Our year ahead

OUR GRANTS

Our year ahead

We are committed to supporting UCLH’s strategic priorities which include new capital developments and the wellbeing of staff as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Grafton Way Building

After years of planning and in the midst of a pandemic, the Grafton Way Building was handed over to UCLH in 2021. Some services have welcomed their first patients, including those undergoing surgery in this brand new centre. This state-of-the-art facility will be home to Europe’s largest centre for the treatment of blood diseases, short stay surgery and one of only two centres in the UK for the NHS provision of proton beam therapy, an advanced form of radiotherapy, used to treat complex cancers. Construction of the building, allowing for the equipment needed to deliver proton beam therapy, has been a feat of engineering. We have earmarked £28 million for equipment and facilities at UCLH, the majority of which will be invested at the Grafton Way Building. Charitable funds have been used to enhance the environment at the facility, see page 11 for more details.

Bedford Passage

Work continues on Bedford Passage, a mixed use development on the site of the former Middlesex Hospital annexe, on Cleveland Street. The development will include residential units and will be home to outpatient and imaging services for UCLH patients. The project is due to complete in 2024.

Staff recovery

We will continue to provide funds for cognitive trauma therapy for frontline workers

Staff wellbeing

We recognise that the pandemic has had a severe effect on the wellbeing of staff at UCLH in many different ways. We will continue to work closely with the Trust as they support staff in the recovery from the pandemic. We have allocated £1m for projects that help improve physical and mental health and wellbeing of the UCLH workforce. This includes access to local gyms, psychological support and training and improvement of respite areas.

ALSO IN 2021/22 WE ARE FUNDING

The family communication transformation project to capture the learning from the family liaison service set up by the intensive care unit at the height of the pandemic. This award winning service was described by relatives as ‘life saving’ and ‘like part of the family’ by families and carers. Development of a MOOC

(Massive Open Online Course) on the transfer of critically

unwell patients. Aimed at multidisciplinary teams consisting of doctors, nurses, paramedics and transfer practitioners, this course will be informed by UCLH’s experience as a designated regional ‘surge centre’ during the pandemic. A post Covid-19 safe air study. Prompted by disruption caused by inadequate airflow and consequent risk of disease transmission at some UCLH sites during the pandemic, this study will use androids that ‘breathe’ to give a unique insight into how aerosols circulate. This will inform safety measures in clinical (and other) spaces in a post-pandemic world.