9th October 2019

Over 60 people attended Guild Care’s 24th AGM on 2nd October to hear about the charity’s key achievements during 2018/19 and our plans for the future.

This has been a busy year for Guild Care, described as a ‘transformational one’ as Chairman Allan Reid and CEO Suzanne Millard reviewed the incredible work that has taken place over this period.

Chairman Allan Reid said: “The positives for this year have been the full merger with Worthing Scope which was completed in October 2018, improving our financial position, improving service quality, maintaining our assets through the refurbishment of Linfield House and attracting and retaining care staff with significant wage increases.”

Chairman Allan Reid addresses the audience

Suzanne Millard, CEO of Guild Care, said: “Our last financial year was a transformational one for the charity as we saw past decisions starting to deliver the results that we had planned for and it was our mission to continue to help our residents and service users in the best and most caring way possible.”

Included in the charity’s success was their securing of 15 weeks funding to develop a pilot project for respite care at their Haviland House dementia care home, which will allow them to demonstrate to funders the increasing need for such services. Along with this, the benefit it brings to local carers who are often looking after their loved ones with little help from the state, despite the benefit their continuing to care brings to the community.

Suzanne and Allan with the Mayor of Worthing, Cllr Hazel Thorpe

Guild Care has also increased their GOLD services for older people with a learning disability from one to two days per week and it has recently won another contract from West Sussex County Council to provide additional social opportunities for young adults aged 18-25 with learning disabilities.  Following a complete review of its carers respite day services for people with dementia, West Sussex County Council awarded Guild Care a new contract. In April 2019 Guild Care became the sole provider for Carers Short Breaks in Worthing, which has led to a number of new services.

Early this year Guild Care completed the lottery funded refurbishment of their Annexe. Suzanne said: “We are really pleased to have named this as the Frank Cave Annexe. Frank was the only remaining founder who was without a memorial building, so he can now join Arthur Linfield, The Reverend Haviland and Effie Methold by being permanently remembered for the innovative work they all undertook in setting up the organisation we now know as Guild Care.”

Suzanne Millard addresses the audience

The centre itself is a beautifully appointed activity space with café facility where smaller groups of people can meet and socialise together. The space is being used in partnership with Coastal West Sussex Mind which has been successful in providing a range of new services from the centre that help people struggling with their mental health. 

Guild Care’s financial results for 2018/19 recorded a break-even bottom line for the first time in four years. Warren Fabes, CFO, said: “Over the last four years Guild Care has increased the charitable public benefit by more than one third which was funded by a significant improvement our operational performance – the charitable public benefit is now being delivered in a financially sustainable way.”

Suzanne concluded: “Since 2017 it has been our ambition to work on ‘Building our Community’ and that is exactly what we are achieving with all the work we are undertaking as we reshape services to meet the changing needs of the people community and government funding priorities.”

To read a copy of the latest Annual Review, please visit https://www.guildcare.org/annual-reviews