May is usually the time when the Charity team prepare the Annual Report and Accounts for the previous 12 months, and this year is no exception. In doing so, I’ve been struck by the unique position we are in as a hospital charity.  We raise funds for, and support, such a wide range of medical specialities.  As a charity we manage over 300 different funds which range from neurology to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), from renal to radiology.  As a fellow NHS fundraiser once told a prospective donor: “if you want to make a difference to the largest number of people in your local community, there is no better way than by supporting your local hospital.”  That’s so true and I unashamedly use this now when taking to donors myself.

We’re fortunate that 100s of fundraisers support  Southmead every year, many to say thank you for the care they or a family member have received.  And we also get letters of thanks ourselves for the projects we fund – the image above is of a lovely letter we received recently from a patient who was grateful for the bedside televisions the Charity purchased for the hospital.

As a Charity we’re lucky that the scope of projects we’re able to support is considerable and in doing so we make a huge and lasting difference to the lives of over 500,000 patients who are treated by our Trust every year.

 

Liz Bond

Trust and Major Donor Manager