NHS board set to make one-off charity donation
Shetland NHS board this week agreed in principle to make a donation of £25,000 to the CLAN appeal, subject to senior management agreeing certain key points.
At its meeting on Tuesday, the board considered a set of criteria drawn up by NHS Shetland finance director Nick Kenton, no other health board having produced guidelines for donations to charity.
Four major conditions emerged as criteria for the capital grant, which NHS Shetland chief executive Sandra Laurenson stressed would be a “one-off”.
Firstly, the grant has to be affordable. It should also fit with national health service targets, it must not duplicate existing services and the receiving charity must be on a sound financial footing.
If the grant request fits these four criteria, plus some minor criteria (such as having a direct benefit to patients and relatives and carers and the possibility of the funding being tracked), then it can be awarded.
However, medical director Ken Graham asked whether the donation would contribute to a national target. Director of nursing Nina Fraser said that the new CLAN centre in Aberdeen would enhance the patient experience by offering comfortable surroundings, and this was itself a target. If this can be agreed then the money is likely to be awarded some time in the future when it is deemed by the board to be appropriate.
Board member Keith Massey said the funding request should not be seen to “open the floodgates”.
