Clinical Educator Rachael Grimwood has been supporting Ryan Rusholme, one of our dedicated Healthcare Assistants, as he works towards completing his Care Certificate.
The Care Certificate is a nationally recognised set of standards developed by Health Education England, Skills for Care, and Skills for Health, designed to equip health and social care workers with the essential knowledge and skills to provide safe, compassionate, and high-quality care.
“Since supporting Ryan with the Care Certificate, I’ve really enjoyed seeing his enthusiasm shine. Although new to care, he’s shown a genuine eagerness to learn and is already gaining confidence and demonstrating the skills needed to support our patients effectively — exactly what the Care Certificate is designed to achieve.” – Rachael Grimwood, Clinical Educator
“I’m new to care so I was keen to expand my knowledge of the sector, learn different ways of approaching personal care and add theory to practice, to better support our patients. I like to take in as much information as possible, keep up-to-date with innovative ways of providing care and see different perspectives. I’d like to thank Rachael for her support – it will be great to receive a recognised care qualification at the end of the process.” – Ryan Rusholme, Healthcare Assistant
Together, we’re wishing Ryan the very best of luck on this important step in his care journey!
We’re absolutely thrilled to share that our Head of Community Services, Callie Harrop, has won an award at this year’s Greater Manchester Health and Care Champion Awards.
Callie was one of three shortlisted finalists in the Rising Star category and took home the accolade at last night’s ceremony, held at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum.
We’re also proud to be the only hospice to have been recognised with an award.
The awards are organised by the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, celebrating outstanding individuals and teams working across health, social care and community services across the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester.
Since becoming our Head of Community Services in May 2024, Callie has led our Community Services teams to enhance patient pathways, streamline referrals and improve care coordination.
“I was overwhelmed, honoured and humbled to be recognised and receive this award,” Callie reflected. “It was a fantastic opportunity to hear all the wonderful things happening across Greater Manchester and I’m so proud to be recognised as a part of that.”
She was nominated for her award by our Clinical Director, Nicola Cheetham, who shared: “Callie is an exceptional leader whose commitment to compassionate care shines through and has made a real impact at Willow Wood. On behalf of everyone at the Hospice, huge congratulations to Callie – we’re all really proud of her fantastic achievement.”
Tracy Minshull says she feels “both proud and humbled to lead such an incredible organisation” as she marks a year in charge of Willow Wood Hospice.
Tracy officially took over the reins as Chief Executive Officer from Karen Houlston on 1st May 2024.
It has been a busy and rewarding first 12 months in the role for Tracy, who has worked in the health and social care sector for over 25 years.
Reflecting on her time at the Hospice so far, she said: “One early moment stood out to me: a patient’s husband said: ‘Even the smallest things, you do really well’. It’s a simple statement that perfectly captures the care we provide.
“This year has been all about relationships. It’s been a privilege to connect with our staff, volunteers, trustees, patrons, and the families we serve. I’ve spent time in our hospice, across the community, and at our retail shops, gaining insight into the vital roles everyone plays.
“I’ve also focused on building strategic partnerships, including becoming Deputy Chair for the Palliative and End of Life Care Improvement Group. These connections help ensure our services remain accessible across Tameside and Glossop.
“I also joined fellow Greater Manchester hospice leaders to lobby MPs in Parliament to raise awareness for the funding plight of hospices, and to keep hospice care at the forefront of the minds of our elected representatives.
“We’ve welcomed four new trustees, launched quarterly engagement sessions, and co-designed our Five-Year Strategy, which will be published in June. A big thank you to all who contributed — your input has shaped our future.
“Looking ahead, we’ll continue building strong relationships, delivering exceptional care, and ensuring Willow Wood thrives for years to come. Thank you for being part of our journey.”
At Willow Wood Hospice, collaboration isn’t just a word – it’s the foundation for how we work.
Our mission is to lead and deliver high-quality, specialist palliative and end-of-life care, support and education to those in our local community living with a life-limiting illness.
We achieve this through close-knit teamwork that puts our patients and those closest to them at the centre of everything we do.
For years, our dedicated staff have worked closely with the Community Specialist Palliative Care (CSPC) team. This collaboration is more than a partnership – it’s an integrated approach to care.
Every day, nurses, who are part of the CSPC team, from Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust join our daily triage meetings and engage with all of our clinical teams – from Wellbeing Support to Therapy Support.
They provide specialist support in a patient’s home environment, as well as education and support to staff within the local community – such as GPs and district nurses.
