West Yorkshire-based not-for-profit, Sovereign Health Care, has announced donations of £81,000 to Yorkshire NHS Trusts in 2021 as part of its annual commitment to supporting NHS services in the region. The funding from health care cash plan provider, Sovereign, has been used for staff training and wellbeing programmes, to provide patients and staff with emotional and practical support to deal with the ongoing impact of the pandemic, and to buy specialist equipment to support patient treatment.
The Sovereign donation has boosted funding for NHS patients and staff in a year where NHS services have continued to face sustained pressures. In total, Sovereign has donated more than £183,000 to the region’s NHS since the pandemic began.
Trusts receiving donations in 2021 included Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, and Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. The funding supported programmes including: education and psychological support to help nursing staff manage professional and personal challenges experienced during the ongoing pandemic; extra comforts for patients who have spent the last year in hospital; a programme to help patients keep in contact with loved ones during the pandemic when visiting was restricted; and specialist training and equipment for nurses and midwives.
Russ Piper, chief executive of Sovereign Health Care, said: “Our region’s amazing NHS staff continue to deliver fantastic care despite almost two years’ of relentless pressure, and it is more important now than ever before that we provide practical support to them and the patients they serve.
“Our commitment to local people’s health and wellbeing goes back to the principles we were founded upon almost 150 years ago. We are proud to continue to deliver on this and to be able to help fund essential training along with initiatives that make patients’ experience of hospital stays easier and more comfortable in such tough times.”
Sovereign actively donates the equivalent of between 5 and 10 per cent of its annual turnover through its Community Programme, which supports charities, groups and organisations that work to improve the health and wellbeing of those living in West Yorkshire. The NHS is a major beneficiary of this programme, with Sovereign donating almost £2.2 million to NHS organisations over the last 15 years.
David Melia, Director of Nursing, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We have continued to use the kind donation from Sovereign Health Care to support nurse education and provide extra comforts for patients who have spent the last year in hospital.
“The money has also been used to help patients stay in contact with loved ones during the pandemic when visiting was restricted. This has been fundamental in allowing us to provide the level of support we wanted to our patients and staff to help manage the impacts of COVID on their experience of working and being treated within our service.”
Sovereign Health Care also supports the NHS through its commercial business. Its health care cash plans help reduce pressure on the NHS by encouraging policyholders to be more proactive about managing their health, making accessing treatment more affordable.
Sovereign Health Care was established 149 years ago and is one of the UK’s longest established providers of health care cash plans to individuals and businesses, with approximately 68,000 customers across the UK.
For more information about Sovereign Health Care’s Community Programme, visit www.sovereignhealthcare.co.uk/about/community-programme