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Lincolnshire NHS Charity is delighted to present our Annual Report 2024-25. We are proud to have had much success and impact in the last year, and share some great examples of our work in this document. As ever, we have worked hard to carefully spend money that so many of you have donated, in accordance with your wishes and to the maximum benefit of patients, families and staff.
Lincolnshire NHS Charity’s Annual Report 2023-24 has been produced to provide additional information to supplement our financial accounts and is submitted to the Charity Commission. It complies fully with the latest version of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP). All charitable expenditure has been agreed within delegated limits set by the Charity’s Corporate Trustee.
We exist to support two of Lincolnshire’s local trusts: Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) and Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT). LCHS operates community hospitals and related services which enable people to access great care close to home. LPFT supports people with mental health challenges and learning disabilities to live well in their communities. Lincolnshire is one of England’s largest communities, covering more than 2,300 square miles, with a population of over 850,000.
The charity is funded by donations, often from patients who are grateful for the care provided by our two NHS trusts. These donations make a significant difference to the lives of our patients, their families, and NHS staff in Lincolnshire. Donors are able to tell us how they would like their gift to be spent, but we also welcome donations without specific requirements because this allows the charity and our Fund Managers to purposefully direct spending, to precisely and responsively meet the needs of the people in our care and the services provided by LCHS and LPFT.
Every year our supporters, whether members of the public, NHS staff or local businesses, raise thousands of pounds for Lincolnshire NHS Charity, enabling us to continue providing the little extras that make a big difference. Patients and their families often thank the NHS for the care that they have received by making direct donations or leaving gifts in wills, confident that their generosity will directly, positively impact a service which has touched their life. When donating to us, our supporters know that their money will be used to make a significant difference to the people in the care of the NHS. Lincolnshire NHS Charity simply could not continue to help our patients, their families and our staff without the generosity of local people, businesses and our other supporters. Every single donated penny is spent efficiently, effectively and carefully, and we are hugely grateful for the kindness we receive on a daily basis.
In April 2024, for the second year running, nine NHS staff members competed in the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise funds for Lincolnshire NHS Charity. Taking on a serious distance and some truly wonderful sights in the capital, the race is a closed-road, central London run, and is the only half marathon to go through both the City of London and the City of Westminster. The team met up for some training runs in the winter months leading up to the race and all nine runners put in an enormous effort on the day to raise almost £2,800 for Lincolnshire NHS Charity.
In June 2024, we were to proud to have 30 very brave NHS colleagues from Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust and Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust take part in a 14,000ft skydive at the Langar Skydive centre, near Nottingham, to raise money to support Lincolnshire NHS Charity. The courageous staff experienced an adrenaline-packed free-fall at 120mph, before gently floating to the ground for five minutes by parachute. Some chose to go up in the plane together for that little extra comfort, while others braved the challenge alone. Our skydivers raised over £15,000 for Lincolnshire NHS Charity. This has been used in various ways, including working directly with patients (particularly young adults) in mental health services, to co-produce spending ‘pitches’ to our Dragons’ DeNHS programme, for activities, equipment and resources to enhance patient experience. Other spending from this fundraiser has enabled staff wellbeing activities, patient engagement and enrichment across community healthcare, team building, and much more.
From a need identified by colleagues in Home Visiting, we worked together to create, fund, and distribute thoughtfully designed Care Packs to support families of people engaged in Palliative Care. These packs contain enrichment activities designed to enable people to come together with ease, self-care items for patients and families, educational resources for children and young people, and more. Engaging in Palliative Care is unavoidably emotionally intense, heavy, and challenging - for patients and families, it is an acknowledgement that they or someone they love is on a final journey. That journey needs sensitivity, patience and normality. These Comfort Packs have been designed to enable healthy distraction, memory-making, and positive experiences in one of the most difficult times imaginable.
Lincolnshire NHS Charity exists to enhance patient experience by providing the little extras that make a big difference - things like additional equipment, extra training or by improving physical spaces for service users. Our work also supports our patients’ families, and our brilliant NHS colleagues. We are proud to share here some examples of how donations have improved patient experiences and staff wellbeing. Every penny is spent with care. The charity genuinely considers each purchase before it is made, and every item, activity or resource is proposed by staff who deeply understand and feel passionately about the service they provide. Thanks to the generosity of local people, including our patients and their families, and the kindness of local businesses and partners, we are regularly able to purchase things which make a difference to every person touched by the NHS.
In 2024, the Lincolnshire Talking Therapies team organised a photography competition for their staff. The winner of the competition had their picture printed, purchased by Lincolnshire NHS Charity, for a number of different bases around the county. The pictures are displayed in clinical rooms, making spaces which can often seem cold or uninviting feel nicer for patients visiting the buildings for support. Following a generous donation from the local Breath Easy group, three nebulisers were purchased for the Respiratory Team to use when supporting the recovery of patients, particularly those in Grantham and the surrounding areas. Below, the CAMHS Learning Disability Team at a wreath making workshop, part of wellbeing activities funded by us. The team said, 'The wreath making session left everyone feeling relaxed and accomplished. It created a safe space to be ourselves and get to know each other. These sessions really help with wellbeing and team spirit'. Pictured here are staff nurses Emma and Claire, with one of four Phlebotomy chairs purchased by us to support Johnson Community Hospital. The new chairs are safer for staff to operate and more comfortable for patients. Blood tests can feel scary and make people feel unwell or uncomfortable, so this was a great way to improve the experience. Christmastime is busy in the NHS. It can also be challenging because, at a time for loved ones, our NHS colleagues are working extremely hard; similarly, patients and families have a difficult time, if illness or hospital admissions mean people cannot spend Christmas the way they would like. We were proud to fund around 70 requests for Christmas-related spending across, benefitting patients and staff. As part of our festive activities, we also visited hospital sites across Lincolnshire delivering mince pies. It was lovely to speak to patients and staff about our work and to share with them how we had funded a range of Christmas items to make this time of year as positive as possible for staff and patients.
