University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity, established in April 2021 from the merger of Bournemouth and Poole Hospital Charities, is the official charity of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. It enhances patient care and staff wellbeing at Royal Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Hospitals by funding facilities, equipment, and initiatives beyond core NHS budgets. Rooted in compassion, excellence, and innovation, it prioritizes patient-centered projects, staff development, and community partnerships, responding directly to clinical teams' and patients' needs for transformational impact.

The charity supports a broad range of healthcare enhancements, including dementia care resources, inpatient activities, tranquil outdoor spaces, cutting-edge medical equipment, capital projects like diagnostic expansions and cancer treatments, and staff wellbeing programmes. Beneficiaries encompass all ages accessing these hospitals—serving over 800,000 in Dorset and surrounding areas—and the Trust's 9,000 employees, with funding addressing immediate needs, inequalities, and long-term improvements in patient experiences and working environments.

Primarily funding internal hospital priorities, it does not accept unsolicited applications from external entities; collaborations with local health charities require direct phone enquiries to discuss alignment and direct impact on these sites. No size or income restrictions apply, but geographic focus is strictly Dorset hospitals (Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, extending to nearby locales). Grants typically range £1,000–£25,000 (up to hundreds of thousands for major projects), awarded on a rolling, needs-led basis without deadlines.

Unlike open grant-makers, UHD Charity excels in flexible, donor-directed giving and proactive stakeholder engagement, excluding core costs or unrelated activities, ensuring every pound drives tangible NHS enhancements in its embedded local ecosystem.