Our charity goes above and beyond for those in South Tyneside, Sunderland and the surrounding areas.
With the generous support of our staff, patients, their families and friends, we are able to:
- fund specialist equipment
- make our hospitals more comfortable for those who need them
- provide the necessary extras that make a difference
Our work is made possible by those who donate, fundraise and volunteer to support our charity. Some have even left a gift in their will to continue making a difference even after they have left us.
The charity is registered with the Charity Commission as the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust Charitable Funds (charity number 1052366).
Click here to read our Charity leaflet or here for information fundraising and how you can make a difference.
Like all NHS charities we have multiple funds held within the charity, which are essentially mini charities within the main charity. Every ward and service will have at least one fund attached to it, money donated to a specific fund can only be spent on activity linked to that fund. For example, if you donate to our neonatal fund the money will only be used to improve the facilities and services on the neonatal unit and will not be used elsewhere.
We do have general purposes funds that are used to support activity across our sites and services, such as improvements to communal areas and the provision of services to patients across multiple wards/departments. When fundraising for, or donating to the charities you can specify the fund you wish the money to go to, it may be to an area you have a particular interest in, or have seen coverage of in the media.
Who decides how donations are spent?
The Board of Trustees have delegated the day to day running of the charity to the Charitable Funds Committee, which is a subcommittee of the board. The committee sets charity policy, oversees fundraising activity and makes the final decision on any projects valued over £5,000, projects below that value are approved by fund managers in consultation with relevant officers.
Click on the button below to find out more about the committee and some of the projects they have approved.
So what has our charity done?
We support projects and initiatives ranging all the way from children's wards through to care of the older persons. It would be difficult to put all we do into one place, but here are some examples of how we have made a difference:
Comfort Care Packs
We know that being with a loved one at the end of their life is both difficult and important for many. We know family members want to spend as much time as possible at the bed side with their loved one and with this in mind our End of Life Care Facilitators have put together comfort care packs for family members who choose to stay with their loved one overnight.
The packs contain practical items to help the visitors overnight, including a blanket and pillow, refreshments and the means to freshen up at the bedside. We have asked those who have benefited from these packs and those who responded agreed that they helped them at a difficult time. Some comments included:
“ The pillow and blanket were particularly useful as well as the toothbrush, toothpaste and wipes- thank you for a very good , thoughtful idea”
“It’s the daft little things you always forget which are so important so thank you”
“Please continue your service - this truly touched me. This was a brilliant gesture at my time in need - it felt like someone cared”
We have been distributing care packs since January 2019 and these are funded through the Trust’ Charity. We would love to continue with this project and donations from the general public, no matter how big or small, really will make a difference to the comfort of relatives at a very difficult time.
If you would like to support this project please donate to our Trust’s Charity.
Complementary therapy suite
Our Complementary Therapy room was funded by supporters of Sunderland Cancer Patient Support Centre. The room was refurbished and repurposed to become a safe, quiet place for those receiving cancer treatment to receive complementary therapies. Therapies are funded by our charity and delivered in partnership with Coping With Cancer North East.
Dialysis machines
In 2017, the time had come to update our Haemodialysis machines. Instead of replacing the units, our charity was able to fund an upgrade to state of the art dialysis machines, matching our equipment to the exceptional care the Renal Unit team offer.
Neonatal miniboos
Smell is extremely important for newborns and their mothers to bond, as it stimulates milk production in mothers and is proven to sooth babies. So, being separated in an incubator is difficult for both mothers and little ones. Miniboos are cuddly toys that pick up the scent of mother and baby, which are swapped after a few days. Babies then recognise their mother's scent when they are ready for more cuddles.
Critical Care Simman© training
We are fortunate to have a state of the art Integrated Critical Care Unit (ICCU). The ICCU team continually seek to stay at the top of their game and our charity was able to fund a simulation model to support them. The model rehearses common and complex procedures so when staff do come to perform them on a patient they are confident of their skills.
