Communities affected by Covid and health inequalities to benefit from £400,000 raised by NHS Charities

Local charities tackling inequalities and helping communities affected by Covid areto receive a share of £400,000 in grants from funding raised by NHS Charities Together (NHSCT).

Locally, NHSCT has delegated responsibility for managing the funding to RUHX, the charity of Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Bath.  RUHX is leading the programme with help from other local NHS charities, Brighter Futures at Great Western Hospitals, Stars Appeal at Salisbury District Hospital and Headlight at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust.

The executive team of BSW ICB has also been involved in the project in terms of allocating grants and shortlisting applicant charities receiving funding .

The charities awarded funding will work in partnership with NHS organisations and prioritise the most vulnerable and marginalised groups impacted by Covid, focusing on deprivation, ethnicity, and mental health.

Sue Harriman, Chief Executive Officer of BSW ICB said:

“If the Covid pandemic has taught us one thing, it is that we need to work harder as a health and care system to address the unfair health inequalities that exist among people living in our local area.

VCSE groups working to deliver services in BSW are all doing essential work to help address health inequalities and protect the most vulnerable members of our communities and we are proud to be able to support them.”

Rhyannon Boyd, Head of RUHX said: “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with so many incredible organisations in our local community, and their projects that will drive real change over the next two years.  We are appreciative for the huge support from NHSCT in making this happen.”

Charities benefiting from the grants provide a wide range of essential services and support to local communities affected by health inequalities and Covid. Some of the recipients are listed below, a full list can be fond at the RUHX website

Wiltshire MIND – The grant will fund a designated Adult Counsellor for 7 hours per week and a designated Child and Young Persons Counsellor 7 hours per week to target service users from deprived backgrounds.

Off The Record – A community listening project, which will provide mental health support to 200 young people (11-25) in the most deprived parts of Bath and North East Somerset.

Swindon Carers Centre –The project will aim to support unpaid carers in Swindon, struggling to cope through providing access to a specialist support practitioner.

Age UK Bath and North East Somerset – Funding will provide a Digital Inclusion Project Manager, which will lead on digital inclusion activities for older people in lower income brackets.

Ipsum – Funds will be used to train 8 new counsellors, which will then provide an additional 24 counselling sessions per week to support those who have been impacted by COVID-19 in the community and long COVID.

For more information see RUHX website