Our charity vision and mission
King George and Queen’s Hospitals Charity is the official NHS Charity supporting our two local acute hospitals: King George Hospital in Ilford and Queen’s Hospital in Romford.
Our focus is clear – we work alongside and in support of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Trust’s staff and clinical teams to make our hospitals even better for our patients and their families.
Our charity does not subsidise the core responsibilities of the NHS but we enhance the essential services provided by them to make the hospital journey the best it can be for everyone.
Our charitable donations fall into four categories:
- Medical equipment
- Information and technology
- Comfort and the environment
- Research and training
View examples of projects and items we have purchased recently.
We actively create events, challenges and campaigns to encourage our community to help us raise funds, and we are the custodians of all voluntary donations and charity investments. We take pride in ensuring that all of our supporters’ donations will be wisely spent and restricted to a specific area if requested.
Our role is to listen to the concerns, ideas and innovations of both our patients and staff and to help turn their great ideas into reality - making the hospital experience better for all.
Charity begins at home and our charity vision is to support our hospitals and make them better equipped and more comfortable for all who need our care both now and in the future.
Governance
Non-Executive Members of the Trust Board are appointed by NHS Improvements and Executive Members of the Board are subject to recruitment by the NHS Trust Board. Members of the Trust Board and the Charitable Funds Committee are not individual trustees under charity law, but act as agents on behalf of the corporate trustee.
Newly-appointed members of the NHS Trust Board are supplied with an induction pack, and the charity follows the guidance of the Charity Commission for the production of an induction pack for newly recruited members of the Charitable Funds Committee.
The pack includes copies of the charity’s annual report and accounts, minutes of previous meetings, a copy of the charity’s Model Declaration of Trust and a copy of the Charity Commission’s publication CC3 – “The Essential Trustee: what you need to know”, as well as other leaflets, website and intranet references. A guided tour of the NHS Trust’s facilities and any additional training that their role, or roles, may require is also offered.
We are also members of NHS Charities Together which runs regular conferences for trustees, fundraisers and accountants. The accounting records and day-to-day administration of the funds are handled by the Charitable Funds Accountant.
Key personnel and staff within the charity follow a remuneration package set by the government for NHS staff and are placed on a banded pay scale according to their role and responsibilities.
Trustees
The Charity has a corporate trustee: the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. The NHS Trust Board devolved responsibility for on-going management of funds to the Charitable Funds Committee that administers the funds on behalf of the corporate trustee.
The Charitable Funds Committee includes four external members (one being the Chair) who have been enlisted by the corporate trustee. Members are enlisted to give a good mix of appropriate professional skills e.g. medical, finance, fundraising, marketing, promotion and investment.
Members are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the corporate trustee and withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.
Key Management Personnel
Along with the members attending the Charitable Funds Committee, other members consist of staff representatives (in accordance with the charity’s Terms of Reference), the charitable funds accountant and head of fundraising. The fundraising and administrative staffs are employed by the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and their salaries are paid by them.
Our team
The Fundraising Team
Lynda Head, Head of Fundraising
Lynda joined the team in August 2015
Really proud to lead a team that converts passion into success enhancing the wellbeing of both NHS staff and patients.
Marina Christopher, Fundraising Office Manager
Marina joined the team in September 2016
Every day I hear incredibly heartwarming stories of people’s gratitude to the NHS.
Torren Mahmut, Community Fundraiser
Torren joined the team in November 2016
Everything I do for the charity I do for our community to make our hospitals visits or stays that much more comfortable.
Michelle Fox, Fundraising Office Coordinator
Michelle joined the team in January 2020
I love the fact that every day is different and I never know what I will be doing next.
Kyra Swaby, Marketing and Communications Officer
Kyra joined the team in January 2022
It is amazing to be part of and to work for such a supportive community. It feels great to help and support our passionate and talented hospital staff.
The Finance Team
Ellen Kyriacou, Charitable Accountant
Ellen joined the team in October 2017
It is a good feeling knowing that the work I do makes a difference to the patients and staff of both hospitals.
Current job opportunities
We’re a small but passionate team with plans to grow. We don’t have any vacancies at the moment but do keep an eye on this page for details of positions coming up in the future.
Alternatively, you can sign up to trac.jobs to receive customised alerts about new vacancies at our Trust every day/week.
Volunteering
We’re always delighted to hear from people who may have some spare time on their hands to help us. We have various ways of how you could get involved and would welcome your skills as you become part of our Charity Community Team. If you’d like to know more about volunteering for our charity please email us at bhrut.charity@nhs.net.
The Ambassadors’ Forum
Our Charity Ambassadors help us to raise awareness of our charity work and encourage others to get involved in our fundraising activities. We think of our ambassadors as an amazing extended fundraising team.
We meet up four times a year to discuss our achievements and ideas for new events. They then find ways that they can help to promote our work in their own business and social areas. We also rely on our Ambassadors to come and help us at our larger events
If you’d like to know more about our Ambassadors’ Forum, please call Lynda Head on 01708 774 825 for a chat.
Our committee members
Sue Lees
Chief Executive, Elevate East London (retired), Chartered Accountant, Chair of the Charitable Funds Committee since 2023
"I want to do everything I can to support our patients, citizens and staff through the work of our amazing charity."
Nick Swift
Chief Financial Officer at BHRUT, member since September 2018
"The charity makes a real difference to the quality of patient care and workforce support."
Dione Rogers
Deputy Chief Nurse / Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at BHRUT, member since June 2022
"I understand how important that the work of the hospital charity is to both our patients and our staff and wish to support all the great work they do."
Ann Hepworth
Director of Strategy and Partnerships at BHRUT, member since 2023
"I am delighted to be asked to become a trustee for the charity and look forward to connecting the Trust and the charity further with our local communities."
Mike Gilham
Director of Finance at BHRUT, member since 2023
"The work of the charity offers a wonderful opportunity to enhance the services of our Trust. It’s a privilege to be involved."
Sean Greene
Director of Estates and Facilities at BHRUT, member since 2023
"Our charity staff and all donations made help do amazing things for our patients, staff and local community. I am both privileged and excited to be involved."
Helen McKenna
Director, Healthcare, Hanover Communications
"King George and Queen's Hospitals Charity is so important in terms of the support it can provide to our hard-working NHS staff, patients and volunteers and the work it does to make our hospitals even better for patients and families. I'm excited about being a part of an organisation that seeks to make this level of positive difference."
Contact us
There are lots of different ways that you can contact us:
Post
King George and Queen’s Hospitals Charity
Queen’s Hospital
Rom Valley Way
Romford
RM7 0AG
Telephone
01708 774825
Follow us and share
- Facebook - KingGeorgeandQueensHospitalsCharity
- Twitter - @SupportHospital
- Instagram - @kgqhcharity
We look forward to hearing from you!