Minutes of the NAViGO Health and Social Care CIC Annual General Meeting
Held on Tuesday 29th September 2020
12.30pm at NAViGO House
3–7 Brighowgate, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN32 0QE
1. Welcome and Introductions
The Chairman, Tom Hunter, opened the meeting by introducing himself and stating that it is a privilege to work for NAViGO. He said here we are together again, the NAViGO family, comprising service users, staff, carers, volunteers and the many organisations that support us throughout the year.
He mentioned that the AGM was streaming live from the newly refurbished ground floor of NAViGO House, which is due to open next week to accommodate the Open Minds Service, and reminisced on the first AGM held almost nine years ago to the day in the same room when it was Tukes’ base. The Chairman stated that it was amazing to see how we have developed as an organisation whilst acknowledging that we are operating in very different circumstances. He said the NHS has taken on its biggest challenge of its 72-year history over the past six months; the global COVID-19 pandemic resulting in unpresented action being taken across the nation as a whole placing all organisations under immense pressure.
The Chairman praised NAViGO’s response to the challenges enabling safe services to be maintained for both service users and staff alike. He recognised that all staff have been incredibly flexible and creative from the beginning of the pandemic; organising new ways of working, undertaking different roles and responsibilities, working from home and genuinely supporting each other. He said the continued delivery of safe care for our service users had only been possible with the enthusiasm, dedication and compassion of our outstanding staff. He gave thanks to everybody that has joined the fight against COVID-19, for people going that extra mile and for being part of team NAViGO.
He said we have had another successful year as we continue to stay true to our principles in looking after people as individuals, treating them with care and compassion and as our logo says, “Delivering services we would be happy for our families to use.”
2. Minutes of 24th September 2019
The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.
3. NAViGO Annual Review – Jane Lewington Chief Executive
The Chief Executive said the annual review is a tale of two halves, the first being the Membership Objectives for 2019/20 and the progress against these and the second, the impact of the pandemic.
The five membership objectives were outlined, namely: continuing to develop our services; developing our workforce; estates and environments; communications and marketing and stakeholder engagement and participation. Each of these were discussed in turn beginning with a detailed description of developments across the service areas including the launch of the new mental health perinatal service, revised eating disorder pathways, third community rehabilitation house and the emergency response vehicle (MHERV) pilot. Also discussed were those in response to the pandemic such as the 24/7 all age COVID helpline, COVID-19 First Responders team, the digital poverty initiative and virtual Safespace.
Developments in the workforce were mentioned including the three additional trainees in Open Minds, practitioner development in the Assertive Outreach team and the apprenticeships and nursing programmes at NAViGO Extra. The Chief Executive mentioned that collectively Tukes and Individual Placement Support (IPS) have supported in excess of 30 people into employment and members of Tukes staff have been redeployed during the pandemic to support core frontline services and to provide assistance on the opening of Cambridge Park care home. They have also been part of the Vulnerable Support User (VSU) group delivering essential items to vulnerable service users and treats to staff members.
Grimsby Garden Centre has remained open during the pandemic providing a delivery service and the social media activity statistics were presented. Planning permission has been obtained and work in relation to phase one, alternations to café Blue, has commenced. Developments in communications and marketing were outlined including the launch of a new website, branding, talk suicide promotion, the weekly bulletin, service user stories, the staff wellbeing campaign and the Grimsby 10k run. With regards stakeholder engagement and participation, the range of placements were mentioned for students, volunteers and as part of the employability initiative. There was also mention of the engagement activities including World Mental Health Day, Time for a Cuppa, the Resilience Lab, A Year in Felt Knee Blankets and Bright Blue Monday.
The Chief Executive concluded by discussing the organisation’s response to the pandemic including moving to level 4 of the escalation plan, the use of electronic platforms such as Zoom and of the support from the Performance Team and IT colleagues. The creation of the new VSU and the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) teams were highlighted and a summary was provided of all groups being held remotely to ensure service users are not isolated. Additionally the COVID pathways and the support to staff were discussed and the importance of communication. In summary, the Chief Executive said it is an extraordinary response from an extraordinary team comprising staff, members and volunteers, which stands us in good stead for what it anticipated to be one of the most challenging winters. The Communications team has been an integral part of our response alongside the frontline teams and my heartfelt thanks is given to both. In drawing the review to a close, she stated that she remains extremely humbled and proud to be our Chief Executive.
4. Receiving the Annual Accounts and Reports – Simon Beeton Finance Director
Group accounts were laid before the meeting for NAViGO Health and Social Care CIC and NAViGO Extra Limited for the year ended 31 March 2020.
