Imperial Health Charity

Imperial Health Charity is a UK-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the hospitals within the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. Registered under charity number 1166084, the charity's mission is to enhance patient care and staff wellbeing through funding, grants, arts projects, volunteering, and fundraising activities.

Overview

Imperial Health Charity assists its hospitals by providing financial support for improved hospital buildings and facilities, pioneering medical research, and advanced equipment acquisition. It also promotes arts and cultural programs and supports volunteer efforts to enrich the hospital environment and experiences for patients and staff alike. The charity principally serves five London hospitals affiliated with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, helping them to do more than what NHS funding alone can achieve.

Activities and Impact

The charity operates in several key areas:

• Grants and Funding: Imperial Health Charity awards grants to support innovative healthcare projects and improvements within hospital settings.
• Arts and Culture: It commissions and funds inspirational artworks and cultural initiatives aimed at enhancing the hospital atmosphere for patients and visitors.
• Volunteering: The charity manages a large volunteer workforce that contributes significantly to hospital services and patient support.
• Staff Wellbeing: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the charity played a pivotal role by providing urgent frontline support such as hot meals, creating quiet wellbeing spaces, and expanding counselling services for NHS staff. Between April and December 2020, it funded the referral of 637 staff members to one-on-one counselling and supported emotional wellbeing groups accessed by over 3,000 staff members, representing a substantial increase in mental health support during the crisis.

Governance and Structure

Imperial Health Charity is governed by a board of eight trustees and employs 42 staff members. The charity has robust policies for financial control, safeguarding, complaints handling, and volunteer management. Several employees receive salaries in the range of £60,000 to £150,000, reflecting the charity’s scale and responsibilities.

The organisation was previously known as Imperial College Healthcare Charity.

Mission and Reach

The charity’s focus is the advancement of health and saving of lives through support for healthcare services, scientific research, and community benefit. Its impact extends throughout England and Wales but is primarily concentrated on the Imperial College hospitals in London.

Imperial Health Charity continues to be a vital partner in enhancing healthcare delivery, supporting NHS staff wellbeing, and enriching the hospital environment through arts and volunteering initiatives.

[1] https://www.imperialcharity.org.uk [2] https://www.imperialcharity.org.uk/about-us [3] https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1166084&subId=0 [4] https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5077135/full-print [5] https://nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/our-impact/imperial-health-charity/