Lady Chadwyck-Healey “very honoured” to become President of Arthur Rank Hospice Charity

• 1 March 2019

Lady Chadwyck-Healey has accepted the title of President of Arthur Rank Hospice Charity. As an official representative and figurehead of the Hospice, she will help raise the profile of the Hospice and develop its network and influence within wider Cambridgeshire community.

As President, Lady Chadwyck-Healey will also take on ceremonial duties supporting the Hospice by attending events, hosting receptions and presenting awards. Her appointment comes at the end of Lynn Morgan’s tenure, as Sharon Allen takes over the role of CEO on Monday 1 April.

Lady Chadwyck-Healey has a long history of involvement in fundraising campaigns and charity events. She has provided valuable support to EACH, Cancer Research UK, Emmaus, Kettles Yard, Young Carers in Cambridgeshire, the Cambridge & District Citizens’ Advice Bureau (where she is a Patron), Wallace Cancer Care (Patron and Trustee), SOS Children’s Villages UK (Chair of Trustees), as well as volunteering for Home-Start.  She has worked for the Inside Out Trust, setting up training programmes in women’s prisons, and was co-founder of the charity Parents in Prison, which nurtured links between parents in prison and their children.  An alumnus of Anglia Ruskin University, she now lives in Cambridge with her husband Sir Charles Edward Chadwyck-Healey, and has three children and six grandchildren.

Director of Fundraising and Communications, Donna Talbot, explains how delighted the Charity is with her appointment:

“Lady Chadwyck-Healey brings a wealth of experience and understanding to the role of President of Arthur Rank Hospice and has the passion and influence to wonderfully support us in the coming years. We look forward to collaborating closely with her to further enhance our profile and impact, as we continue to deliver excellent, innovative and compassionate specialist and community-based palliative care in Cambridgeshire.”

Describing how she first came to know of the Cambridge-based Hospice, Lady Chadwyck-Healey, says:

“More than 20 years ago, a great friend of mine Anne Mathias, talked to me about the Hospice when it had just opened on Mill Road. I knew many people who went to the Hospice and heard wonderful things about it. It outgrew its original site – which is fondly remembered by so many people – but at its new location in Shelford Bottom, the warmth and compassion endures and are evident the moment one walks in. It has a unique atmosphere which prevails throughout the Hospice; I think that this is due to the inspirational guidance of Lynn Morgan.”

  “Lynn came and showed us the drawings when she was looking for funding for the new Hospice. She explained the plans in detail, and we were very impressed by her professionalism, commitment and vision. This vision has now been fulfilled. The Hospice at Shelford Bottom is a place of colour and light, and the well-being of patients has been the focus from concept to completion.”

Having been a guest at the Hospice on many previous occasions, her first visit as newly appointed President gave Lady Chadwyck-Healey the opportunity to meet and chat to staff, as well as patients attending one of the Hospice’s Day Therapy sessions. She said:

“This new Hospice is a truly outstanding building in a wonderful location, a centre of excellence, recently recognised as outstanding by CQC – and this is complimented by the inspirational way that the Charity is run, with staff from all departments working together.”

Her admiration for the Hospice has increased, having experienced its care for close friends:

“A friend died here at the beginning of the year. Everyone who visited her was impressed by the care she received and the way in which everything that she wanted was done to make her more comfortable, including a glass of whisky.  Visitors could park easily, visit at any time of day or night and stay as long as they wished. Every patient is cared for in a totally individual way by experienced staff and everything is tailored to suit their needs. The Hospice is a place which takes away the fear of pain and death, a place of safety and reassurance.”

 Talking about her feelings on being appointed she adds:

“I felt very honoured to be asked to be President.  We are very fortunate to have such an exceptional Hospice in this region and I look forward to working with the new CEO, Sharon Allen.”

 New CEO of Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, Sharon Allen OBE, comments:

“We’re delighted at the prospect of working together with our new President as the Hospice moves into the next exciting chapter of our history.  Lady Chadwyck-Healey speaks of being ‘very honoured’ at the invitation to become our President, we are both honoured and grateful that she has accepted.”