The Specialist Palliative Care team based at Willow Wood Hospice
Since 2019, the community palliative care and respite teams have made the Hospice their home, while the hospital palliative care team joins us weekly, representing the multidisciplinary team.
This regular interaction enables us to provide holistic care to patients and those closest to them from across our community, ensuring they receive the services and support they need when they need it most.
Zoe Price, on behalf of the Community Specialist Palliative Care team, said: “We carry out joint visits if required and are always liaising with all teams, ensuring a patient receives the right service at the right time.
“We have a close working relationship with the Hospice teams. Daily conversations and communication help make our patients’ experience the most positive it can be during a difficult time.
“We are continually sharing information, sometimes on an ad-hoc basis, which we may not have the opportunity to if we were not in the same environment.”
Rebecca Stimson, Community Services Therapy Lead at the Hospice, commented: “Working collaboratively with the Specialist Palliative Care nurses ensures that the needs of all patients and those closest to them are assessed holistically.
“We work closely with the Specialist Palliative Care nurses and patients are supported by this, as they know their needs are being addressed.”
Our CEO, Tracy Minshull, features in the latest episode of The Business Podcast with Dave Sweeton.
During their chat, Tracy shares insights into what it takes to lead Willow Wood Hospice and discusses the vital role the Hospice plays in our local community.
If you would like to have a listen, you can do so here:
It’s not just in our charity shops where you can bag yourself a bargain and support patients in our care.
Sales through online platforms raised an incredible £49,550 during the 2023/24 financial year – a record amount.
The Hospice’s eBay site first launched in July 2007 and has since sold over 42,000 items, as well as building up a following of more than 4,000 people.
Based at our Clearance Outlet and Donation Centre in Ashton-under-Lyne, our online sales team – made up of staff and volunteers – takes pride in the service they provide, posting out items within a day of them being sold and establishing the Hospice as a top-rated seller on eBay.
The platform’s growth has certainly kept them busy.
“We can list anything from 30 to 50 items per day on average,” said Nicola DePetrillo, Online Sales Assistant.
“We list items sent to us by our shops every week – some can require research, which we use eBay and Google Lens to carry out.
“We sell on average between 100 and 150 items a week. I think the cost of living crisis is one reason why eBay has been so popular – people are looking for a bargain even more nowadays.”
Her colleague Dave Sadler added: “We set our own target of reaching 2,000 active items on the site, which we’ve come close to and have grown from an average of around 600. The more we grow the site, the busier it becomes. Around 80 per cent of what we sell are items listed for a week or less. It’s all about list, list, list for us.”
Our items attract sellers from all corners of the globe, including as recently as July when a Psion Executive PDA Organiser sold for £299 to a buyer in the United States.
“Only around two per cent of our sales are international but it opens up more options,” said Dave. “If we sell furniture or big items like a doll’s house, it will be collection only so we won’t offer postage – that probably happens on one per cent of the items we list.
“If we’re posting items, it’s always eligible to be posted across the world. We only charge our postage for items to get to eBay’s warehouse in Lichfield and eBay will charge extra postage to get it to wherever the buyer is.
“Every item we sell always has the option to be collected from the Distribution Centre to save on packaging costs.”
There have been some gems that have fetched some impressive proceeds for the Hospice including our patron Julie Goodyear’s jewellery range which raised over £16,000, a signed and framed Manchester United shirt which sold for around £2,000, and a stainless steel coffee machine for £180.
All items sold on eBay are generously donated by the local community, who can drop off clothing, books, CDs, DVDs, general bric-a-brac, electronics and ceramics at our Clearance Outlet and Donation Centre (based at Unit 4, Langham Street, OL7 9AX) on weekdays from 8am to 3.30pm.
Dave (left) and Nicola from our eBay team
Dave explained: “Around 90 per cent of items we sell are pre-loved – it’s very rare we get something brand new, which is usually clothing with a label or an unopened jigsaw puzzle.
“The most popular item we sell is probably clothing but books also do really well, they are very easy to list and pack. We try to build collections of particular items, like the Now CDs, where space allows so we can then sell them as a set and hopefully they will be worth more.”
Nicola added: “We need things that are in a good, clean sellable condition. If you are thinking of donating items, ask yourself is it in a good enough condition for me to buy it from a charity shop.”
The team closely monitor feedback they receive – of which 99.8 per cent is positive, according to eBay – and have lots of repeat customers.
To help provide an efficient service, they are also environmentally conscious when it comes to packaging items.
