Grants from the Friends
Why not apply for a grant from The Friends?
We don’t just support Savernake Hospital. If you are a local charity, voluntary group or other body helping to improve the lives of those suffering from health issues and disabilities and are seeking funding, the Friends would be delighted to consider your grant application. Grants of up to £10,000 will be considered.
Thanks to very generous donations and bequests, the Friends of Savernake Hospital and the Community are able to award grants to individuals and organisations involved in healthcare in the community, not just Savernake Hospital.
Over the years we have supported various departments and clinics located at Savernake Hospital, including Cotswold House, Ailesbury and Chestnut Units, and the Community Nursing team. We have also awarded grants to KAMP (Kennet & Avon Medical Partnership) and other GP surgeries, Kennet Community Transport, Bravo Medics, Arts Together, and Brighter Futures, to name but a few.
In 2023 grants exceeded £14,000. In 2024, grants totalling nearly £30,000 were provided, including £10,000 to Brighter Futures, for medical resuscitation equipment for new Emergency Department at GWH: and £8000 to SW Ambulance Service for Zoll X- series defibrillator & mobile monitoring device.
Read below about how to apply for a grant and the testimonials of recent grant recipients.
How to apply for a Grant from the Friends
If you would like to apply for a grant from the Friends, you can either:
- download a pdf of the Grant Application form, so you can print it out, fill it in, and post it to the Friends.
- Click here for the pdf of the Grant Application form
- or fill out the online Grant Application Form and submit it online.
- Click here to link to the online Grant Application Form
Both Application Forms explain the types of grant application which will be considered, and the grant application procedure.
Geographic area from which we can accept Grant Applications
The Friends can help organisations and individuals within the Marlborough & Pewsey Community Areas as defined by Wiltshire Council.
Please note: The Friends no longer provide grants for defibrillators.
Updates and Testimonials from Grant Applicants
The Friends are always delighted to receive feedback from grant recipients and learn how theirs grants have helped improved the health and wellbeing of the local community. Please let us know the difference our grant has made – click here to email us.
Dawn Wilson, Chair of the Pewsey Community Area Partnership, talking about the Raizer chair which the Friends helped to fund.
These are battery-operated mobile lifting chairs which helps a fallen person up to an almost standing position in a few minutes, and can be operated by only one person.
“I thought I would write and let you know how effective the Raizer Chair you funded has been. At the last Pewsey Area Board we had a report on how the year had gone from a SWAST Governor and two of our volunteer Community First Responders. Since March 2019, when the chair had been purchased and the training given, it has been called out specifically over 20 times. Of those just over 50% saved an ambulance and crew having to call, not to mention the long wait as a fall is not a high priority and the wait can be hours. In one situation the Paramedics on an ambulance called the first responders to attend because the Raizer Chair is more effective in tight spaces for raising a patient than the equipment on the ambulance! Pewsey Area Board and the parishes funded a second chair so we have 2 for Pewsey and Marlborough. Upavon are now raising funds for one in their area and Tidworth is asking for information. All in all a wonderful success saving ambulance time and pain and discomfort for those who have fallen and cannot get up without help.”
A Raizer chair, which just one person can use to raise a fallen person
Ailesbury Ward – December 2019
“We are incredibly grateful for your kind support and commitment to our patients and staff throughout the year.”
Claire Robinson, Interim Head of Operations and Deputy COO, Wiltshire Health & Care
