Well, we are already almost half-way through the year and I am very pleased to say that patient numbers are up significantly at both Centres in comparison to this same period in 2023. We also anticipate that they will continue to grow further.  It is also worthy of note that our retired officer patients make up a much larger proportion of patient numbers than ever before and we anticipate that this is now the new normal.

This has been a busy work period for all of us at the PTC which has encapsulated inductions for some new Trustees, a board meeting and then most recently our annual Strategic Planning Meeting and our Annual General Meeting (AGM).  We do not actually have to have an AGM and not all Charities do but we have taken the view that we believe that it is appropriate that we tell all our many donors and other interested stakeholders what we are up to and our plans for the future. We expose our accounts and activities to scrutiny and any questions that our partners might have for both Trustees and the Executive Team at the PTC.

The AGM was well attended although on our smaller scale than some previous years but it was gratifying to talk to some of the first time attendees who found the whole process illuminating and on a scale and level of transparency that they did not do within their own organisations.

The AGM was preceded by our Strategic Planning Meeting when Trustees discuss and decide some of the ideas for where both the PTC and The Police Children’s Charity (TPCC) are heading next.  We spent some time discussing how we can stem the falling number of donors to TPCC but that task remains a real challenge and we continue  to struggle to find the key to unlock this conundrum. 

We believe that part of the secret for  this is just ensuring that serving officers know that the charity exists and what it can do for them.  We are satisfied that TPCC has a fantastic range of benefits all of which can be accessed for as little as £1.50 per month, and I would encourage everyone to play their part in raising awareness of TPCC by telling as many of their colleagues about the Charity as possible.

Probably the most significant decision that Trustees made at the Strategic Planning Meeting that I am pleased to pass on, is that Trustees agreed to hold the donation rate FOR serving officers at its current level of £7.80 per month (it is actually less than this as it attracts tax relief at source) for the whole of 2025.  This is tremendous news and The PTC donation rate must literally be the only outgoing that has not gone up a single penny since 2016.  I think that it is fair to say that we are approaching the moment when there will inevitably have to be an increase in the donation rate, and at the moment this is looking to be very likely to happen in 2026.

In other news I was pleased to attend a fundraiser concert for the PTC in Ripon Cathedral recently which was well attended by both police officers and members of the public. We also generated some additional income by renting our Harrogate Centre to some of the orchestra members.  We have also received several large donations from some of our constituent forces in recent weeks which have been very welcome and will  be put to good use in providing front line treatment for our police family patients.  I also had the opportunity to attend the Police Federation Northern Ireland Annual Conference in Belfast recently. As well as being a constructive work event, it also provided an excellent opportunity to liaise with a number of PTC donors and to hear about the value and impact that the PTC had on them after a treatment stay with us.

The final issue to highlight is that we are now almost at the launch point of opening up The PTC to all Police Staff on 1 July.  We have been preparing for this moment for almost 12 months and we are ready.  Almost 600 Police Staff have signed up so far and just over 219 to TPCC, so it is a modest beginning but a beginning nevertheless and one that we hope to build on when we start to admit the first police staff members as patients from next month.  I suspect that it will take us about 12-24 months be in a position to assess how this change might affect the structure and shape of The PTC in the future, however, I remain confident that this a positive move will make us more inclusive for policing, and a more effective Charity in the future.

That’s it for this month’s Blog, stay safe all.

 

Patrick Cairns

CEO PTC and TPCC

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