Chris Hall - Chairman of Hospice Isle of Man

“Hospice is a complex organisation which operates 24x7 x365 and I still find it incredible how such a small team can offer such a huge range of services to patients and families 24x7x 365 totally free of charge.”

“Prior to moving to the Island in 1997, I didn’t have any awareness or appreciation of what a Hospice was or what it did. But a few years later a close relative received some wonderful care from their local Hospice in the UK, so when I was asked by Penny Creighton if I would be willing to join the Fund-Raising Committee, it was a very easy decision to make having seen first -hand the fantastic support Hospice’s give to their patients and families.

I certainly didn’t foresee at the time that I would still be actively involved in supporting Hospice over twenty years later, joining the Board of Governors in in 2008 and then subsequently becoming Chairman in 2019.

Hospice is a complex organisation which operates 24x7 x365 and I still find it incredible how such a small team can offer such a huge range of services to patients and families 24x7x 365 totally free of charge. Every time I walk into our wonderful, refurbished building I am proud that we have such a great facility for the IOM community. But much more important than the building are the people. I continue to find it both inspiring and humbling when I see how our amazing staff and volunteers show such compassion and dedication every day. As well as our core team, it is also a privilege to work with such a fantastic team of Governors, Committee members, volunteers, supporters, and fundraisers who all freely contribute their time and expertise to ensure the smooth running of Hospice. If you don’t currently volunteer, I highly recommend it!

When Sir Miles Walker passed on the baton to me as Chairman in 2019, I was very aware that our funding model was already under significant pressure due to increasing demand for our services, but I don’t think anyone foresaw that we would also have to contend not only with a global pandemic but also a global economic crisis.

As we go into our 40th Year we are facing unprecedented financial challenges which mean that we will require even greater commitment, support, and goodwill from the entire community than ever before, but we have a fantastic heritage to be proud of and a great team to take us forward to our 50th Anniversary celebrations in 2033.”