**SERV Trustee Annual Report** ## **SERVICE BY EMERGENCY RIDER VOLUNTEERS (SERV)** ## **TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT APRIL 2022 To March 2023** ## **The Sussex BloodRunner Group** ## **#IT’S WHAT WE DO!** _**How does a hospital get your donated blood when it’s urgently needed?**_ The NHS Blood and Transplant, a Special Health Authority, collects blood from donors in England & Wales and, after processing and testing, supplies the components (red cells, platelets, and frozen products) to hospitals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They supply blood components on a not-for-profit basis by setting prices that recover their costs only (http://www.blood.co.uk/index.aspx). However, it does not provide a standard, all-in-one **FREE** delivery service between the local Hospital Trusts, between the hours of 7pm and 6am, at weekends and on national holidays. Hospitals can choose to arrange their own transport, whether they use contractors or charity volunteers like SERV. SERV volunteers work with their local hospitals and other NHS sites on an _adhoc_ basis, thereby complementing the service provided by NHS Blood and Transplant. So how do the Sussex Hospital Trusts get blood, platelets, patient notes, human infant milk or urgent samples transferred between London and local hospitals out of hours? Do they use the costly option of a taxi or courier at night for long distance journeys? Take an ambulance or police car out of service for hours? They have another non-cost option: **SERV Volunteers.** _**Who are SERV?**_ Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers (SERV; www.servsussex.org.uk), is a registered charity (No. 284455) initially set up in1981. As a charity, SERV provides a free, rapid, and reliable means of transporting emergency blood products, X-rays, patient notes, time-critical laboratory samples and test results to hospitals and medical facilities at night, on request. In **2022/23** SERV responded to over 3500 separate calls in East and West Sussex, allowing redeployment of much-needed funds for improved patient care and other essential facilities within the local NHS Trusts. Male and female SERV volunteers from all walks of life are long serving (average 5-20 years) and range from 21-80 years. SERV supports the NHS and population in general regardless of race, gender, disability, or sexual preference, providing an exceptional, FREE service (24hrs on bank holidays and weekends) using their private motorcycles and cars. Assessed volunteers provide additional back-up support using SERV fleet vehicles. _**How does SERV work?**_ Volunteer bike riders and drivers work on a roster, waiting to respond to urgent calls relayed _via_ their duty controller. On request, SERV collects and securely delivers lab samples between hospitals and from hospitals to London. We transport life-saving blood and blood products using an insulated, National Blood Service (NBS}-approved box. We also transport human breast milk on request from treatment centres and to hospitals in Sussex. SERV volunteers generally use their own machines and pay for the fuel themselves; they receive no money for this all and all officers of the charity are unpaid volunteers. We support the population of Sussex as a 1 ## **SERV Trustee Annual Report** whole, regardless of race, gender, ethnic group, disability, or sexual preference. The use of a SERV fleet bike or car is also available; following a series of fund-raising events over many years, SERV has purchased dedicated vehicles to facilitate such secure deliveries. These vehicles are used for riders/drivers who have been independently assessed and who can ensure back up cover any night of the week, when requested. Through public donations, SERV pays for the fuel, insurance, and upkeep of these dedicated vehicles. A night rendezvous at Hooley, Surrey, to collect blood products from St George’s Hospital for transport to Sussex Hospitals. 2 **SERV Trustee Annual Report** ## **Structure & Governance** ## _**Corporate Governance**_ The Trustees continue to review the Charity’s structure and methodologies. This ongoing review has led to a refined operating structure, whereby each committee member has several associated volunteers to assist in the execution of the committee members’ areas of activity. These changes were necessitated due to the increased workload caused by the expansion of the Charity. The key areas are membership, treasurer, fundraising, roster management and fleet management. As a registered charity the Charity adopts rigorous financial controls and procedures throughout the organisation, in line with the requirements of the Charities Commission. This policy has been designed to be flexible to allow the Charity to expand or restructure, as necessary. The Board of Trustees is responsible for: - Safeguarding the assets of the charity - Preventing fraud - Avoiding mistakes - Keeping financial records in accordance with the governing - document of the Charities Acts. - Preparing