In 2024, we were proud to work closely with Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to develop the Dragons’ DeNHS approach to spending from two of their Funds - one, focused on equipment purchases, and the other looking more broadly at enrichment of patient experience. Led by their Every Voice Guardian, who is responsible for patient participation and engagement, this activity directly involved patients across a range of mental health, learning disability and other services, in how they are supported by the NHS and how Lincolnshire NHS Charity supports the Trusts. The first round of Dragons’ DeNHS attracted over 30 creative ‘pitches’, with successful proposals leading to around £9,000 in spending to support of a variety of services. Dragons’ DeNHS encourages service user engagement, enables services to respond to patients’ needs appropriately, and ensures service users feel empowered. It also makes it easier to spend funds, leads to greater service user empowerment. Ultimately, it also encourages patients to engage in fundraising for Lincolnshire NHS Charity, to support the services they are receiving, by showing them the direct impact they can have on their experience with the NHS. We are very proud of the success of Dragons’ DeNHS round one, and look forward to undertaking round two in late 2025.
The Trustee has a duty of care to protect the assets of the charity and, therefore, fund balances must be held in a secure and responsible manner, providing reasonable return to benefit the charity. Funds not required for immediate spending are invested in a prudent manner to minimise risk while seeking to obtain income to support the charity. The charity holds a current bank account to ensure prompt payment can be made to meet day-to-day needs. Various fixed-term and notice account deposits have been made to maximise the interest earned to benefit the charity, while ensuring that sufficient money is made available for any large spending plans. Long term investments are made with Charities, Churches and Local Authorities (CCLA) Investment Management Limited in Charities Official and Investment Fund (COIF) Income Units. These are higher risk because the value of the investment is not guaranteed but, historically, they have provided a good return with the wide spread of the pooled investment limiting risk. More information is available in the Charity’s Investment Policy. The charity operates in line with the Standing Financial Instructions of the trustee, Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust. Funds donated or earnt from investments are available for spending. Charity projects are one-off, not long-term, with ongoing costs or liabilities and so the charity does not hold reserves. If, in the unlikely circumstances that all funds were fully spent up, activities would naturally cease. Under the Charities Legislation of 2011 and the accounting Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), charities are now required to show that they are being managed effectively and to show that they are mindful of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. These have been identified and reviewed by the trustee and a system is in place to mitigate risks.
During the year, the charity received £76,913 in donations, down compared to the previous year’s total of £109,366. Legacies received totalled £32,185 compared to £39,955 in the previous year. No grants were received in this year compared to £195,150 last year, but this is due to the timing of a two-year project working with NHS staff who are Carers for friends and family, and also helping people suffering from Long Covid and other energy-limiting conditions. Investment income of £27,864 was received compared to £25,742 last year. The charity spent £338,907 on its activities compared to £276,217 last year, including governance costs which rose to £109,019 compared to £53,747 in the previous year - this reflects an increase in staffing. Governance costs are made up of the costs of staff working to manage the funds and ensure that the charity is run legally and effectively. No mark-up or excess or profit is charged on this. The value of long-term investments fell in year by £14,810 reflecting the changing valuation of the investments held at the end of the year. These are all in the Charities, Churches and Local Authorities (CCLA) in Charities Official Investment Fund (COIF) Income Units. The CCLA COIF Income Units have a total historic cost of £137,485 and their market value at year end is £303,062. Other investments and cash totalled £493,982. Money recorded as debtors includes interest due on investments and after-date receipts included in the accounts due to timing. Money recorded as creditors include accruals towards the management and administration costs for the current year as well as several amounts owing for the purchases of the charity. The balances held at the end of the year were £714,791 which is an decrease of £222,153 in the year. The accounts are prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
SUPPORT the trusts in achieving their vision and mission
ENHANCE the healthcare experiences of our patients
RAISE the profile of the charity among stakeholders
ENSURE consistent and developing income generation
LISTEN to patient needs, staff expertise and partner ideas
EMPOWER staff to spend and the public to support with ease
OPERATE in careful and appropriate but unbureaucratic ways
Lincolnshire NHS Charity will enable local people to live well in their communities, accessing great care close to home, and will encourage positive wellbeing for NHS staff, by supporting LCHS and LPFT.
Lincolnshire NHS Charity will help to improve the health and wellbeing of the patients and families served by LPFT and LCHS, and of their staff.
We cannot do what we do without the help of our local community, our wonderful supporters, fundraisers, and volunteers.