A CHRISTCHURCH-based hospice charity has welcomed three new trustees.

Macmillan Caring Locally (MCL), which is celebrating its golden anniversary, welcomed the arrival of Dr Karen Rees, Peter West and Ann Allen to the site at Christchurch Hospital.

The chair of MCL’s Board of Trustees, Mike Emsley, said: “I would like to extend a very warm welcome and my sincerest gratitude to Karen, Peter, and Ann as they come aboard."

Dr Karen Rees is a registered nurse, district nurse, and health visitor and has worked locally as a practitioner and nurse academic for 30 years.

An accomplished swimmer, she has completed several ‘big’ swims to fundraise for the unit, including a solo English Channel and 20 Bridges, a circumnavigation of Manhattan Island, New York.

Peter West joins MCL as deputy chair of the Board of Trustees. Peter has a background in banking, commercial property and corporate estates.

On a personal note, the ‘Mac Unit’ is extremely important to Peter, as his wife Debbie (a local nurse) was cared for there until she passed away in March 2018.

The third new Trustee, Ann Allen, is a former special constable in the Avon & Somerset Constabulary.

Ann worked in Special Educational Needs schools for over 12 years, partly due to her son being born very prematurely and diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.