A long-serving East Cheshire Hospice staff member has received an award.

East Cheshire Hospice Chief Executive Karyn Johnston received a surprise award to coincide with ten years of service at East Cheshire Hospice.

Karyn was given a prestigious award for community service by Clare Hayward MBE DL, the High Sheriff of Cheshire.

Karyn's role is to ensure the Macclesfield charity meets its aims and objectives, develops services in line with plans and continues to meet the needs of the community.

Congratulations on ten years of service, Karyn!

The surprise award, made at this month's Art Fair Cheshire, at Macclesfield Town Hall, recognised Karyn's efforts leading a team which continues to put the Hospice at the forefront of end-of-life care.

Karyn joined the Hospice as head of income generation before assuming the role of chief executive six years ago.

She has over 25 years experience in marketing and communications in the private and third sector.

Karyn said: "This recognition only came to me because I work with great people. I know this award is down to the team effort.

East Cheshire Hospice is located in Macclesfield's Broken Cross and Upton ward. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

"I was embarrassed to receive a personal accolade which really belongs to my colleagues and others who support the Hospice in many different ways."

Before joining the Millbank Drive good cause, she spent six years at Age UK Cheshire East, also based in Macclesfield.

She has also worked for Cheshire Building Society.

The Hospice cared for a record 1,277 patients and thousands of family members in 2023, further illustrating its value to the community.

Karyn said: "Last year, via all our services, we helped the most patients in any single year in the Hospice's history.

"That was before the extension of our new Sunflower Living Well Centre, which opened in April, so we can probably expect that figure to go up this year.

"Our aim is to help more patients year-on-year. We are driven by the needs of the community.

"For instance, we realised that people in the community wanted more care at home, so we added two more teams to our Hospice @ Home service.

"This doubled the number of our teams serving our community in the comfort of their own homes.

"Our ambition does not diminish in the slightest. We'll soon be announcing another big project to make end-of-life care even more accessible."

Founded in 1986, East Cheshire Hospice provides specialist end-of-life care and is a registered charity. It requires close to £10,000 per day to run.

Yesterday, East Cheshire Hospice announced they are opening a fifth charity shop in the area. Please click HERE for that story.

Elsewhere, the High Sheriff, who promotes our area and supports the justice system, has recently announced awards that Macclesfield organisations and individuals can enter. Please click HERE to read that story.