University Hospitals Birmingham is “celebrating its 10-year anniversary” of Fisher House.

University Hospitals Birmingham charity was founded in 1995. It was created in order to see an improvement in the health and well-being of the community through the services provided by the hospitals and to improve the experiences of the patients, families, and staff.

The charity is made up of Queen Elizabeth Hospital Charity, Heartlands Hospital Charity, Good Hope Hospital Charity, and Solihull Hospital Charity. The charity supports medical and health research and encourages excellence in healthcare for patients and their careers. The money they raise funds areas over and above NHS funding for items such as cutting-edge equipment, improving facilities, research and projects, and items to make patients’ stays at their hospitals more comfortable such as toys and games for children at the hospitals.

Photo credit: NHS Birmingham and Solihull

The organization is funded through donations from various individuals and businesses/organisations and charity events they organise, such as runs and quiz nights.

Jane Redmond, Communications Officer at University Hospitals

Birmingham Charity said: “We apply for grants to help support the work we do, including specific appeals or fundraisers. We receive many donations in different forms, including one-off donations from patients wanting to say thank you for the care they have received, as well as regular donations from fundraisers who attend our events and actively fundraise throughout the year for us. We also receive corporate donations from companies who are looking to support the charity and donations to our larger fundraising appeals. We build a lot of relationships with community groups and local businesses that want to support our charity.”

University Hospitals Charity has accomplished many things in their years of service. The UHB Charity has funded a variety of research, facilities, and equipment above and beyond that which is provided by the NHS, as well as fundraising for specific appeals and projects. This includes their ‘home away from home’ appeal, a radiotherapy machine, toys for children with cancer, and the pets in the hospital scheme.

CyberKnife is a £3.5 million state-or-the-art radiotherapy machine, providing a pioneering, non-invasive alternative to open surgery that is able to treat tumours anywhere in the body. It enables very high doses of radiation to be targeted directly at the tumour with pinpoint accuracy, without damaging the healthy tissue. For many, this has meant that tumours which were previously considered inoperable have now been successfully treated.

Fisher House is a ‘home away from home’ for military patients and their families at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB). When military patient is being treated at the QEHB (which is home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine) their families can stay at Fisher House, built on the site of the QEHB. The injuries servicemen and women sustain can often be life-changing for them and their families, and Fisher House provides a place to stay within walking distance of the hospital and a safe space for families to adjust and recover during this difficult time.

Jane Redmond said: “In 2023 Fisher House is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and we look forward to providing a home away from home for families for the next 10 years and beyond.”