Annual Accounts in accordance with the governing document and relevant legislation - Setting a Reserves Policy 3 ## **SERV Trustee Annual Report** The Board of Trustees responsibilities are achieved through designating responsibilities to the Operations Committee: Chairperson – Harry Lewis Treasurer – Neil Hayward Secretary – Simon Morley To enable the Board of Trustees to carry out these responsibilities, the Finance Policy must be adhered to by all Board of Trustee members, staff, and volunteers. In exceptional circumstances this policy may be overridden with the approval of the Chairman; any such override will be immediately reported by the Chair of Trustees. A Trustee decision may also override the policy in exceptional circumstances. A copy of this policy is given to all Trustee members on their election/appointment to the Board, and to all relevant staff and volunteers. ## _**Policy Revisions**_ This policy will be reviewed at least every three years and amended as necessary, in accordance with any forthcoming legislation affecting the operations or premises of the organisation). ## _**Finance Policy**_ The treasurer takes the lead on: - a) making sure the Charity keeps proper accounts. - b) reviewing financial performance. - c) ensuring policies for finance and relevant investment are regularly reviewed. - d) ensuring that the Charity has robust and effective financial controls in place. - e) liaising with the Chairman about financial matters and with the independent examiner. - f) reporting on financial matters at the AGM. 4 SERV Trustee Annual Report I CHARITY COMMISSION F(￿ E￿LAND MO WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A I￿lependent Euminerfs Rep(Yt Rewt to the ITU8tee•l rnembers of On accounts for the year Charrty no (rf any 31 2023 284455 1&2 I rewt to Ihe Irustees my examination of the a¢uwnts of Ihe above chanty11he Trusfi for Ihe year ended 31103r2023 Respon¥ibiliti"e¥ arnl ba81¥ of rep(wt A¥ Ihe chartls trustees. you are re5P(mst4e f(x Ihe preparats￿ of Ihe accounts m aCC(xdèr￿e wth the requrements ofthe Char**s Act 2011 {tr Acr) I rep(xt in respect of nry exa￿¥nat￿jD of Ihe Trust's acccwnts car￿1 under s￿tIOn 145 ofthe 2011 Act and in carymg out rny exammakn"on, I have followed al the appkable Directs"ons given by the Charity C(rniSSIL￿ uThler seC1M￿ 14515Xbl of Ihe A%t. Independent I have c(xn*ted nry exarna1m￿. I C￿ Ihat no material matterJ have examiners statement come lo my attention li connectM)n wilh the examination *thich gves me cause lo believe that in, any mateiial respect" accountiry recwds not accLYdwKe vth 5ecl*)n 130 of the Chaths Ad". or the accounts dMI not accord the accounb'ng recLYds". crf Ihe accounts not Voilh Ihe applicable requiremenls concernirMJ the foThn and content of accounts set out in the Chwil {Ace￿nts and Rep￿ts) Regulatsons 21108 other than any requirement Ihat the attt￿nts gNe a Iwe and fair view not a matter ¢￿$*je[ed as part of an wNlependent eX￿ma￿"0n. I hawè no and havè come across no other matters in connecl Tbvith the exanwnatson to attenlion 5houkl be drawn in thi5 report onler to enable a wot¢r uThJerstandry ofthe accowts to be rexhed. Signed: Date: 13 De¢ernb￿ 2023 Mame: JANE GAREZE FCA ATT Relevant professional qualification(¥l or body IER Oct 2018 CHARIIY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES SeThice by Emer9eTrcy Voluntser5 Su55eA Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For th• ￿liOd from 0110412022 #I￿3,,2023 Section A Receipts and payments Unr•strict funds R•strict•d lunds Endo*m•nt lundA Total fvnds L451 y••r +tr• r••r•stt fv)U• r•¥•*£ r•¥•rtt r•r•st Al Receipt5 J05 9.321 332 .362 *A05 9.327 44¢ nk IN¥• VAT Refiff 111.262 3.8 Sub tot•l(Gffjss income for AR) on sg.on A? A55•t and In￿$1￿•￿1 Jal•A, Insur•n¢• r•c•w•d on Fix•d A•••t olairn (110 1.110 Sub total 1110 6.110 65.IB3 65.113 49.958 A3P• Sub totsl 67J62 4.7U Al A55•t and In￿Stm•￿t urchas*5 s•* tabl• Fkxed Assèts vehicles Sub total 144.171J hlet offewptW(p&yments) A5 TrJn5tsrs ￿tween funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash Aunds this yoar 2.179 Z.17 94.?12 145.B51 143.672 145.B51 143.872 240.063 145.851 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of Ihe period Unrestricted furKIs Re5tr1Cted funds EndO￿nient nds DEtsIs B1 Cash •nL b•*icE 14aA72 143.672 ful￿5 lunds nds b) ¥vW• C•rtivbonii eL¥v•TrI VIV 84 Ass•ts r*l•intd lo¢ th* •ATrouThl 86 Liabllil•*s siJDeJ ty a￿ort4p CK< R2 ￿•jIll(5$} 13llW2Q23 ## _**Organizational Information**_ - a) The Financial Year runs from: 1st April to the 31[st of] March. - b) Name of Bankers: Metro Bank Limited. - c) Name of Auditor/Independent Examiner: JG Accounting Services. ## _**Bank Accounts**_ - a) All bank accounts must be in the name of the organisation. - b) No account may ever be opened in the name of an individual or individuals. - c) New accounts may only be opened by a decision of the Trustees, which must be minuted. - d) Changes to the bank mandate may only be made by a minuted decision of the Trustees in agreement with