Dad becomes chief exec of charity that has helped his daughter

WHEN exhausted dad Rob Jones first arrived at children’s hospice Tŷ Hafan in 2012, it was for a short-break from the 24-7 care of his daughter Poppy who has a life-limiting condition.

But after five years of receiving comfort, care and support from its staff, the 50-yearold father of five will now be heading the team he calls his “extended family” after being appointed chief executive.

Mr Jones felt the family had “no-one to turn to in a crisis” and was “exhausted and desperate” by the time they were referred to the hospice, when Poppy was seven.

“When we arrived at Tŷ Hafan, we were exhausted and didn’t know what to expect,” said Mr Jones.

“You can spend a lot of time explaining your experiences to people and, unless people have actually experienced that, there’s always a gap of understanding.

“At Tŷ Hafan that understanding was immediate and we could just relax as a family and just be ourselves.”

He added their first short break at the hospice was the “first time we were able to stay somewhere as a family” and “felt like a family holiday”.

“My wife Rachel and I didn’t have to get up in the night to look after Poppy, we had lovely home-cooked food and we could spend time with our three boys and our other daughter,” he said.

But another way the charity has helped is to support the family through the difficult times and to help make Poppy’s life full of joy, fun and precious moments with her loved ones.

“We were told Poppy wouldn’t live to see her first birthday, then her fourth. She’s now 12 and has done so many amazing things – including taking part in Tŷ Hafan’s Rainbow Run in a bathtub on wheels,” said Mr Jones.

“Tŷ Hafan has enabled my wife Rachel and I to embrace the situation with Poppy and we are making the most of it, turning it into something more positive and, hopefully, making a difference.

“For families like ours, the run-up to Christmas can be a scary time, as it’s the time of year your child can be most susceptible to illness and hospital stays.”

Since joining the charity, Mr Jones has been impressed by the dedication of not only the hospice’s care team but their supporting departments at head office.

“Two things that have surprised me since I joined the team are how engaged the whole organisation is with the cause and how hard it is to deliver great care,” added Mr Jones.

He added his determination to help the charity provide the best possible care for families was driven by his experiences.

“When we’re making decisions I always think what will be the impact on families? That’s not just financial, it’s in the way we do things and the values and principles we work to,” he said. “My goal is for the care that we provide to become a right for every child and every family that needs it. The best place to receive care is actually in the family home. It’s going to be quite a journey for us to achieve that, but it’s what’s best for families. In the meantime, we’ve got our fantastic hospice and our community team is growing.

“This is my single biggest achievement in my life; I will never top this.”