WHEN Martine Tune took on the role as chief executive Barnsley Hospice was in special measures - four years later and it’s rated outstanding and she says it’s the best job she’s ever had.

She says it’s a team effort and that the hospice’s turnaround is down to all the staff that work at the Gawber site - but it’s a miraculous transformation with Martine at the helm, and she’s set to retire later this year.

Martine says she’s been thinking about retirement for the last 18 months and her final day will be November 21.

Before taking on the role as chief executive and chief nurse, she had worked at the former Barnsley CCG and as a chief nurse.

But it was a personal reason she decided to take on the role in 2021.

She said: “My daughter became ill during Covid and it turned out to be stage four cancer.

“We thought that we were going to lose her.

“The chemo has thankfully been successful and she’s now five years cancer-free which with this type of cancer is a massive thing.

“It does make you think.

“When you think that you’re going to lose someone, I can’t explain that feeling.

“It was that that made me think I can help those people going through similar things.”

Martine said she’s leaving the hospice in good hands and has thoroughly enjoyed working there over the last four years.

She added: “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

“It’s been hard work.

“No one person can do all of this.

“When I first started we had no heads of department - and now we’ve got six.

“It’s the best job that I’ve ever had.

“I am absolutely delighted I came to Barnsley Hospice and feel so proud of everything we have achieved so far.

“However, there is still lots of work to progress and I will continue to work hard in my role until my very last day.

“The hospice is a very special place, and I have every reason to be confident it will continue to thrive in the next new era of leadership.”

The facility needs to raise £3.5m each year to fund the specialist palliative and end of life care it provides for the people of Barnsley.

It relies entirely on fundraising and donations to achieve this amount.

They receive a £1.9m grant from South Yorkshire ICB but they say they need to fundraise around two thirds of that - and the forecast for this year shows that they’re set to have a £700,000 deficit.

Martine said: “If the fundraising continues at the same levels as last year then we’re going to have a £700,000 deficit.

“We were in a similar position last year and we ended with a deficit of around £50,000.

“We do have some reserves, but they’re only small.

“We don’t have the same level of reserves as other hospices such as Rotherham, St Luke’s or Bluebell Wood.”

They heavily rely on fundraising from residents but understand that times are tough and don’t want people to go without.

And fundraising is one of the key tasks that the incoming chief executive Ross Fletcher has to take on.

The 43-year-old joined the hospice as director of nursing in December 2022 and became the director of clinical services and governance in February this year.

He’s excited to take on the challenge when he becomes the chief executive later this year.

He told the Chronicle: “Over the last three years Martine has been a great role model.

“She’s worked so hard on the culture.

“We do a lot to reach out to the community.

“There’s still a gap between the funding and the running costs and we need to bridge that.”

And he also wants to change the way the hospice is perceived.

“The hospice isn’t just somewhere people come to die,” he said.

“People come here and they leave.

“Fifty per cent of the patients on advanced care went home last year.

“That’s something that we want people to know.”