The winner for this category is:Highly commended were: |
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beat
“Reaching more people with eating disorders”
There are over 1.1 million people in the UK directly affected by eating disorders, as well as their families, friends and carers. The Eating Disorders Association is the UK’s leading charity in this area, but it was only reaching 3 per cent of those who needed its assistance. Says chief executive Susan Ringwood: ‘Too many times people were saying “I wish I’d heard of you five or six years ago”’.
In Autumn 2005, a brand review was initiated, involving extensive stakeholder consultation. These revealed a lack of awareness about the organisation and its work, and a belief that eating disorders were portrayed in the media as a fad or a fashion rather than a serious mental health disorder. Significantly, the name Eating Disorders Association was seen by both adults and young people as too medical, stuffy and dull, and gave the impression of conducting research or working with professionals rather than providing practical help and support. The result was the realisation that the whole organisation was going to have to change.
With the help of a team of designers, an entirely new brand was launched in February 2007, changing the charity’s image to one of an organisation with a clear, aspirational vision. A new website was developed, with active input of those affected by eating disorders, providing tips, practical information and recovery stories, and new literature was produced, including a magazine, Upbeat.
The rebrand launch provided the biggest media success the organisation had ever had, with 180 mentions in national media, and during the month it responded to more helpline calls and emails than ever before. The website received over 26,000 unique visitors and over 1,500 messages were posted on the site’s message boards. It is these successes that led the judges to describe the project as ‘an exemplar story of how you might approach the whole rebranding process’.
Their efforts paid off in February 2006 when MPs voted by a majority of 200 for legislation containing restrictions which exceeded the Government’s compromise proposals in the original Health Bill. ‘We had to campaign to improve the bill,’ explains Willmore. ’It was originally going to be a partial ban but we worked with the Health Select Committee in the Commons to get a full ban and a free vote.’
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Susan Ringwood |
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Beechwood Cancer Care Centre
“Turning around a failing organisation”
‘Our past chief executive had a heart of gold but was spending money we didn’t have’, says current chief executive Allen Leitch Whittaker. ‘Trustees were coming in for meetings saying everything was alright, but behind the scenes it was falling apart. The issues had to be brought into the light.’
Matters came to a head for the day care centre, which offers psychological support to cancer patients, carers and families, in August 2000 when the recently appointed Whittaker announced there was no money for the month’s salaries. Furthermore, the charity’s accounts showed a £92,000 deficit, with no reserves. Having decided to fight for survival rather than close or merge with another charity, Beechwood embarked on a ten-year plan for initial survival, financial stability, growth and sustainability for the future.
An arrangement with the NHS was negotiated, temporarily reducing the service level agreement requirements. Staff worked part time, some without any pay at all, on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis. Once the initial storm was weathered, confidence grew among the local community that the new management was not a lost cause, and fundraising income began to grow. By matching actual income to services provided, at the end of March 2001 a £3,432 surplus was recorded.
With the achievement of stability and growth, targets were set through consultation, such as reducing the dependence on the local Primary Care Trust, which provided 43 per cent of funding, and generating reserves to buy back the Centre’s base in Stockport. The charity is now preparing to open a Macmillan Information Centre, having secured a grant from Macmillan Cancer Support, undertake a building refurbishment, and open a new charity shop.
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Allen Leitch Whittaker |
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The Children’s Trust
“Bridging the gap between hospital and home”
Around the UK there are children living on hospital wards for months or even years at a time, unable to be discharged because they are too medically complex to be cared for at home, even with the support of community carers. They are medically stable but dependent on complex technology, such as tracheostomies or ventilators, to help them breathe. Such children have little privacy, limited access to family and no opportunities for play or outings.
Liz Bray, head of nursing at the Children’s Trust, says it was a logical step to set up a transitional service, acting as a bridge between hospital and home. ‘Doctors and Primary Care Trusts who were aware of our expertise had been contacting us, trying to find a way for a growing population of children stuck in hospital to move on. We knew that, with the right input and support, these children could be taken out of an unsuitable hospital environment and eventually return home.’
Funds from voluntary donations were used to refurbish a section of the Trust’s residential facilities, providing three bright, spacious bedrooms for children, with extra beds for parents, and state of the art medical equipment. Nurses were recruited who already had the necessary core skills having worked with technology-dependent children in hospitals.
The transitional care unit, known as the Larches, opened in July 2006, with one resident followed in the same month by a second, and a third in August. By February 2007 two had been successfully discharged ahead of schedule, the second of which benefited greatly from the input of regular therapies. In the Trust’s internal newsletter, he wrote: ‘I’ve enjoyed it here because I’ve learned lots and I can do lots more movement. And when I first came to The Children's Trust I couldn’t talk. In December I started talking very good because I had a speaking valve on. On 5 February 2007 I’m going home forever. I can’t wait until I go home, it’s going to be very exciting because I’ll be able to see all of my family in one go.’
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Rob Wood |
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