THE boss of a Hampshire charity is stepping down after more than 20 years at the organisation.

Alison Farrell is leaving her role as chief executive at Wessex Heartbeat, an organisation she was campaign chairman for when it was originally set up in 1992.

She then became a trustee until 2011 when she took over as chief executive and oversaw its Daily Echo-backed High 5 appeal to raise £500,000 for a new 16- to 30-year-old cardiac ward at Southampton General Hospital.

But Alison, who lives in the Test Valley, said it was time for new blood to lead the charity in new directions.

She said: “I have a fabulous team and I will miss working with them, but it is important to refresh a charity. I have been around the charity for a long time, so it’s a good time to step down.

“We have some exciting things coming up that will be good for a new chief executive to get their teeth into, but we need a self starter with lots of ideas and who is creative. But most importantly we need someone who wants to make a difference.”

She added the charity needed someone who could balance coming up with new strategies and being hands-on with patients and clinicians.

Alison said: “We need someone who can be talking to people at a corporate level one moment and the next be talking to children.

“One of the other challenges is coming up with great fundraising ideas. When we do things we try to do them to a high standard.

“There are a lot of really excellent causes out there but we have one of, if not the best, cardiac units in the UK.

“We are doing leading-edge stuff for the unit and we want to help it stay one of the best.”

Alison added she would be on hand to help out the charity in the future if needed.

Alison spoke about her favourite memories, saying: “The two fundraiser shows we ran at the Mayflower were fabulous. There were so many different people who gave up their time, expertise and talent to support the charity, from primary school children to sixth formers and Romsey Male Voice Choir.

Daily Echo:

“It was a great coming together of the community to do something in an exciting venue like the Mayflower so it stands out for me. And the other thing that stands out is getting to meet patients and clinicians that we work with.”

She added: “The Echo has been good to me and to the charity with its support of High 5. And the editor Ian Murray has always been so supportive in giving publicity to our cause.”

And as for what’s next for Alison, she is open to offers from other charities and voluntary groups.

Meanwhile the charity’s next move is to look at adult cardiac care while improving education of heart problems in the community.

Email alison@heartbeat. org.uk or call 023 8070 6095 if you’re interested in the job.