“We used donated cardboard boxes so when people bring stuff in a box we ask if we can use it, which also helps for recycling,” Nicola told us. “We also receive a £10 voucher every month from eBay to buy plastic bags to pack items in.”
Dave explained further: “We would gratefully receive donations of shoe boxes or standard square and rectangular boxes to help with packaging, as well as bubble wrap. We also have a company based in Royton who deals with pianos and has shipments over from Japan which come bubble wrapped so he saves all of that for us so we never have to buy it.”
There are other ways that people can support the Hospice through eBay.
People can sign up to Gift Aid, if eligible, when donating items so they can be worth more to Willow Wood at no extra cost to you.
Sellers on eBay can also donate a percentage of their profits to Willow Wood Hospice – by typing the percentage of your choice and selecting Tameside and Glossop Hospice Limited in the drop-down menu.
Our online retail offering extends beyond eBay as our team have diligently explored other ways of generating as much income as possible for the Hospice.
“We sell scrap metal as well as use Vintage Cash Cow which buys old precious metal, jewellery, watches and cameras,” said Dave.
“If we can’t sell them on eBay, we sell DVDs, CDs and books on Ziffit. We send them off once a week and it can raise around £50 a week on average.
“We use Discogs to sell vinyl records. It was set up when vinyl was a bigger thing and we still have lots of items on there but we don’t really list new items on there as you can’t beat eBay for the number of members it has.”
Keep an eye out for news coming soon about how our eBay team were involved in a historic delightful discovery…
Michelle Knight’s journey with Willow Wood Hospice is a testament to how a fulfilling career can emerge from unexpected beginnings.
Describing her role as Relief Retail Manager as her “favourite job out of everything I’ve ever done”, Michelle found joy and purpose in a position that allowed her to explore the unique character of each of our now eight charity shops across Tameside and Glossop.
Michelle, who lives in Dukinfield, loves the variety the role brings. “All of the shops have their own identity,” she explains. “Although they are variations of the same offer, they are so different from each other. I’ve built such lovely connections with the people I’ve worked with in all of the shops and made so many friends.”
The role involves stepping in whenever a shop manager is unavailable, which means every day is different. “One day you can be cleaning windows, pricing items, and steaming clothes. Another day, you’re serving customers on the till, wiping shelves, and doing some admin. It’s also about making the shop look clean and presentable for our customers.”
What she particularly enjoyed is the opportunity to bring ideas from one shop to another, helping to improve operations across the board. “When covering all of the shops, I would see something that is working in one shop that maybe the other shops aren’t doing and mention it to the other shops, which can help improve things, which we all want to do.”
Michelle loves the variety of the Relief Retail Manager role
Michelle’s journey with Willow Wood began in 2021 when she started volunteering at our Stalybridge shop after seeing a poster about vacancies. She was already aware of the Hospice’s vital work, after a close friend received end-of-life care at Willow Wood. Volunteering twice a week, Michelle quickly became an invaluable part of the team and was encouraged by the shop manager to apply for the Relief Retail Manager position.
Since then, Michelle hasn’t looked back, working for the Hospice for nearly two years. “Willow Wood looks after its employees, and the organisation means so much to everyone involved in it,” she says. “It also means a lot to the wider public. So many people bring donations in because they have lost a loved one at Willow Wood, and they want to help us raise money by gifting their loved one’s belongings.”
The sense of community and support at Willow Wood is strong, with shop managers, volunteers and Head of Retail, Pauline Lunt, forming a close-knit team. “Pauline is brilliant. You can email her, ring her, WhatsApp her, and she is always happy to help. Because she has been a shop manager herself, there is nothing that she cannot answer.”
Michelle emphasises that you don’t need extensive retail experience to thrive as a charity shop manager. “There are no specialised skills required. You don’t have to be a computer whizz. Training can be given if you’ve not used a till before – it’s really easy to learn. What’s important is that you are ready to learn and you are a friendly face that represents the Hospice.”
Michelle has recently taken on the managerial role at our Hyde shop while manager Gemma is on maternity leave, demonstrating the opportunities for growth and development within Willow Wood. “I started as a volunteer, then became a Relief Retail Manager, and now I’m a shop manager, albeit temporarily. Pauline was a shop manager and now she’s Head of Retail, so there are definitely opportunities for development.”
