BRISTOL’S two NHS hospital charities have officially merged after the trusts that run the region’s acute hospitals did the same.
The Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity and Southmead Hospital Charity have come together to form one united charity partner for the Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, supporting patients, families and NHS staff across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and North Bristol NHS Trust merged earlier this year to bringing services for 16 hospitals across the region together.
Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity chief executive Katie Walker said: “This is a proud moment, bringing together the work of Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity and Southmead Hospital Charity to now support every hospital across our region.
“For many years, Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity and Southmead Hospital Charity have stood side by side with our NHS – it’s the most common connector we all have as a population, because when it comes to our health and the well-being of those we love, we all want the very best care when we need it most.
“By joining forces we can go further, making every donation have even greater impact, supporting NHS staff to innovate and deliver outstanding care, while ensuring kindness and compassionate care remain at the heart of everything we do.
“Supporters can continue to give to the hospitals, services or causes closest to their hearts, and the Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity has raised more than £110 million since 1974 to support patients, families and NHS staff across Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, funding equipment, treatments, and improvements to patients’ experiences of staying in hospital.
Southmead Hospital Charity recently celebrated 30 years of fundraising. It has paid for a range of equipment and support, from personalised prosthetics to research for people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Katie said: “Together with supporters, volunteers, partners and NHS colleagues, the merged charity is looking ahead with confidence and ambition as it embarks on this next chapter as charity partner to one of the biggest NHS Trusts in the country.”
For more information, www.bwhospitalscharity.org.uk.