Bidding farewell to Yvonne

Yvonne Blencowe

'Great leadership and support,' 'fairness for all,' 'tremendous compassion and wisdom', and 'enthusiasm and joie de vivre' are just a handful of traits displayed by Yvonne Blencowe, our Voluntary Services Manager.

Yvonne, who has worked at Oxford University Hospitals for 22 years, retired from the Trust on Thursday 27 August 2020.

Many of Yvonne's colleagues, both past and present, joined her for socially-distanced picnics at the John Radcliffe and Horton General hospitals to bid her farewell.

Bridget Daly, Voluntary Services Co-ordinator at OUH, has worked with Yvonne for more than 10 years. She said:

"It has been really lovely to work with Yvonne. The magnitude of her work in the Voluntary Services Department will never be forgotten.

"Yvonne has been a fantastic colleague, mentor, and great friend to me and she will be greatly missed."

When Yvonne announced her retirement, the team were not surprised to receive many messages from volunteers and colleagues wishing her the very best.

Lizzi Hewer-Connelly, Voluntary Services Administrator at the Trust, said:

"Yvonne's caring and generous nature is a huge factor in the success of the department. Volunteers come to the Trust for their own reasons, but it is Yvonne's open door policy that sees them return week after week." 

Laura Bick, Head of Recruitment and Retention, said:

"Yvonne has been a pleasure to work with and will be greatly missed by us all. She worked in a number of different HR roles over the years on different sites before becoming the Voluntary Services Manager. Yvonne has been an asset to the Trust and to the volunteers, and I wish her all the best for the future."

The time and the commitment that volunteers give is greatly valued by patients, visitors and staff, and a variety of volunteer roles can be found across all four of our hospitals.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Voluntary Services Team recruited 98 new volunteers who came forward to offer their support to the Trust.

Terry Roberts, Chief People Officer at the Trust, said:

"I wish Yvonne all the best at this exciting time, and hope that she thoroughly enjoys her retirement and spending more time with her family.

"We're proud of our fantastic volunteers and the great work they do, and I would like to thank Yvonne for all her hard work during her time with us."

For more information about volunteering at the Trust, please see Volunteering.