10
CEO
Statement

Pulling together our impact report gives us the chance to pause and reflect on the year that has just passed. Much has changed over the course of another busy year, with a continued move towards increasing support for patients and families in their own homes and communities.

Throughout this report are examples of how our incredible team of staff, volunteers and supporters have adapted, changed, refined and developed services and ways of working in order to benefit the patients and families we support. Our team are united in their commitment to providing the best services we can, for all who require our help, and it remains a privilege to lead the Hospice and to work with such inspirational team members.

Looking to the future, we will continue to adapt, evolve, and innovate. We will invest in digital technology to widen access to our services and streamline our operations. By embracing environmental strategic aims, such as transitioning to electric vehicles and energy-efficient working, we aim to contribute to the national environmental strategy.

As we progress, we remain committed to learning and research, engaging with our partners at Queen Margaret University and the University of Edinburgh. We will continue sharing knowledge and expertise with the wider professional world, further establishing ourselves as a research-active hospice contributing to the advancement of palliative care.

On the horizon for 2023-24 will be the creation of our new St Columba’s Hospice Care Strategy. This will be a collaborative process with thoughts, opinions, ideas and suggestions welcomed from the team.

Defining our strategic direction and aims is in some ways a large task as we grow as an organisation, as we seek to best support people where they wish to be cared for, and as we try to play our part in reducing our environmental impact. In other ways, however, our strategy remains as clear as it was when we opened in 1977 – to provide the very best care we can to patients and families.

Thank you for your help, in whatever way that may be, in enabling us to continue to be here for those we support.