the operations Committee. - g) Two people (one a Trustee) must be involved in handling cash receipts. - h) All Internet Bank Transfers must be authorised by the Treasurer or assigned deputy. - i) Authorised individuals are responsible for examining the payment documentation (purchase invoice etc) prior to authorising an Internet Transfer or bank card payment. - j) New Bank Debit Cards may only be opened by a decision of the Board of Trustees in agreement with the operations committee. - I) Bank card signatories are authorised to incur expenditure up to £2000 at their own discretion. Above that email confirmation is required from another signatory. The Treasurer must be copied in on all emails relating to this expenditure and he is responsible for maintaining the relevant audit trail. ## _**Annual Budget**_ - a) An annual budget, setting out the organisation’s financial plan for the year, will be prepared so that the Board of Trustees can approve it before the start of each financial year. - b) The Chairman & Treasurer are responsible for the draft budget. ## _**Financial Reports**_ - The Management Accounts report will be prepared for every Board of Trustees meeting. - The report will consist of: - Income and Expenditure Accounts - Balance Sheet - Notes to the accounts and commentary ## _**Accounts and Audit**_ - Accounts will be drawn up after each financial year and presented for approval at the next Annual General Meeting. - The accounts and Trustee Annual Report (TAR) will be submitted to the Charity Commission, as directed by the Charities Commission procedures. - The trustees will appoint an appropriately qualified independent examiner to audit the accounts for presentation to the next AGM. - The trustees will review the appointment of the auditor/independent examiner at least every 3 years. _**Accounting and Other Financial Records**_ The Charity has robust procedures in place to ensure that all legal and statutory 8 responsibilities are upheld. The organisation maintains an accredited accounting system (Xero), which records: - Bank transfers, cheques and cash received and banked. - Bank Card payments, Internet Banking Transfers and other amounts paid from the bank accounts Xero is a cloud-based system that provides: - The date of the transaction. - The name of the person or organisation money was received from or paid to and the full amount. - A brief description of why the money was received or paid. - Documents relating to receipts and payments will be scanned and uploaded to our Xero accounting software The Treasurer is responsible for accurate recording of income and expenditure, but t he designated Xero Administrator will be responsible for the integrity of the system. ## _**Regular Bank Payments**_ There will be a quarterly review to ensure no redundant regular payments (standing orders or direct debits) are being made. If any redundant payments have been made, then a refund will be requested from the payee. ## _**Insurance**_ Appropriate Insurance policies will be maintained to cover: - Employer's Liability - Public Liability - Contents - Professional Indemnity (Trustees Liability) - Vehicles The Chairman and Treasurer are responsible for ensuring appropriate insurance is in place. ## _**Collections, donations, and Gift Aid**_ The charity is aware of and will ensure that all fundraising activities are carried out in line with its legal responsibilities and the Charity Commissions best practice guidance. A Collections, Donations and Gift Aid procedure is in place to outline what must happen to ensure that money raised is managed securely and transparently. The organisation will make use of gift aid schemes to increase the charity’s income. Where donations fall within the Gift Aid scheme declarations will be provided and any returns submitted in line with legislation. ## _**Other Undertakings**_ All fundraising and grant applications undertaken on behalf of the Charity with be done in the name of the organisation with prior approval of the operations committee. ## _**Reserves Policy**_ SERV is a mature charity that has built considerable resource over the years. It has a strong volunteer base, delivers a consistently high standard of service for the NHS, at no charge, and supports a range of other community activities. To support the Charity financially, SERV has also developed an effective range of initiatives to raise money through successful and carefully directed fundraising activities such as: - Direct collections from major supermarkets, targeted grant applications, sponsorship from commercial and financial organizations together with donations from individuals and small charitable organisations. This multi-level approach has allowed the charity to bolster the free cash reserves significantly. A decision was taken by the Trustees to maintain a significant cash 9 balance in this current financial year in view of the ongoing uncertainties caused by the Covid19 pandemic. - As a legal and best practice requirement, the Trustees have