Sheffield Hospital Charity brought a debate on the relationship between charities and the NHS at the festival of debate on the 7 May.
Charities are transitioning from supplementary to critical roles in filling gaps in NHS funding amid financial and political challenges.
Shasta Ashraf, the director of grants at Sheffield Hospitals Charity, said: “We are an NHS charity that supports two trusts and five major hospitals in Sheffield. We allocate funds to projects focusing on improving patients’ experience, supporting staff, reducing health inequalities, and supporting research and innovation.”
The idea of NHS charity is to fund things that are above core provision. The charity supports over 21,000 staff caring for 2 million patients every year across Sheffield and covers the costs that the NHS can’t.
Mrs Ashraf, said: “People might confuse us with other charities. But we are absolutely huge and we give out at least 2 million pounds every year.”
She said this event was a really good opportunity for people to get to know them and have a space to talk about a complicated issue like this. However, both the charity and the NHS are facing challenges.
Greg Fell, the Director of Public Health in Sheffield, said: “The NHS is running very hot at the moment. We have not responded well to the central epidemiology challenge for the last four decades.
“We should shift the NHS’s focus from managing acute problems to earlier prevention when people are well. There are early interventions in place currently but it is not robust and sustainable enough, which is a critical political challenge beyond Sheffield; it is for the UK and possibly international.”
Mr Fell said what the charity sector does very well is being in places where the statutory sector is not and stitching things together.
Mrs Ashraf, said: “I do not think we are ever going to be in the position to fix the challenges the NHS is facing. The financial pressure is making it really difficult for NHS charities like us to support the service. I think the health relationship between us and the NHS should be us generally supporting.”
Find out more about the Festival of Debate event here. Opportunities to join and be part of the Sheffield Hospital Charity can be found here.