The Finance Director said the organisation started with c£22m, which has grown to c£34m, and a surplus has been delivered over the past three years. Investment of £750k has been made to enhance services including purchasing shares in ACE Homecare, improvements to SystmOne and the completion of projects such as the Janine Smith Suite, the ground floor of NAViGO House, Safespace, Simply You, the Café and Rharian Fields. Future investment is to be made into Crisis and Liaison services, IAPT and Perinatal services as well as Safespace, MHERV, Older Adult services and employability.
Total income for the year 2019/20 amounted to c£33.746m and a surplus of c£889k was generated. After the deduction of tax, c£633k has been added to the reserves. The overall financial position is assets of £12.160m (including £5.418m of cash) less liabilities of £6.601m providing share capital and reserves of £5.559m.
The Project of the Year was mentioned and that this year it is being launched from the AGM. Outline concepts were invited for submission by 16th October 2020 with full applications to be received by 24th November 2020. The winning project will be announced in January 2021.
The Chairman said we were fortunate that our Finance Director is more passionate about our services than money and reflected on how the organisation has grown in 10 years to become more financially stable. He said when we became a social enterprise in 2011 there was no money in the bank and negotiations were undertaken with Commissioners to ensure three months contract income was paid in advance during the first year.
5. Resolutions
Members were invited to vote on the resolutions at this year’s AGM by means of proxy and ninety-eight proxy forms were received. The Chairman announced each resolution, (save for the Member’s Resolution concerning his appointment, which the Chief Executive announced) and the Company Secretary responded with the number of votes cast “For”, “Against” and “Withheld” for each.
Ordinary Resolutions
The ordinary resolutions were unanimously passed as follows:
- To receive the Financial Statements and the Community Interest Report for the financial year ended 31st March 2020;
- That in accordance with section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 and article 90 of the Company’s articles of association the directors are authorised to offer one B Ordinary share to each employee of the Company (other than the Holder of the A Ordinary Share) for five years from the date of the passing of this resolution.
Special Resolution
The following special resolution to amend the Company’s articles of association was unanimously passed:
- That the Company’s articles of association shall be amended as follows on the third page of the AGM notice and
- That the articles of association shall be altered so as to take the form of the articles of association attached to this resolution are in substitution for, and to the exclusion of, any articles of association of the Company previously registered with the Registrar of Companies.
Members Resolutions
The following members’ resolution was unanimously passed:
- That Jane Lewington is re-appointed as Chief Executive for a term of up to two years ending with the Annual General Meeting in 2022;
The Chief Executive announced the following member’s resolution which was duly passed:
- That Tom Hunter is re-appointed as Chairman for one year ending with the Annual General Meeting in 2021.
Neither the Chairman nor Chief Executive voted upon the members’ resolution concerning their appointment. Additionally, the Chief Executive did not vote upon the special resolution to change the company’s articles due to a conflict of interest.
6. Celebrating Diversity – Brighton Nyamunga and Ileme Machemba
The Chairman said the theme of this year’s AGM is cultural diversity stating that the NAViGO family comprises a wide range of individuals from many countries and cultures. He introduced Brighton and Ileme who began by thanking NAViGO and more specifically the Chairman, Chief Executive and Director of Operations for their support in steering the diversity strategy. They explored the reasons diversity is to be celebrated as an organisation and its aims before discussing what diversity means, its impact on mental health and the work being undertaken to develop the cultural strategy and the implementation plan.
WEDNESDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER 2020
1. Diversity and the Royal College of Psychiatry
Dr Shahid Latif, the Chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Transcultural Special Interest Group, Dr Aamer Sajjad Medical Director of NAViGO and the 'Diversity Project Team' provided a discussion on celebrating cultures and diversity.
2. Suicide Prevention Panel
Professor Zaffer Iqbal, Head of Psychology at NAViGO, and his team held an informal discussion on suicide prevention and provided an insight into the work in Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS).
3. Lights, Camera, Action. The winner of the service area video competition
John Tucker, Community Representative, announced the winner of the inter-departmental video competition as the Community Administration Team and the runner up as the Older People’s service, the Membership Representatives having chosen the same.
4. Spotlight on the 24/7 Coronavirus Service
Vicky Ayres, Clinical Lead of the Crisis Team at NAViGO, provided an overview of the 24/7 all age advice line supporting people affected by coronavirus, including anecdotal case studies outlining the importance of this service and the coproduction required to support timely and positive outcomes for our service users.
5. Spotlight on Zimbabwe
Brighton Nyamunga, Clinical Lead Acute Services at NAViGO and Ileme Machemba, IAPT High Intensity Therapist at NAViGO provided an overview of Zimbabwe, including its history, tourism and how mental health is received and treated.
THURSDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2020
1. Chairman’s Awards
The chairman stated that a record number of nominations had been received this year with in excess of 70 for the Individual Award and 40 for the Teams award; making choosing the winners extremely difficult.
Individual Award
The Chairman said this person went above and beyond what would have normally been expected of her. They were asked to take the lead for the sourcing, purchasing and distribution of PPE for all NAViGO services, working through weekends, nights and annual leave. He stated without her efforts not only our services but many care homes and nursing homes would have been less safe. The Individual Award was presented to Sally Gell.
Volunteer of the Year
The Chairman believed the following two people were both equally deserving of the award this year.
This person was described as an incredible and humble volunteer who had made outstanding progress in her own development and recovery. She supports both the members of the Therapeutic Community and staff and has undertaken an interview with the Kings Fund, providing permission for her experience to be published. The award for Volunteer of the Year was presented to Maria Thompson.
The Chairman said this person joined Tukes to improve their educational skills. He is knowledgeable in IT and has been instrumental in the development of an IT network at the Tukes Hub. Described as a glowing example to us all, the award for Volunteer of the Year was presented to Phillip Candy.
Group of the Year
The Chairman also presented two awards under this category.
He said this year has been challenging for this group not only because of the pandemic but also with the return of individuals with special needs from out of area placements. This team is always there to support each other and has coped with some very difficult situations always with a smile. The award was made to the Brocklesby Lodge staff.
The Chairman stated two psychology staff, Emma and Ayesha, work tirelessly to provide an inclusive regulation group to the Psychology service users. Despite increasing demand, they have transitioned to an online group, which has proven successful. The group is a valuable asset to community secondary care services. The award was presented to the Emotional Regulation Group Psychology.
Team Award
This team have continued to provide a compassionate and caring service to patients admitted to Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, including patients diagnosed with COVID-19. They have remained committed in their role despite the risks posed to themselves and their own families during the pandemic, working in difficult and stressful environments and adapting their communication skills to overcome any barriers posed through the use of PPE. In recognition of their exceptional work in a high-risk COVID-19 area, the Team Award was made to the Mental Health Hospital Liaison team.
A virtual team was established during the pandemic to provide support to vulnerable service users of NAViGO. The team comprised staff from Acute, Rehab and Corporate Affairs Services, providing regular calls and support in addition to food parcels and medication deliveries in partnership with Tukes. The highly commended Team Award was presented to the Vulnerable Service User group.
Acceptance videos were played after the winners were announced in each category.
2. NAViGO Community Membership Award
The Membership Awards were presented by Pam Bendle, Community Representative
Individual Award
She said nurses require compassion, it is a given, which usually makes it difficult to find a nurse that stands out but this nurse really does. She spoke of her own experience whilst recently under her care and that she has never met a nurse so keen to make you feel comfortable, she really stands out, going the extra mile to get things sorted which means less stress on you and making you feel more hopeful and valued. When feeling extremely vulnerable, it is worth millions. The award was presented to Jess Lowe.
Team Award
This team provides an amazing service helping many people. They are kind and passionate, caring, patient and understanding; sign posting people to further services as necessary. They do not know who will walk through the doors but they give 100 per cent every time. She said it really does provide a safe space for people to open up and has been the light at the end of the tunnel during the pandemic. The award was presented to Safespace.
3. Chairman’s closing remarks
The Chairman said he always enjoys NAViGO’s AGMs and that they are quite different to any other he has been to or experienced and this year’s alternative AGM has certainly been different again. He said that he hoped the audience enjoyed the range of online presentations over the past three days and thanked everybody for their individual contributions, which collectively makes NAViGO the successful organisation that it is. He gave thanks to the speakers and contributors; to the Board of Directors; the elected staff and membership Representatives; to Jane Lewington and the Executive team; the Corporate Affairs Team and the Communications Team with special thanks to Bradley King and Kristina Parker. Finally, thanks was given to everybody involved with NAViGO at all levels, stating you are what makes this organisation so special and that it is your efforts over the past six months that have so far seen us safely through the pandemic.
He said he hopes to see everybody again next year in better circumstances and until then to stay safe and well, before introducing the video entitled “This is Our Year”.
4. A Look Back at NAViGO’s Year video
The meeting closed after the video was played.
APPENDIX
ATTENDEES
Physically present
Tom Hunter (Chair)
Jane Lewington (Chief Executive)
Simon Beeton (Finance Director)
Mike Reeve (Operations Director)
Julie Gray (Head of Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary)
Kristina Parker (Communications Lead)
Members joining by electronic platform totalled 152, of which more than 20 were shareholders.