James Pepper - trustee at Saint Francis Hospice

James Pepper is a trustee at Saint Francis Hospice. As part of Trustee Week (4-8 November) James shares why helping his local community has always been an important part of his life.  

My relationship with Saint Francis Hospice started when I was in primary school as we raised funds for its inception. That was over 40 years ago and the legacy of the hospice remains strong.  

My wife, Tracy, passed away at Saint Francis Hospice on 9th April 2019. Tracy was at the Hospice for about a month. She had a rare lung disease and finally passed away after a full year of her lung health deteriorating.  

Tracy had started the year in intensive care at Queens Hospital in Romford with a fungal pneumonia due to years of immune suppressant drugs. She was never able to walk more than a few steps again and required a constant oxygen supply.  

I cared for Tracy at home in between hospital stays but having a skilled and experienced nursing and medical team there for those last few weeks was vital for Tracy. Our country provides funding and different options for us to enter this world but this is not the case for when we leave it. Palliative care should have greater importance in our society and I am keen to try helping raise its profile for the benefit of all of us. 

I have lived in Havering all my life. My 22-year-old son and I both went to school in Upminster and we still live in the town. Over the years I have volunteered in a few ways to the benefit of the local community. This has included being an independent board member for Homes in Havering, the local social housing company the local authority used to manage their circa 12,000 strong housing stock before taking back into in-house management. I have coached football locally for over 25 years as a FA qualified coach and only recently gave up to pursue other interests. I previously played for Hornchurch FC although injuries seriously curtailed this time of my footballing career keeping my appearances down to a handful. I am always keen to give back to the community especially where I, or my family, have previously been fortunate to benefit from support ourselves. 

I am a qualified CIMA accountant with an MBA from Henley Business School and my professional career has led me to work for different industries. I initially started at the London Borough of Havering before working in publishing (for Archant, the former owners of the Recorder), manufacturing, energy services and 20 years in facilities management including working at an NHS trust with two acute hospitals during the Covid pandemic.  

I am hoping this well-rounded commercial exposure will be of assistance to the hospice in this important phase of its existence where government funding continues to fall below the levels required to cover the services delivered by the hospice team. 

It is part of our role as trustees to ensure this incredibly valuable community asset remains in a strong position for future generations whilst expanding its service scope and reach for the people in our local area.