Daring to Dream was delighted to welcome a visit from David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission, which took place at University Hospital of Wales this week.
Jessica Williams, Policy and Wales Stakeholder Manager for the Charity Commission, joined him on the visit.
Daring to Dream trustees (Barbara Chidgey, John Chown and Nav Masani) were supported by Kindre Morgan and Sarah Finch (specialist nurses from the Adult Congenital Heart Disease team).
It was lovely to meet both David and Jess, to have a full discussion about our work and purpose.
Our visit
We were able to take David to view two of the rooms we have made over (The Cardiac Day Case Unit room and Nephrology Quiet Room); David appreciated the need for these spaces and non-clinical décor of the rooms, while Nav, Sarah and Kindre outlined the important difference they make for patients, families and staff.
Our rooms really do provide a space to talk and an environment that supports those conversations.
We also were able to share insight into our gift boxes and café voucher scheme, particularly being focused on younger adults, outlining how the vouchers again facilitate a much needed space to talk, away from the ward with a member of staff or a relative
Kindre Morgan, specialist nurse, Dr Anna Mcculloch, clinical psychologist, Sarah Finch, specialist nurse, and David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
Amy Penn
We explained how Amy Penn has been an inspiration to the charity. Amy advocated for emotional health support for young adult cardiac patients and inspired Daring to Dream to broaden its focus to support all young adults in Wales living with illness, as well as supporting those with cardiac disease. We pay tribute to Amy and her advocacy in our gift boxes.
Spaces to Sing for Cardiac and Renal patients:
Dr Anna Mcculloch (team clinical psychologist) also outlined the importance of our pilot 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴 workshops, which are bringing patients and staff together, supporting them both clinically and emotionally.
Thankyous
David so clearly understood and appreciated our work and that we have come a huge way in 5 years; and that the journey is not always easy of course either. We thanked him for his visit.
The Cardiothoracic teams have been amazing, and in many ways really are the ‘heart’ of the charity. They trusted us in the charity’s first steps, helped us develop, learn, clarify, and find our ways of working. They have supported us in so many ways; the visit by the CEO of the Charity Commission was one more example of that.
John Chown (Treasurer), Sarah Finch (Specialist Nurse), Barbara Chidgey (Chair), David Holdsworth (CEO Charity Commission), Kindre Morgan (Specialist Nurse), Nav Masani (Clinical Lead)
On behalf of the trustees of Daring to Dream, thank you very much to David for taking the time to visit us, for his interest in and appreciation of our work.
It was such a pleasure for us to meet him also.
