A number of charities support our hospitals by fundraising for equipment and facilities not provided by the NHS. This year they played a vital role during the pandemic raising money for numerous projects including life-saving equipment.
Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity
The charity supports initiatives across both hospital sites, raising money for innovative treatment, equipment and research.
COVID-19 Emergency Appeal – Raising over £1m to help NHS colleagues on the frontline
The charity quickly set up the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal to raise funds for much needed equipment and projects to enhance the wellbeing of staff when the pandemic began.
A host of celebrities including comedian Hugh Dennis and singer Shakin’ Stevens helped publicise the appeal and run fundraising activities. England cricketer Jos Buttler donated his signed world cup final shirt which was auctioned for £65,000.
Money raised paid for vital equipment, including an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) unit and equipment, ventilators, and portable ultrasounds. ECMO is a sophisticated form of life support (see ECMO saving lives).
The appeal was boosted by many generous donations, including from NHS Charities Together which funded a wellbeing programme for staff and a rehabilitation programme for patients. During the second wave of the pandemic, as the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospitals rose again, the charity set up the online Care and Share Noticeboard inviting messages of thanks and encouragement for NHS colleagues. Celebrities posting a message included rock musician Brian May, footballer turned actor Vinnie Jones and radio presenter Melvin Odoom.
Life in Focus and Lifeline Lab Appeals – Helping to buy the latest imaging equipment for our hospitals
Thousands of patients undergo life-saving and life-enhancing procedures in Harefield’s and Royal Brompton’s catheter laboratories each year. The charity raised £500,000 for each hospital to provide new state-of-the-art imaging equipment for these labs.
The Life in Focus Appeal for Royal Brompton and Lifeline Lab Appeal for Harefield funded new scanners through a series of virtual events including bingo, wine tasting and a carol concert.
The Patients’ Fund – Improving the lives of patients at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals
The charity provided £120,000 to The Patients’ Fund to fund projects around our hospitals. Staff are invited to submit ideas to improve the experiences of patients.
In 2020/21 grants were made for projects such as providing iPads to help teach patients and their families how to use software to measure breathing (spirometry); funding for leisure activities for long-stay patients and funding for patient comfort packs containing items such as toiletries.
Visit Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity’s website to find out more: www.rbhcharity.org
The Brompton Fountain
The Brompton Fountain charity supports babies and young patients aged up to 25 years being cared for by the Trust. During the pandemic, the charity dramatically increased its activities and the number of people accessing services.
The charity worked closely with the hospital play team to provide resources and activities to those who were shielding. These included over 500 Buddy Boxes containing games, books, toys and gifts to keep children and adults entertained which were sent out to patients’ homes.
Online groups were set up to give COVID-19 information to parents and specialised medical equipment provided to help families monitor their children’s conditions at home.
The in-person parties and events of previous years were replaced with hugely popular online and virtual workshops, such as painting for the teenage youth forum group ‘Trailblazers’, and bake-along sessions, bringing people together to socialise, improve wellbeing and maintain a sense of normality.
Friends of Royal Brompton Hospital
The Friends of Royal Brompton relies on a strong network of volunteers and one part-time member of staff. In normal times, the charity runs two shops, operates trolley services for patients and their families on the wards, and hosts fundraising events throughout the year.
This year, the charity’s usual activities were curtailed by the pandemic, but it played a vital role helping the Trust during the pandemic. Its activities included:
- Marshalling over 300 volunteers and resources to help produce over 30,400 hospital gowns in 10 weeks to address the shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) available to the staff (see Volunteers helped us make our own PPE).
- Helping to fund meals served to frontline staff during the first lockdown.
< Contents