Our charity helps people in South Tyneside, Sunderland and across the North East.
People who donate, fundraise or volunteer help us to:
- buy specialist equipment
- make our hospitals more comfortable
- provide extra things we need that make a difference
Like all NHS charities we have different funds. They are specific to different wards and departments. You can choose where your donation goes. For example, you can donate to our neonatal fund. This money would help the babies that are cared for in the neonatal unit. It would also help their parents and our staff.
We also have a Priority Fund. This is for things we know will help patients and staff across other areas of the Trust. We also use this to help wards and departments who want to make improvements but don't have enough money in their own fund.
Some people choose to leave a gift to us in their will. This means they can continue to make a difference after they die.
Is STS Charity a registered charity?
Yes. STS Charity is registered with the Charity Commission as South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust Charitable Funds. It’s charity number is 1052366.
Who decides how you spend the money?
We have a Charity Team. They work with wards and departments to help them spend their donations. All donations must go on things that help us improve care and experience for our patients, their carers and families, or our staff.
We also have a Charitable Funds Committee. The people on the Committee make sure we do what we say we will do. They also approve any requests for more than £20,000 of donations. They report to our Board of Trustees.
What has STS Charity funded?
It would be hard to list everything we have funded because there’s so much! Examples of some of these things are below. You can click on the headers to find out more.
Our End Of Life Care team put together comfort care packs. These are for people who stay with their loved ones overnight. They include things that make them more comfortable while they spend time with someone who is going to die. Things like a blanket and pillow or toothbrush and toothpaste.
We’ve been helping people with these packs since 2019.
Our Complementary Therapy suite was funded by supporters of Sunderland Cancer Patient Support Centre.
Complementary therapies are treatments that people use alongside regular medical care. They do not replace medicine from doctors, but they can help you feel better. These therapies focus on the whole person, not just the illness. They often aim to reduce stress, improve comfort, and support healing. Examples include massage, yoga and acupuncture.
We refurbished the room to become a safe, quiet place for people having cancer treatment to receive complementary therapies. Therapies are funded by our charity and delivered in partnership with Coping With Cancer North East.
In 2017, we needed to update our Haemodialysis machines. A haemodialysis machine is a medical device that helps clean the blood when the kidneys cannot do their job.
Instead of replacing what we had, STS Charity funded better machines. This meant our equipment matched the excellent level of care our Renal Unit team gives.
STS Charity funded Miniboos. These are cuddly toys that pick up the smell of mam and baby. Smell helps newborn babies and their mams bond. It helps mams produce milk and soothes babies.
Being separated in an incubator is hard for both mams and babies. After a few days the Miniboos are swapped. This means the baby has the Miniboo with the mam’s smell and the mam has the Miniboo with the baby’s smell. It helps babies recognise their mam’s smell when they are ready for cuddles.
We’re lucky to have an excellent Integrated Critical Care Unit (ICCU). This is where the most poorly patients are cared for.
STS Charity funded a simulation model to help with training in our ICCU. This is a “doll” that is the same size as a human. It helps staff practice things that they need to do before doing it for real on a patient. It helps them build their confidence.
