Festive Funding for Patients

**Applications for 2025 Festive Funding for Patients are now closed. See below for 2026 dates.**

Through Festive Funding for Patients, NHS Lothian Charity can support you to enhance patient’s experience and create moments of comfort and respite during the festive season: whether that’s festive snacks and refreshments, decorations to gently brighten the ward, festive activities or outings, or a small gift to show someone is thinking of them.

Application Timeline

Applications for Festive Funding for Patients run to a set timeline each year. We’ll also include reminders about returning unspent monies and receipts, and completing your evaluation survey in your application correspondence to help you keep on track with these key deadlines.

Applications open: 21 September 2026
Applications close: 19 October 2026
Applicants notified of outcome: 6 November 2026
Returned monies and receipts: 31 January 2027
Evaluation survey: 31 January 2027

Eligibility and How to Apply

We use a single online application form for all Festive Funding requests.

Festive Funding for Patients Criteria:

Before applying, please take a moment to review the points below to make sure your application is eligible for funding.

You’ll be asked to agree to the full Festive Funding Terms and Conditions as part of your application, which you should read in full before applying.

Who can apply: Funding may be available to wards who will be supporting in-patients at hospital over the festive period or to hospital outpatient departments that will be seeing long-term patients for their regular appointments during the festive period e.g. dialysis.
Patient benefit: Funding must be used solely for the benefit of patients. This can include decorations, modest gifts, or small snacks and refreshments for patients. Costs should be reasonable and not excessive.
Ineligible items: We cannot fund alcohol, tobacco, gift vouchers, or items unrelated to festive activities for patients, such as staff celebrations. If these appear on receipts, the cost will need to be repaid. No store loyalty points are to be obtained as a result of any purchases e.g. Tesco Clubcard points.
Sustainability: We encourage you to consider both environmental and financial sustainability. Decorations can be safely stored and reused (as confirmed by Infection Prevention and Control), so we will not fund new decorations every year.
Safety requirements: All decorations must comply with NHS Lothian Fire Safety guidance.

How to submit your application:

Read the guidance note at the start of the application form.
Complete the online application form – You can’t save the form as you go so make sure you have all the details you need to complete it in one sitting. (The form will be available once applications open)
Our team will review your application against the criteria.
You will be notified of the outcome by email. You will not be advised of the outcome until after the application deadline has closed and all applications have been reviewed.
Do not spend any money until your application has been formally approved.

The funding helps build rapport between patients and staff. It helps to create a festive environment that helps to de-stress patients, it makes them feel valued to receive a gift. Generally happier patients, which helps staff and makes staff happier.”