MY Hospitals Charity
Please click one of the links below for more information on our charitable funds:
Suggestions for how charitable funds could be used
About MY Charitable Funds
Every year we are always astounded by the generosity of our patients, relatives, staff and members of the public who devote their time and effort to fundraising for our hospitals.
That generosity has helped us to purchase new equipment and improve facilities across our hospitals benefitting both our patients and staff.
All charitable donations are managed by The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Charitable Fund (Charitable Funds) which has a specific committee, in order to safeguard donations and legacies. This is a registered charity (number: 1067163), which is governed by the laws applicable to Trusts i.e. The Trustee Act 2000 and the Charities Act 1993.
The charity’s mission is to raise income and manage funds to improve patient care either directly with patients or indirectly via staff. We do this by enhancing the services provided by the Trust and funding additional items of expenditure, which would not otherwise be funded by the NHS.
As a result, the aims and objectives of Charitable Funds are very simple:
“To benefit patients or towards the benefit of staff, which will result in improved patient care”
We try wherever possible to respect the wishes of those making donations about funds going to specific areas or for a specific purpose and we also have general funds to support Trustwide services or services at specific hospitals.
The work that Charitable Funds does cannot be done without the support of both local and national charities and organisations. As a result, we would like to give particular thanks to the following organisations for their generosity since March 2018:
- Stepping Stones (Pinderfields Spinal Injuries Centre Limited)
- The Hydes Hospital Trust
- Kettlethorpe High School
- Voluntary Services
- SURF - Spinal Unit Recreational Fund.
- Three Lane Ends Academy
- First Buses Leeds
- M&S Junction 32 Store
- Bubble and Squeak Cleaning Services
- South Milford Hotel
- Asda Dewsbury, Glasshoughton & Wakefield
- Dr Jackson Cancer Fund
- Parker Group
How Charitable Funds are used
‘The Charitable Funds support a wide range of expenditure, all of which aim to improve the patient experience here at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Some of the items of expenditure can be small, others can be large. The charity has funded numerous purchases which have recently included the following:
- Dual infusion pumps for chemotherapy. Some newer and rather complex chemotherapy treatments involve infusing two drugs simultaneously yet at different rates and require the patient to be attached to two large infusion pumps. The dual infusion pumps deliver two chemotherapy drugs via one infusion pump rather than two, which allows the patient more freedom to be able to move around and maintain their independence whilst also reducing the inherent clinical risk. Patients have commented positively on having 'state of the art' equipment and staff believe this purchase to have had the largest positive impact on the chemotherapy service over the last few years.
- Medicotech exercise equipment. A Thera-vital exercise bike was purchased for the Spinal Injuries Unit. The bike offers a means of passive and active exercise to the upper and lower limbs of patients affected by spinal injuries. This helps to maintain a range of movement and improves cardiovascular health in people who are wheelchair dependent. Patients have provided lots of encouraging feedback about the sensation of using the bike and the positive effects of actively and passively working their limbs. The bike is now the most frequently used item of equipment within the department and in use for a minimum of four hours per day Monday to Friday.
- Furniture for people Living with Dementia. A grant was awarded to purchase furniture and soft furnishings to create a reminiscence room for people living with Dementia. This provides a therapeutic and calming environment within the hospital and helps to make a hospital stay less isolating and distressing. Families are actively encouraged to sit in the reminiscence room with their relative who may be living with dementia and use the resources available. It is evident from all the patient, carer and staff feedback that the reminiscence room is a huge success at Pinderfields hospital, so much so that staff from other Trusts have visited the room to gain ideas as an example of good practice.
- A residential trip to Bendrigg Lodge Burns Camp. A grant was used to fund a burns camp residential trip for children and families affected by burns. The camp gave the families the opportunity to share their experiences and gain support, reducing the isolation often felt by burn injured children. It also allowed the children to develop new skills which will help them when dealing with challenges in the future. One child commented that it 'helped build my confidence, sharing experiences with other burn injured children.
- Additional equipment and resources to support community teams. A Legacy enabled the trusts adult community team to purchase more bladder scanners, Doppler ultrasound machines, electrocardiogram (ECG) machines, reclining chairs and a dedicated relative’s room at the trusts Wakefield Intermediate Care Unit, Queen Elizabeth Road.
- Relatives Overnight Room. The rooms are now available to be used by the families of patients who are in the palliative and critical stages of their treatment, this provides families with privacy and dignity at often stressful and traumatic times. The rooms are fully furnished with reclining chairs, drinks facilities, TV and ensuite facilities.
How to make a donation
Making a donation is really easy to do and really does help provide improved patient care.
You can donate by:
- Logging onto our Just Giving website: http://www.justgiving.com/midyorkshospital
- Texting MIDY01 £2 / £5 / £10 to 70070 to donate. Eg MIDY01 £5. This donates into our Trustwide General Purpose fund
- Visiting one of our General Offices at our hospitals (Dewsbury, Pinderfields and Pontefract) and donating by either cash or cheque
- Sending a cheque (please do not send cash) to the Charitable Funds Team directly. Please make cheques payable to:
'Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Charitable Funds'
and send them to:
Charitable Funds team
Room 8
Stanley Hall Annex
Pinderfields Hospital
Aberford Road
Wakefield
WF1 4DG
Regardless of how you donate, you can add 25% to your donation, at no extra cost to you, by utilising Gift Aid. To be able to do this, the donation must be from yourself and the amount of Income and Capital Gains Tax that you are to pay in the current tax year must be equal to 25% of the donation.
If you wish to donate by cash or cheque, a Gift Aid declaration form is available: Gift Aid Declaration form [doc] 192KB which you can complete and return when handing in your donation to one of the General Offices or by post.
For any queries relating to donations please contact our Fundraising Co-Ordinator on 01924 546017
How to fundraise for us
We welcome any individuals or organisations wishing to fundraise on behalf of Charitable Funds. However, we do ask that you contact us before any fundraising event or activity takes place so we can discuss the fundraising in more detail, as well as giving permission to use our Charitable Fund on any fundraising publicity.
If you wish to fundraise for Charitable Funds, please contact a member of the Charitable Funds team on 01924 543293 or our Fundraising Co-Ordinator on 01924 546017.
News of individuals and organisations that have recently raised funds for the Trust
Leaving a legacy
Legacies can prove to be an excellent way of leaving a memory in the local area, after your death. We welcome being included in a Will, and we are mindful to adhere to any Trust imposed on the legacy.
If you wish to leave a legacy in your Will, please contact a member of the Charitable Funds team on 01924 543293 or our Fundraising Co-Ordinator on 01924 546017, whilst speaking to your solicitor when making or amending your Will.
Suggestions for how charitable funds could be used
As a Trust, we welcome patient and visitor involvement and ideas. If you have a suggestion on how charitable funds could be used to improve patient experience, please email us on:
charitablefunds@midyorks.nhs.uk
or write to use at our address below.
Contact us
If you wish to know more about Charitable Funds and how you can help support the work that is already done by staff, please feel free to contact a member of the Charitable Funds team on 01924 543293 or email us on charitablefunds@midyorks.nhs.uk.
You can also write to us at the following address:
Charitable Funds Team
Room 8
Stanley Hall Annex
Pinderfields Hospital
Aberford Road
Wakefield
WF1 4DG