the Gold Standards Framework, which delivers training and education in end of life care.  

·         Robin Vickers, who is currently Director of Health and Human Services, Infrastructure Government and Healthcare at KPMG, based in Birmingham. Robin has wide experience as a consultant in running and transforming major businesses in the technology and healthcare sectors, working across Europe, the Asia Pacific region and Israel. He has worked as an adviser to governments and industry within the health and life sciences sector.  

·         Simon James, who has rejoined the Board after first becoming a St Giles trustee in 2001. He was Chairman of the charity between 2011 and 2015 and Deputy Chairman until 2016. Simon is a consultant with Ansons Solicitors of Lichfield and Cannock and holds a number of key roles within a wide range of local charities and community organisations including Lichfield Conduit Lands Trust, Lichfield Municipal Charities, The Mary Slater Charity, Michael Lowe and Associated Charities, Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust and the HE and CT Robinson Charitable Trust for Lokono Arawak and Carib Indians.  

·         Cath Finn, who qualified as a doctor in 1982 and worked as a consultant gynaecologist in the NHS until 2009 and then in the independent sector until her retirement in 2018. Cath has huge experience in promoting best practice and excellence in cancer care in both the NHS and the private sector and was involved in developing and expanding NHS cancer services at local, regional and national levels. She is an expert in clinical governance and medical workforce development, and interacted with St Giles Hospice during her medical career, driven by a passion for developing end of life and palliative care services.  

Speaking about her new role, Cath said: “I am delighted to join the Board of Trustees at St Giles Hospice. I look forward to supporting the Board in the delivery and further development of their services which I know are greatly appreciated by the communities which they serve.”  

For more information about St Giles Hospice and the expert care it provides, please visit www.stgileshospice.com