“Tŷ Cymorth Hospice Care Appeal wishes to express our most sincere thanks to Dr. Kathryn Mannix for the giving of her time and sharing her valuable experiences with the public and professional Palliative Care staff here in our part of the world. We also wish to thank Helen Williams, Celebrant at ‘Treasured Ceremonies’ who chaired the event.

The event has raised over £500 for the Appeal. We wish to thank all those involved in organising, taking part and contributing on the evening, providing refreshments and especially the panel of speakers for their generosity. It is much appreciated.

All present were welcomed warmly to the meeting. Thanks were extended to Julie Brennan for the use of Ty Cymorth as the venue for the AGM. The minutes of last year’ AGM were approved and accepted as a true record. Proposed by Anne Griffiths, and seconded by Lorraine Williams.
 
MATTERS ARISING

The Tŷ Cymorth garden.
Thanks were expressed to Meirion and Anthony Howells,  for all their work in laying out and caring for the garden since the opening of the new building. Owing to ill health, they have been unable to continue. This year the garden is in need of considerable attention. The  Trustees were glad to accept  the kind offer made by Mr Brian Jones to second some of his staff to tackle the clearing and weeding backlog. Some new planting is now necessary, and the general state of the garden needs to be reviewed, in order to make it lower maintenance. This issue will be addressed by the Trustees in the autumn as the garden is a valuable resource at the hospice and an asset for patients.
 
ANNUAL REPORTS
 
Trustees Report.
The President, Dr Mark Turtle, gave a review of the work of the Trustees  throughout the year. He referred to the change of name of the Appeal which was decided upon to reflect the greater emphasis on delivering palliative care services within the community, in patients’ own homes as well as at the Tŷ Cymorth building. The Trustees were looking at ways to support the hospice at home service including the cost of leasing beds and specialist equipment. The service contracts  for both the anticipatory grief support service and the psychological support  service have come to an end. The Trustees have discussed continuing the part funding of these services but no formal request for funding has yet been received.  Dr Turtle then gave a summary of the review of hospital services taking place throughout SW Wales at the present time, and its implications for the local area.

The aims of the Tŷ Cymorth Hospice Care Appeal are achieved by collaborative partnership with the Hywel Dda University Health Board in order to support and develop palliative care services in Carmarthen and District. To further develop this partnership the Trustees are in the process of setting up a consultation with Mr Steve Moore, Chief Executive of the Health Board and Ms Rhian Dawson, interim Director of Palliative Care services. One purpose  of this consultation is to assist the Trustees in setting out their vision for the future development of palliative care services in the local area. Trustees meetings this year have focussed on the need to have clear short and medium term goals for future fundraising; the central concern has been that all money donated to the Appeal  should be used to good purpose.It is hoped that  these discussions between the Trustees and the senior management of the Health Board will result in a substantial project that will meet the aspirations of the Appeal Committee and those of the people of Carmarthen and District, as expressed in many of the fundraising  events, as well as fit in with  the future planning of the Health Board regarding the development of palliative care services in the Carmarthen area, whether at Tŷ Cymorth itself or in the wider community.  Dr Turtle concluded his report by thanking Non Owen for her devoted service as a Trustee, and wished her well for the future.

The Trustees Report was accepted.
 
The Financial Report.
A detailed survey of income and expenditure was presented by the Treasurer, Mr David Harris in what he described as his 14th financial  report to the AGM. Details of all the expenditure were given, and the Treasurer highlighted an increase in income this year. However, it was pointed out that the fundraising  events organised by the Appeal Committee need to attract more financial support if income from these is to cover existing expenditure commitments . The  increased income over the last year came largely from 3 generous donations and other donations from the wider community.

The Treasurer supported the  aim of identifying a substantial project to develop palliative care services in the Carmarthen area and felt that such a project would gain the  support of the wider community and the various organisations in the town.

If required, full details of the financial report can be obtained, on request, from the Treasurer.
The Treasurer expressed his thanks to the Committee for all their support, to  Mr Wyn Davies CPFA  for auditing the report, and to  Mrs Alison Morgan for undertaking the typing.
The Financial Report was accepted
 
Secretary’s Report.
The secretary gave details of the activities of the Fundraising Committee over the last year. She thanked the Committee  for all their hard work and thanked the local community  who had been so generous in their support. The Fundraising Committee is always keen to attract new members, and this year they were delighted to welcome 2 new members: Mrs Sylvia Porter and Mrs Mai Thomas.
 
 
Election of Officers for 2019-2020
All the officers were reappointed en bloc, namely:
President and Chairman of Trustees: Dr Mark Turtle.
Treasurer: David Harris.
Secretary (Trustees ): Elizabeth Griffin.
Minute Secretary (Trustees): Ann Morgan.
Chairman (Fundraising): Elizabeth Griffin.
Vice Chairman (Fundraising): Anne Griffiths.
Secretary(Fundraising): Ann Morgan.
The duties of Press Secretary would be shared by Ann Morgan and Elizabeth Griffin.
Webmaster: Andrew Thomas.
 
There was no other business.
 
Provisional Date of the next AGM: Wednesday 10th June 2020 at Tŷ Cymorth.