# NHS Charities Together Covid-19 appeal funds over 600 projects

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/09/01/nhs-charities-together-covid-19-appeal-funds-over-600-projects/
- Published: 2021-09-01T06:17:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**NHS Charities Together’s Covid-19 Urgent Appeal, which raised £150 million, has
funded over 600 projects across the UK. These are helping patients, volunteers, 
communities and NHS staff across the UK.**

The record-breaking sum and how it was spent are detailed in the charity’s [2020 Annual Report](https://www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NHS_CT_Annual_Report_2020_Compiled_AW-RGB-1.pdf).

[NHS Charities Together](http://www.nhscharitiestogether.org.uk) is an independent
national charity representing 240 NHS charities in the UK. Its emergency appeal 
last attracted the support of Captain Sir Tom Moore, Joe Wicks, Premier League footballers,
and many people across the UK. The funds that it raises “enable the health service
to go above and beyond what would otherwise be possible”.

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## How the money was spent

In total last year, NHS Charities Together allocated **over £110 million** to its
member charities:

 * £42 million to meet urgent needs within the NHS
 * £33 million to support projects in the community
 * £35 million to support the recovery of the NHS

Funds are still being allocated this year.

Projects funded in 2020 included:

 * counselling services for NHS staff
 * helplines
 * practical support (e.g. access to necessary food, drink and rest areas)
 * intensive psychological support for post-traumatic stress disorder
 * broader patient focused initiatives funding research into Long Covid
 * bereavement support
 * digital devices to keep isolated patients connected with loved ones
 * specialist equipment.

 **SEE ALSO: [Hospital by the Hill: book published to help bereaved children of key workers](https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/03/23/book-published-to-help-bereaved-children-of-key-workers/)(
23 March 2021)**

This year NHS Charities Together has also funded thousands of emergency first responder
volunteers to help take pressure off overstretched ambulance services.

 * ![Making history - with a photo of Captain Tom Moore. From NHS Charities Together's
   2020 annual report.](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2021/08/nhs-charities-
   together-making-history-captain-tom-annual-report-2020-1024x684.jpg)
 * Captain Tom Moore helped inspire giving to the NHS Charities Together appeal.
 * ![Thank you message from NHS Charities Together, with line-up of fundraisers -
   photo: NHS Charities Together in its Annual Report](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.
   cloud/2021/08/nhs-charities-together-annual-report-thank-you-2020-1024x709.jpg)
 * Thank you for NHS Charities Together

**Ellie Orton OBE**, Chief Executive of NHS Charities Together, said: “Back in 
March 2020, as the pandemic began to escalate, there was a phenomenal outpouring
of support from the UK public for the NHS, and we still feel completely blown away
by their generosity. Despite how heart-breaking this time was for all of us, people
wanted to show their gratitude and show how much the sacrifices of NHS staff meant…

“We are now facing a long period of recovery, with a significant toll on exhausted
workers, a backlog of patients, and clinics that are busier than ever. NHS staff
are continuing to be there for us despite the ongoing challenges, but we must continue
to be there for them in the long term.”

![£150m raised - from NHS Charities Together's 2020 Annual report](https://wfay6x.
infiniteuploads.cloud/2021/08/nhs-charities-together-march-infographic-annual-report-
202-646x1024.jpg)

The beginning of the appeal in March 2020. Image: NHS Charities Together

**Kate Sinclair** is Staff Nurse in the ICU at Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Funded by
the North Wales NHS charity, Awyr Las, using NHS Charities Together grants, her 
team have been able to help extremely sick patients cope with anxiety and isolation
due to Covid-19, keeping them connected with family members by funding equipment
like iPads to enable virtual visiting.

She said: “The funding has made all the difference to so many patients and staff.
It has been so traumatic seeing patients isolated from loved ones during the pandemic.
We were able to fund devices that enabled patients to see their loved ones – tragically,
sometimes to say goodbye to them – which made all the difference to them at that
difficult moment.”

![Our impact across the UK - from NHS Charities Together's 2020 Annual Report](https://
wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2021/08/nhs-charities-together-impact-of-grants-2021-
1024x678.jpg)

Image: NHS Charities Together

 * **[NHS Charities Together raises £100m through Covid-19 appeal](https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/05/06/nhs-charities-together-raises-100m-through-covid-19-appeal/)(
   6 May 2020)**
 * **[Captain Tom breaks records as fundraisers raise millions on JustGiving for Covid-19 causes](https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/04/16/captain-tom-breaks-records-fundraisers-raise-millions-on-justgiving-for-covid-19-causes/)(
   16 April 2020)**
 * **[Over 5,000 sign up to host today’s biggest ever NHS Big Tea](https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/07/05/over-5000-sign-up-to-host-todays-biggest-ever-nhs-big-tea/)(
   5 July 2021)**

## Comments

### By: HowardLake

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/09/01/nhs-charities-together-covid-19-appeal-funds-over-600-projects/#comment-3986
- Published: 2021-09-01T06:53:50+01:00

Here’s another example of the funding made possible by the appeal’s success.

CW+ and North West London ICS/STP have been awarded over £1,100,000 from NHS Charities
Together (NHSCT) to support shielding and vulnerable people affected by COVID-19,
by providing digital access to health, care and community resources. CW+ is the 
charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the lead charity
for the North West London NHSCT application.

The digital inclusion programme will run over the next two years, with a view to
scaling the programme on a wider level in the future.

[http://www.cwplus.org.uk](http://www.cwplus.org.uk)
