Medical Matters: New grants bring good news for patients, staff and local services

Torbay and South Devon NHS Charity is your local NHS charity, and we are doing great things to improve the health and happiness of patients in our hospitals and in the community.

The money donated to the charity is used to support people in Torbay and South Devon. It funds the little things that make a big difference, like arts and crafts materials for children, comfy parent beds so parents can sleep by their child’s side and specialist chairs for patients undergoing chemotherapy.

We have this year introduced ‘Helping to Make Things Better’ grants, where teams and units linked to Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust can apply for a grant to help purchase equipment or an improvement that will help staff and patients in their
respective area.

We are delighted to share the winners of the first round of Helping to Make Things Better:

- Sensory Resource Centre at Jasmyn House have received funding to update their outside space, for staff to use during their breaks

- HeArts Gallery have received funding to support future exhibitions

- John Parkes Unit have received funding to purchase VR headsets and toys for the paediatric psychology team to use with patients

One of our winners Dr Bhav Studley said: “It means so much to all of us to be able to use more creative means through technology such as VR headsets and EMDR buzzers to offer our young people living with chronic health conditions more
interactive and creative means of providing therapeutic support.

“This funding will be instrumental in supporting children with physical health conditions, many of whom also face additional challenges related to neurodivergence or mental health issues.

“These resources will empower us to hopefully make a significant difference in the lives of these children and their families. We are so appreciative of your support, this grant will help enhance our young people’s wellbeing through providing them with
the resources they need to thrive.”

The HeArTS team were also delighted to receive a grant and said: “The funding will allow us to support future exhibitions in the Level 4 Gallery in Torbay Hospital. We know that our surroundings can impact how people think and feel. Art can aid recovery and transform stressful clinical environments into calming, restorative spaces.”

Grants like this help us improve the environment for patients and staff and build relationships with local artists and our wider community.

We are able to support projects like these thanks to our fundraisers and supporters, including the 30 runners (many of these were staff members) who took part in the Torbay half marathon and 10k on Sunday 21 September, collectively they have raised an amazing £9,271.

Donations and funds raised support all areas, from improved equipment and furniture, to comforts and small gestures which really make our patients feel cared for.

Legacies to the charity help us to really push the limits of what's possible, going above and beyond to transform the experiences patients receive at our hospitals, wherever the need is greatest.

If you’d like to support or raise funds, we’d love to hear from you. You can raise funds for the Trust, make a donation or even leave a gift in your Will in way of supporting the Charity.

If you would like to take on bake sale, raffle, or sponsored challenge for the charity please contact tsdft.charity@nhs.net and we would love to help you make your fundraising a success.

Also please keep an eye out for our upcoming Christmas campaign to find out how to get involved and spread some festive cheer to our patients and staff over the festive season.

Find us on Facebook and search for torbayandsouthdevonnhscharity on Instagram.

To find out more please visit our website https://charity.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk or call the charity team on 07557 481459.

Thank you all for your support.