NEWS - MAY / JUNE 2012
Chairman’s Comments Dear Friends It’s that time of year again - approaching our Annual General Meeting where you can hear about your charity’s performance over the past year . So if you are able, please try to attend. We have some very interesting professional medical guests to tell us about the ongoing work at the Yorkshire Heart Centre and we are also making awards to some of our Trustees who are retiring and for long service. Your presence would be very much appreciated. Enclosed is a leaflet with all the details and very important a change of venue. If by chance the leaflet is missing please let us know by ringing 0113 392 8889 answer phone and leave a message. On the reverse side of the leaflet are the joining point details for our annual trip . The Leeds Teaching Hospitals have made changes to ward numbers and telephone numbers to wards and I give full details inside the newsletter. Hospedia the company that provides bedside television telephone etc., are in the process of installing new terminals to every existing bed side which is already receiving this service. The new terminals are all touch screen and provide so much more for patients to enjoy.  Take Heart have re-negotiated our contract to give this service free of charge to patients on all our units within the centre. By the time you receive this newsletter our roof garden will have reopened following extensive refurbishment which as been done in partnership with the Trust who have installed new glass safety barriers all around the garden. The glass has kept the lovely view for patients and staff to enjoy.  A very good opportunity to see the garden is to come along to our Diamond Jubilee coffee morning on June 2nd. Colin Pullan MBE Chairman Take Heart.
Treasurer’s Trove Looking through some old newsletters, I came upon the one for March 2009 and in that one I mentioned about the non-use of cash and cheques. When I wrote that, I said “in the future”. Well, only three years have passed and although I still get quite a lot of cash and cheques in various donations, the payments we get on-line are increasing gradually. We get most of these on-line payments through Virgin Money Giving which is excellent (once one masters our end of the transactions on the computer.) One of the good things about it is that it automatically pays any Gift Aid due. There is a small fee for this service which is mainly an administration charge and the money is transferred straight into our bank account. With respect to cash donations, I have now got a new quicker way of paying into the bank. You will appreciate that most weeks I have a lot of coinage to hand in and on a good week (for example, when we have an IKEA collection) I used to get to the counter and daren’t look back on the queue. I could feel the stares on the back of my neck! Anyhow one day one of the clerks said to me “why don`t you use one of our business bags to hand your money in.” I have been using the system now for about three months and it’s brilliant. I put the money in these sealed bags, hand the bags over, they stamp my book and I`m on my way. They count it when they have a quiet period - brilliant!! A few thank-you’s now. I would like to thank all those who donate to the charity on a regular weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Your continued support for Take Heart is very much appreciated. I would also like to thank all those people who donated via the internet and also all those who have donated over the years. I have just got my books back from the Auditors and am expecting the financial report for the year ending January 31st. It`s always pleasing when the books come back and the report is done for another year. I can now get down to the job of preparing my speech for the AGM. See you there. Alec J McLean
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CALL MY BLUFF

Sheffield City College hosted a version of Call My Bluff at the end of April and a team of three Take Heart Trustees took on the unbeaten College Team. We are delighted to announce that the Take Heart team won by 5 rounds to four. Congratulations to Alec, Gina and Bill for defeating the formidable intellect of the College. All this was laid on by the college who used the event to raise money for Take Heart. They provided a super buffet in their restaurant and we had an truly excellent evening’s entertainment. At the end of the night, the compere and organiser, Sid Jenkins, handed over the magnificent sum of £700.00. Thank you so much City College – rest assured the money will be put to very good use. Colin Pullan, MBE, Chairman

