Medway League of Friends

The Medway League of Friends is a registered charity (No. 1172065), founded in 1961 and restructured as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2018, dedicated to relieving sickness and promoting health and wellbeing for NHS patients in Medway, Kent, with a primary focus on enhancing Medway Maritime Hospital for patients, visitors, and staff. Deeply community-rooted, it relies on a large cadre of long-serving volunteers alongside paid staff, operating hospital shops and a cafe as social enterprises to generate funds. Core values emphasize local NHS support, Living Wage employment, carbon neutrality, and inclusive opportunities like volunteering and Duke of Edinburgh schemes, fostering continuity and hands-on service.

It exclusively funds tangible improvements to hospital facilities, patient care, and clinical resources—such as Accuvein machines, cardiac monitors, reclining chairs, and footstools—for Medway Maritime Hospital wards, departments, and services. Beneficiaries are patients, families, healthcare professionals, and the local community reliant on these NHS provisions, with annual commitments often exceeding £200,000 and peaking over £420,000, enabling items beyond standard budgets to boost outcomes and morale.

Eligibility is strictly limited to requests from Medway Maritime Hospital NHS units; external charities or organizations cannot apply, with no unsolicited proposals accepted. Grants vary from hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds, awarded on a rolling basis without deadlines or competitive rounds, coordinated directly with hospital staff. Distinctively, it avoids revenue, core, or capacity-building support, revenue generation for non-NHS causes, or funding outside Medway, positioning it as a uniquely local, mission-driven NHS partner through its volunteer-led, enterprise-funded model.