NHS Charities Together has launched a new campaign to show the incredible impact public fundraising has made for NHS staff – and why ongoing support is still needed.

The campaign film, titled ‘For every moment’, aims to demonstrate how the NHS is here for us in our best and worst moments, while showcasing the vital work NHS Charities Together’s 240 member charities do to support staff, patients and volunteers – so the public might continue to be there for them in the long-term.

NHS Charities Together’s Covid-19 Urgent Appeal was the most successful fundraising campaign of all time. Supported by Captain Sir Tom Moore, premiership footballers, Joe Wicks, and thousands of other generous individuals and organisations, in total it raised more than £150 million.

These funds are already making a vital difference, and to date NHS Charities Together has allocated £140 million supporting over 600 projects, covering the length and breadth of the UK. This includes over 400 projects supporting the mental health of NHS staff, including counselling support, helplines, and intensive psychological support for post-traumatic stress disorder.

In an NHS Charities Together survey of 1000 NHS staff¹, two-thirds of those surveyed said they had experienced problems with their mental health since the pandemic began in 2020. While two thirds (66%) have now been able to access support from their place of work, in part thanks to NHS Charities Together funding, the research highlighted how practical and emotional help is still needed.

More than a third of those surveyed (36%) said they would benefit from psychological support and/or counselling services, roughly one in ten (11%) said they would benefit from intensive therapy for trauma support, and nearly half (47%) wanted practical support (e.g. access to necessary food, drink and rest areas).

Ellie Orton OBE, Chief Executive of NHS Charities Together, said:

“With the pandemic’s impact expected to last for many years, partnerships between the NHS and NHS charities are now more vital than ever – and we must be there for staff in the long-term. We hope this film helps show the phenomenal difference public fundraising can make to NHS staff, volunteers and patients across the UK.

“There is an urgent and growing need to help vulnerable groups in our society – we have more elderly individuals and long-term conditions to care for, more of us across all ages are waiting for treatment, and more NHS staff are facing burnout than ever before. But together we can provide the extra support needed in hospitals, ambulance teams, community and mental health care, and help our health service to go further for everyone – now and in the future.”

In the wake of COVID-19, NHS Charities Together is committed to helping the NHS recover from the pandemic. This includes training and equipping emergency response volunteers, and funding emerging health needs – for example through research into long-Covid. In its latest phase of grants, the charity is investing in projects that make access to healthcare more equal and supporting communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19, while supporting the long-term recovery of the NHS.

NHS Charities Together is the national independent charity caring for the NHS. Visit nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/join-us to watch the film and learn more.