Diamond Jubilee Coffee Morning

2nd June 2012

10.00am to 12.00 noon

Take Heart Seminar Room

F Floor, out of the lift to corridor – turn left then first left

Come along and enjoy our coffee morning, all with a flavour of celebrating The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Tea, coffee, lovely cakes and time for a chat. Our stall will be there as usual where you can buy Take Heart’s goodies. We finish with a brief  meeting to keep you informed of our latest projects.. There is normally  a professional nurse present if you wish to discuss any concerns you might have. If so please see me and I will ensure you can have a discussion in private You might also like to take time while there to go next door and have a look at our newly refurbished Roof Garden.
Helen Runs the London Marathon In memory of Bob Ashton Helen wrote: “My family truly could not have coped without the support of Take Heart and the facilities that they provide for people going through the trauma of having someone they love being so critically ill. The relatives’ bedrooms are crucial for people not living close to the hospital. To be able to stay near to their relative and not have the stress of travelling long distances is one less pressure to deal with. The roof-top garden on the Jubilee Building is a wonderful sanctuary, where Jackie and Charlotte often sat to collect their thoughts. The charity took such great care of my sister and niece: I thank all the volunteers for everything that they did for my family. I have been running now for 5 years. I wanted to be a bit healthier and have an interest. I love to run. It gives me a sense of freedom. This will be my 3rd London Marathon. I also ran the Great North Run for Take Heart in 2010. I feel so lucky to be healthy and proud to be running for Take Heart. I have great memories of Bob as I was very close to him and I want to make sure that this event is joyous and positive; to give back to those who give so much to so many. On 22nd April 2012, I will cross the finish line of the Virgin London Marathon with happy memories of Bob as he is never far from our thoughts. Helen Kurdyla” Helen successfully completed the London Marathon and has raised in the region of £800.00 for Take Heart. Thank you Helen – we are proud of you.

Mrs Lillian Phillips

Once again Lillian has knitted up another £1000.00 donation for Take Heart.  She is determined to keep knitting scarves to fundraise for Take Heart.  Lillian has had such a flurry of orders recently that she has had to call on some friends to help out. It was Colin’s pleasure to go down to LGI and receive the Cheque from her and say once again, a big thank you. Photo shows Lillian and her friend and past Trustee of Take Heart Mrs Lucy Coyle with Colin

NEW TV CONTRACT

We are delighted to announce that Take Heart have negotiated a

new contract with Hospedia, the company who supply bedside

television and telephone throughout the hospital.

Until now, we have paid for the five basic television programmes for everyone on the heart wards, but with the installation of new bedside units with vastly improved screens and facilities, no heart patient will have to pay for any standard digital TV channel – and there are more than 80 - unless they want pay-per-view films. In addition to this, no heart patient will pay for their outgoing telephone calls to UK landlines nor will they have to pay for the internet or radio.  Just pick up the phone, give your name and everything will be switched on for free – compliments of Take Heart. Just a little bit less to worry about at what can be a stressful time. The new bedside units have touch screens, much bigger and clearer pictures and can connect you to all sorts of services. Even the medical staff can use them to send information about patients direct to their files in the hospital. Of course, it’s all very well saying that Take Heart provide this – it isn’t Take Heart the organisation. It’s you, the kind and generous folk who continue to support us with amounts of money from a few pence to legacies in Wills which enable us to continue making a difference in the Yorkshire Heart Centre. Thank you isn’t really enough of an adequate expression of how we feel about you – you are fantastic! Bill Stevenson Trustee

Philip Kay

In the last newsletter, we announced the retirement of Philip Kay, Cardio Thoracic Surgeon and we are looking forward to presenting him soon with a small memento of his long association with Take Heart.  Some of the first purchases by Take Heart were exercise machines for the (then) newly formed cardiac rehabilitation department. We have come across a photograph taken in 1991 of the presentation of that equipment, showing from the left, Philip Kay, Consultant Cardio Thoracic Surgeon, Colin Pullan, Chairman Take Heart, Mel Bradley, Consultant Cardio Thoracic Surgeon and Chris Munsch, Consultant Cardio Thoracic Surgeon.

WARD 14 APPEAL

We have been running a special appeal to assist our charity with the upgrading required for Surgical Ward 14 (which moved next door into Ward 15 and has now been renamed Ward L16 – see Colin’s ‘explanatory’ article elsewhere in the newsletter….) The surgical ward has always been Take Heart’s flagship and we were determined to make the new ward at least as comfortable and modern as the old one. You responded magnificently and we thank you so much for your generosity. We have spent in excess of £50,000.00 providing new furniture, beds, nurses stations and much more so that the ward is bright and attractive for patients and their relatives at a stressful time in their lives. The photograph shows one bed area with Senior Sister Helen Rowbotham chatting to Colin. Bill Stevenson
Wharfedale Cardiac Club is available for you. See their website at www.wharfedalecardiacclub.org.uk Contact Clive Wilkinson on 0113 267 1721 or e-mail clivewilkinson68@gmail.com