Michelle currently manages our Hyde shop
The Hospice also offers regular training opportunities to help staff to continually develop their skills. “Two of my colleagues, Pauline and Julie, recently went to a retail conference, which was a great experience,” stated Michelle. “We also have regular training that’s hospice-wide, which helps connect us with colleagues in other teams and is an opportunity to develop skills we perhaps otherwise wouldn’t learn.”
With our shop takings surpassing £1 million in the last financial year, it’s an exciting time to join Willow Wood as we expand our operations. “We are giving people more than just a jumble sale experience; we want them to have a nice shopping experience even in this current financial climate,” Michelle says. “The new Glossop shop looks fantastic and almost nothing like a charity shop as we know it. The direction we want to move in is that all of our shops have that same look and feel about them.”
For Michelle, the role of a charity shop manager is more than just a job – it’s about making a difference. “Every day is different in every shop, and I have met so many different people. You feel like you are making a difference to the bigger picture of supporting the Hospice. There’s quite a buzz in the shops, and they can be a hive of activity, but there is a really nice atmosphere.”
If you’re looking for a rewarding role with a strong sense of community, Michelle highly recommends applying to become a charity shop manager at Willow Wood. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to be part of something special.”
We’re excited to introduce you to Joanne Lees, who is our new Partnership Development Lead at Willow Wood Hospice.
Born and bred in Ashton-under-Lyne, mum-of-three Joanne feels like she has “come home” and is fulfilling a long-standing ambition to make a difference working for a charity.
Her family have always supported charities since her eldest son Andrew, 38, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at 22 months old.
As well as working for public services such as Tameside Council and Derby NHS Primary Care Team, Joanne has a vast array of experience working for corporate businesses – from Russell Hobbs to JD Sports and Sofology, part of the DFS Group.
As she begins a new chapter at the Hospice, Joanne is keen for every business in Tameside and Glossop to know all about Willow Wood, the extent of the services we provide, and our need to raise at least £3.3 million every year to continue operating.
She’s formulating exciting opportunities for businesses of all sizes to partner with the Hospice, for the benefit of both organisations.
“We’re developing packages for businesses which I think will be amazing,” she explained. “When you’re a busy business and you want to help a charity, you haven’t always got time to fundraise so our flexible packages will be ideal. No matter what size a business is, they will be able to participate.
“Away from the corporate model, if businesses just want to turn up to our network meetings and participate in that or pick the Hospice as their Charity of Choice, that’s fine as our packages are tailored towards what they want to do.
“We’re looking to introduce packages for our corporate volunteering offer too, so that we can maximise the benefits for both the Hospice and businesses.
“Each business tends to have at least one person who is the driving force behind supporting charities and I want Willow Wood to be at the forefront of their minds.”
If your business would like to partner with the Hospice, Joanne will be happy to provide you with more information – just drop her a line at joanne.lees@willowwood.org.uk or call 0161 330 7788.
We’re excited to see the connections she will develop.
Our Medical Director, Dr Mary Ann Mahadevan, recently travelled to Sri Lanka where she learned more about the work of Jaffna Hospice.
Accompanied by her husband Dush, who is also a doctor and whose family hail from the south-east Indian Ocean island, Mary Ann delivered an insightful and engaging presentation to share knowledge with their staff and student nurses.
“I talked about how palliative care services are generally structured in the UK, as well as some common challenges,” she explained.
“I then talked more specifically about the services that we deliver in Tameside and Glossop and at Willow Wood. I enjoyed telling them all about our hospice and showing them pictures of our facilities and staff.”
Upon visiting the 22-bed inpatient hospice, which first opened in January 2006, she discovered how they administer palliative care with finite resources.
“It is a beautiful and well-cared-for place with lovely gardens just like Willow Wood,” Mary Ann noted. “The thing that struck me the most was the dedication of the staff to deliver the best care they could with the limited resources they had available.
“There were lots of differences between the organisations and the care that is delivered but the thing that we definitely had in common was the passion of the staff.
“Hospices in the UK are really struggling right now, but it really pales in comparison to what they are working with over there.”
Mary Ann reflected on the visit as being “really interesting, inspiring and thought provoking” from which she learned a lot.
“I think the importance of sharing knowledge and experience with others is really valuable as we can all learn from each other,” she stated.
“I learned about how palliative care is delivered in a completely different healthcare system, as well as the value of community in caring for people as they approach the end of life.”
Mary Ann hopes the experience can mark the beginning of a lasting relationship between the hospices.
“I would be really keen to support them with their education and training needs, and I hope that our experiences can help them to develop as a service. They were really keen to forge an ongoing relationship with Willow Wood and I would be very happy with that.”
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