Duchess of Kent House Trust

Duchess of Kent House Charity Enhancing the quality of life with specialist palliative care

Introduction

In 2001 the Duchess of Kent House Charity* was registered with the Charity Commission to raise funds for the Duchess of Kent House. Called simply the Duchess of Kent House Charity(Charity Commission's registration number: 1085912), its objectives are to provide a new focus for all fundraising associated with Palliative care in the surrounding area of Reading, Newbury, Wokingham and surrounding districts, and to build on the excellent work done since 1992 and before.

• original name was Duchess of Kent House Trust (changed at Companies House, 22 August 2008).

Trustees include David Murby (chair), independent consultant, Irene Dallas, an international corporate solicitor; Maureen Mosley, an accountant with BDO; Julian Walker of AB Walker & Son Ltd; Tony Cobb, retired businessma; Sue Moore,marketing & charity; and Helen Childs, solicitor with Boyes Turner. The charity appointed George Solly as the full-time director of fundraising. George has a broad fund raising, commercial, education and not-for-profit background. Particular areas of interest include schools, associations, affinity groups, local businesses and institutions, grant-making trusts, and medium to large firms based in the Thames Valley.

Background to the Trust

The new Charity was founded in March 2001 to provide a point of focus for all the fund raising activities, both existing and planned, that are needed to support Duchess of Kent House. The Charity's legal status is also defined as 'a Company Limited by Guarantee: registered in England, number 4032552.'

Aims

The aim of the Trust is to raise sufficient funds to:

1. Continue the provision of specialist services and facilities not paid for by statuary funding. Services available for funding include psychologists, aromatherapists, dieticians, chaplains, patient transport, gardeners, the family support (bereavement) services, the new Befriending Service, patient outings and so on. These services cost £1,200 per day to run, and the Charity is entirely dependent on kind donations to ensure that they continue to the benefit of day and in-patients.
2. Re-open beds previously available but not now open due to funding and staffing shortfalls. Duchess of Kent House originally had 22 beds available, but the number of beds was reduced to 18 in order to provide a much needed family suite for patients and their close relatives. In 2000 the number of available beds was reduced to 14 temporarily. By January 2003, the Trustees of the new Duchess of Kent House Charity announced that they would fund a further two beds at a cost of £100,000 each per annum, bringing the number up to 16 beds.

Other ways to support Duchess of Kent House will be considered by the Trustees, within the terms of the charity's Memorandum of Association, see following.

Mission statement

To support the Duchess of Kent House serving west and central Berkshire in its provision of holistic and multi-disciplinary specialist palliative care, focusing on quality of life and the alleviation of distressing symptoms and to provide counselling for the bereaved families of patients who have received such care.

Memorandum of Association

The objects of the charity are to relieve sick and infirm persons, to offer bereavement aid, to provide palliative care and associated services and facilities for the relief of patients with the West Berkshire Priority Care Service NHS Trust and successors to the said Trust, and to provide or assist in the provision of counselling for the bereaved families of patients who have received such care.

External links

• Duchess of Kent House Charity website
• Duchess of Kent House Charity, Registered Charity no. 1085912 at the Charity Commission