Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Donating money to NHS

28 replies

RandomlyChosenName · 14/04/2020 12:15

I have seen a lot of charity posts on Facebook and stories on the news about people raising money for the NHS.

I don’t understand how this works though- the NHS is (under)funded through taxes.

The problems with lack of PPE is that it isn’t available and not that NHS can’t afford it.

I would happily donate money if it went to pay rises for NHS staff or to buy equipment but I don’t understand how or if this works?

Also - I would rather we all paid more taxes to support the NHS and properly fund it long term rather than donating now and then the NHS not being funded properly through taxes.

Please can anyone tell me what NHS donations at the moment are for, if they are helpful and needed and if they could cause more harm than good in the longer term.

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 14/04/2020 12:21

"I would rather we all paid more taxes to support the NHS and properly fund it long term rather than donating now and then the NHS not being funded properly through taxes."
Completely. Suggestions to donate to the NHS are infuriating me.

storminabuttercup · 14/04/2020 12:22

I believe they are for nhs benevolent funds. I'm also frustrated by the suggestion that the nhs itself is a charity!!

DownWhichOfLate · 14/04/2020 12:46

I donated to our local hospital. I think it was too buy hand cream, fizzy drinks, biscuits for the staff. Which I suppose they usually buy themselves.

CherryBakebadly · 14/04/2020 13:06

I agree and I wish Joe Wicks would donate his ad revenue to food banks or Magic Breakfast.

Laniakea · 14/04/2020 13:16

it's utterly ridiculous - if people have money to donate it should be to food banks & charities which serve to mitigate the effects economic disaster which is rapidly approaching. Not a branch of the state ffs.

Spam88 · 14/04/2020 13:16

All trusts/health boards have associated charities. This money is generally used for things that improve the patient experience but aren't strictly medically necessary. NHS Charities Together is what people seem to be talking about when they talk about donating to 'the NHS' - this is an organisation that represents a large group of these individual charities.

There's a specific fundraiser at the moment which, as well as the usual, also is being used to fund refreshments for staff and possibly accommodation as well, can't quite remember.

I saw a suggestion on Facebook that next year instead of comic relief and children in need we could have a day of fundraising for the nhs. Or, you know, the government could just fund it properly...

DownWhichOfLate · 14/04/2020 13:20

Just checked - my local have bought some microwaves for the staff Brew

StealthPolarBear · 14/04/2020 13:22

OK the stuff people mention on here, coffee, hand cream, food for staff, that's fine and I can get behind that. I think it's how it's presented.

PrincessMaryaBolkonskaya · 14/04/2020 13:22

The rules about what can and can’t be bought from charitable funds are pretty strict. I’m not sure it’s the same every trust but at mine the charitable funds can only be spent on things that improve patient experience but not things we should be providing anyway.

Original poster
RandomlyChosenName · 14/04/2020 13:47

Thanks all. I was expecting to be shouted down.

I did hear about hospitals buying tablets so patients could FaceTime with their relatives. I would happily donate to something like this.

But I would rather pay more taxes and pay for the NHS that way.

OP posts:
Spam88 · 14/04/2020 14:13

A few round by me have got amazon wish lists as well for kindle fires and toiletries.

mabel92 · 15/04/2020 21:00

I feel the same with all this donating and fundraising (as kind as it is), all it is doing is nudging us towards accepting a privatised health care system where charities and philanthropy are used to help those who can’t afford healthcare instead of the government.

alreadytaken · 15/04/2020 23:03

we've donated to people making scrubs, scrub bags and bandanas for staff (so masks dont hurt the ears) and to those making face shields. Disgusted that it is necessary but when you hear of staff without PPE you do what you can. Look on gofundme plenty of people helping out.

Adelais · 15/04/2020 23:09

I wondered this too, I mean how do you actually give money to the nhs. Theres that lovely old man who’s raised millions of pounds for the NHS but I wonder how the money gets to them?

Somanythingsmakemesad · 15/04/2020 23:10

Sorry but I'm loving Captain Tom and his fundraising efforts, just passed £10 million! It's making a lot of people happy right now.

FlibbertyGiblets · 15/04/2020 23:13

Can't quite believe Capt Tom, astounding amount raised and still climbing !

Rosehip10 · 15/04/2020 23:14

All hospitals have "friends" type charities and they provide improvements to facilities for patients/staff and also sometimes expensive equipment (advanced scanners and the like)

fluntymactwunty · 15/04/2020 23:17

I work in the NHS and my team have accessed the trust charity to purchase assessment equipment that the trust wouldn't fund.
I agree that Joe Wicks should have chosen something like Magic Breakfast though.

TARSCOUT · 15/04/2020 23:19

Thank god I thought it was just me!

TARSCOUT · 15/04/2020 23:20

@fluntymactwunty what is assessment equipment exactly?

RoLaren · 15/04/2020 23:24

Most people haven't the faintest idea of how much the NHS costs each year. Currently it's running at around £140bn. Lovely as the idea of telethon-ing a few million is, it's a drop in the ocean of the total cost.

BubblesBuddy · 15/04/2020 23:25

I would prefer money went to care homes. They have been completely forgotten and those of carers who visit in the home. They have poor wages below nurses by some distance and are front line because the deaths of their clients has been seriously under reported. The NHS has money.

TARSCOUT · 15/04/2020 23:43

@BubblesBuddy the care home staff won't see it though. They will still be under staffed and underpaid, basic holiday and ssp . I don't work in one, I just have had two elderly relatives be in them. One at £764 a week (council run), the other £1268 (private). No difference in staffing levels or service. My DS works in a chemist no real infection control training, no ppe at all and dealing with so many sick people. The supermarket workers are the same. Shambles!

NeverTwerkNaked · 16/04/2020 00:05

Charity funds for the NHS that I have donated to say that will be used to purchase to support patients and staff and I am more than happy to support this.

When my son was gravely ill in HDU as a preschooler the nurses had things like light projectors and iPads loaded with films (he was in a side room) and it helped him and us in ways that a hard to put into words.

BubblesBuddy · 16/04/2020 00:07

Well yes. Possibly - but they might like those little extras too. Or even PPE ? I agree others are being let down too. By the way, full funders in effect subsidise NHS funded clients who don’t pay the going rate. That’s why you don’t see a difference in service. I think we should all pay insurance for care home fees. The NHS should not have to pay it. Our NHS budget is over £125 billion each year and if we need more, I think hard choices have to be made to reduce what it’s expected to do and how more of us can fund ourselves.

So many care homes are going out of business we will be in even more trouble without them. Let alone the problems we face regarding care staff for home visits who are difficult to recruit.