What is an NHS Charity?

NHS Charities provide extra care and support for NHS patients and staff, enabling health services to do more. We do not replace core funding, we enhance what is already available, providing additional support that prevents ill health and improves services for patients and staff.

We are the legal way the NHS receives, holds and spends charitable funds, and are dedicated to solely supporting the NHS. We exist for the benefit of current and future NHS patients and staff.

As the official charity of NHS Lothian, we are the only charity dedicated to supporting all of NHS Lothian’s work, all its staff and all the patients and families it cares for. We work in strategic partnership with our NHS Lothian colleagues and other partners to support ways to make the hospital environment a more welcoming place to be, make a patient’s stay more comfortable, fund additional equipment or technology that can help speed up recovery but is not part of core delivery, support the emotional and physical wellbeing of staff, and fund research that could have the potential to transform the way that care is delivered.  

We are here to strengthen NHS Lothian’s ability to excel for the communities it serves. The support we provide, combined with our expertise and experience, helps create opportunities that enable NHS Lothian to foster innovation, explore ideas and transform healthcare. Together, we make healthcare better.

Find out more about some of the amazing projects we’ve supported

Enhancing Breast Cancer Clinical Practice And Management Through Life-Saving Research

Biomarkers are molecules found in the blood that show signs of certain diseases or conditions. They can also be used […]

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Enhancing NHS Lothian’s Mental Health Support for Health and Care Staff During COVID-19

Thanks to donations to our NHS Lothian COVID-19 Appeal and grants from NHS Charities Together, we have helped to enhance […]

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Supporting Communities With Vaccines And Testing

Thanks to generous donations from our supporters and grants from NHS Charities Together, we have been working with Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ […]

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