New leadership charts a bright future for Bluebell Wood
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The team, who each have extensive experience of the hospice, healthcare and charity sectors, is led by chief executive, Heidi Hawkins and also includes Samantha Wood as income generation and communications director, Andy Lee as finance and resources director, Dr Michael Tatterton, chief nurse and Eve Holroyd who is care services director.
The new leadership team comes at an exciting time for the North Anston hospice which has recently announced a redesign of its service provision ensuring that the much-loved charity can continue to deliver its essential support for families and young people across South Yorkshire North Nottinghamshire, North Derbyshire and parts of North Lincolnshire for years to come.
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Hide AdHeidi (50), who lives in Retford, was appointed chief executive last year but previously worked for Bluebell Wood as head of retail from 2007-2013 so knows the organisation well. As chief executive, Heidi leads the team and ensures the operations of the charity are delivered legally and ethically and aligned to its charitable purpose, on behalf of the Board of Trustees who govern the charity and company.


Samantha (37), who lives in Cusworth in Doncaster, has been part of the Bluebell Wood team for five years and has recently been promoted to her current role as income generation and communications director, where she is responsible for achieving the annual running costs of £6.5m needed to keep the hospice open as well as the charity’s external brand and messaging. Prior to working at Bluebell Wood, Sam worked for seven hospices across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire in various income generation roles, including Wakefield Hospice, Overgate Hospice, Forget Me Not Children's hospice and Northallerton, Rotherham and Lindsey Lodge.
Andy (45), from Greystones in Sheffield, joined the charity in March 2024 as finance and resources director, responsible for Bluebell Wood’s business operations and financial performance. He is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) and most recently was finance business partner at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, financial controller at British Cycling and had various senior finance roles across 12 years at the University of Sheffield.
Michael (42), from Leeds, has worked at Bluebell Wood since 2022 and as chief nurse is responsible for the symptom management team, who provide expert nursing care to babies, children and young people in the hospice, at home and in hospital, and education team. He also leads on research, supporting Bluebell Wood to share its important work with others, helping to develop care services for families across the UK and internationally. Alongside his role at Bluebell Wood, Michael is professor of children's nursing at the University of Bradford. He is a children's nurse and health visitor and has worked as a consultant nurse and director of care in two other children's hospices in Yorkshire, as well as a number of roles in the NHS in both hospitals and the community.
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Hide AdFinally, Eve (40) who lives in Leeds, is a new appointment and a registered children’s nurse. She is responsible for the oversight and delivery of care services and clinical governance in Bluebell Wood. Initially starting her career in health psychology and public health, Eve worked on projects around long term conditions, self management, and learning disabilities. Whilst completing a master’s degree, Eve had her first experience of children's palliative care; working part time with children with medical complexity and life limiting illness. She decided to retrain as a children's nurse and gained experience on children's intensive care and a community virtual ward before taking on leadership roles such as matron for neonatal services and lead nurse for paediatric palliative care. She has developed her leadership skills as a clinical leadership fellow with the NHS England Future Leaders Programme, and since led on transformation projects around improving complex care in the acute setting for mental health and medical complexity. Eve enjoys working within the wider system and is looking forward to building relationships with our local and regional partners.
Nicola Didlock, Chair of Trustees, said: “We have already undertaken a lot of important work over the last two years which has led to the hospice now being in a much better position to provide clinical care services that are robust, responsive and sustainable. The establishment of our new leadership team just reinforces this approach and provides a stable foundation for this work to continue ensuring Bluebell Wood is here for the families that need us for years to come.
“Heidi, Sam, Andy, Michael and Eve each have a wealth of experience that together, along with our wider staff team and board of trustees, makes us even stronger and we are all very excited to be on this journey together doing the very best we can for those who use our services.”
It costs almost £6.5m each year to keep Bluebell Wood running, with only around 16 percent of funding from government and the remaining 84 percent generated by fundraising. All services are completely free to families who are referred to Bluebell Wood.
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