reviewed the financial sustainability of SERV. - The Trustees have approved the Policy, set out above, and concluded that SERV has more than ample cash reserves in hand to meet the increasing calls on its services. ## _**NHS Service Demands**_ SERV has experienced a significant increase in demands for our service. This includes: - 24hr cover at weekends. - Supporting the Sussex Community NHS Trust’s Children’s Support Group with local delivery services on a weekly basis. - Supporting initiatives like the Dementia Research study. - A significant increase in donor human milk deliveries and collections. **The Trustees are of the view that the calls on our resources will continue to grow. As a result, they have established the following:** - The need to update the vehicle fleet where appropriate, including purchase of a replacement for the old Pan European motorcycle (DX57). - Financial controls are now fully based on the Xero cloud-based accounting software. - To continue to develop internal processes to improve structure and efficiency. - The Charity has established a headquarters/workshop premises, at 13, Thesiger Close, Worthing BN11 2RN, to better manage the fleet and provide a focused central point and structure for future expansion. This also houses the Sussex Milk Hub. - The development of a new portal system was put on hold due to the after-effects of the COVID pandemic and various cost and organisational factors. The Charity decided to continue the updating and repair of the current portal for the foreseeable future. - The Charity has initiated additional developments for handling milk bank deliveries and an initial further development of the Milk Bank Hub. ## _**Recruitment of New Rider/Driver Volunteers**_ _**Background**_ . The charity has a continuous recruitment policy as there is a turnover of volunteers. The Charity therefore continues to recruit to fill vacancies (as and when vacancies occur bearing in mind the need to provide runs for existing volunteers) and to meet the increased demand from NHS hospitals as required. Weekend working has been previously implemented for hospitals in East and West Sussex. The Trustees and Operations Committee reserve the right to maintain recruitment if weekend working demands additional volunteers to meet demand. ## _**Finance**_ **Income and expenditure levels.** The past year has again seen a continuance of the Charity’s increased activity in the number of runs (both blood and donated breast milk). The continuing effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has again caused many faceto-face fund-raising events to be cancelled. However, the Charity has continued to make several successful grant applications. Total receipts for the period April 2022 to March 2023 were **£65,183** . Total expenditure was **£67,362** hence expenditure exceeded receipts by **£2,179** . Please see the detailed statement of account above. 10 The Charity has maintained substantial reserves as it expects additional expenditures in forthcoming years to exceed receipts due the planned expansion of the Charity’s services. Reserves stand at **£143,672** as at the 31[st] March 2023. Strenuous fund-raising efforts will continue throughout the coming financial year. Current major donors to the Charity include Devitts Insurance brokers, Bloomberg, Tesco, ASDA and Morrisons Superstores, and a local Sussex recycling company, Terracycle. ## _**Confidentiality**_ Board members and volunteers will always act in the best interest of the Charity and if they experience a conflict of interest, they must follow the Conflict-of-Interest Policy. ## _**Future Plans**_ **Where is SERV going in the** _**f**_ **ut** _**ure?**_ Our goal is to rise to the ever- increasing requests from the local NHS Trusts to provide a rapid and reliable means of transporting urgent blood, blood products, X-rays, patient notes and laboratory samples to local hospitals at night, 365 days per year. We have expanded our human milk transport service, now providing regular support to various milk banks in the Southeast. SERV is the only charity to collect human infant milk from donors in Sussex, Surrey and London at pre-arranged times and deliver to the milk banks in the South-East. We also deliver treated milk to mothers at their homes if they need donor milk and cannot make it to the . hospital to collect the supplies Further investment is planned to support the Hearts Milkbank processing centre following the establishment of a Milk Bank Hub at the Charity’s headquarters at 13 Thesiger Close, Worthing BN11 2RN. This facilitates the collection, storage, and distribution of donated breast milk. SERV currently delivers equipment to children’s homes in support of the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust’s children’s services in Worthing, Chichester, Brighton and Crawley. Future expansion of this services is underway. Further weekend working throughout East and West Sussex will be subject to availability of weekend duty controllers and volunteers. 11