Sarah Green - Farleigh’s new Chief Executive
In our 108th edition of The Lantern, we introduce our new Chief Executive Sarah Green, who after working in the charity sector for the last 20 years has now returned to hospice care.
Sarah said, "As I sit and write this piece, I am week three into my new role as Chief Executive at Farleigh Hospice. It has been an absolute pleasure to return to work in hospice care.Hospices have such a special place in the hearts of their local communities. Last night, I spent a lovely evening with some of the fundraising team thanking 63 London Marathon runners who raised an amazing £162,578 for Farleigh.
You could feel the sense of pride and happiness from everyone in that room for what they had achieved for their local hospice. Many spoke to me about the reasons why they had chosen to undertake this challenge, as you can imagine often to say thank you for the depth of care and support the hospice showed to their loved one, to them and to their extended family and friends.
In terms of my background, I have spent the last 20 years working within the charity sector and mainly within health care. Over the last five years I have been the CEO at The Katie Piper Foundation, a charity that provides rehabilitation for survivors of burns. Although this charity works across national rather than local health care, the tailored, holistic and whole person approach has much synergy with hospice care. Prior to this, I have worked for a number of years at two other local hospices leading mainly on income generation and communications.
When I came for my interview for this role I had a tour of the hospice site at North Court Road. I met a wide range of staff and volunteers on that day and it was very apparent that they all shared common values of caring, respect and dedication. For me this is such a special and important measure of culture and one that shone out. Not only did it make me passionate about wanting to work here, but it echoed the ‘One Team’ approach which is at the centre of Farleigh’s strategy.
I am currently absorbing as much as I can about Farleigh Hospice and meeting staff, volunteers, patients and families. It is so important for me to be able to do this to truly understand what makes Farleigh Hospice have such a strong and well-respected role within this local community.
When reflecting back on the last couple of years and mainly since the pandemic, the charity sector has seen a huge change both in terms of an increase in demand for services and a shift in the most effective ways to generate income. Farleigh Hospice has responded well to this by introducing innovative ways in which to support the local community, whilst also exploring new and different ways of making money. During this time there has also been a shift for the voluntary sector within local health care and hospices now have an opportunity to work in a different way with the NHS, with a greater focus on collaboration. This must always be done with clarity of the end goal - ensuring care for those at the end of life is joined up and gives patients, families and carers what they need, in the right place and at the right time.
Most organisations have a strategy for the way ahead and Farleigh is no different, with a new and clear plan for the next four years, which features three simple pillars of Inspiring, Innovating and Investing. I feel privileged to be the new Chief Executive and am excited to work with staff, volunteers, trustees, the local NHS and people across mid Essex to work towards this plan and deliver the care and support that is needed in end of life and bereavement care."
