Our grants
We have given over £20,000 in grants since we started. Find out more about the important work we fund below.
Support in secondary care after a death by suicide of a colleague
Building on our successful launch of a postvention framework designed to support primary care organisations following the death of a colleague by suicide, we have recently given a further grant to the Society of Occupational Medicine to research and develop parallel guidance for colleagues in secondary care.
We will bring you further news on this as the project develops.
A new framework to support primary care organisations after the death by suicide of a colleague
Death by suicide is thankfully an uncommon event in General Practice – but what happens when it is one of your own? Working in partnership with the Society of Occupational Medicine we funded ground breaking research designed to support primary care organisations dealing with the profound impact of the death of a colleague by suicide.
The report, ‘Responding to the Death of a Colleague in Primary Care: a Postvention Framework’ prepared by Professor Gail Kinman, Birkbeck, University of London and Dr Rebecca Torry, an experienced GP and trustee of The LTF, drew on interviews with people working in GP practices who have personal experiences of a death by suicide within their team alongside a of best practice. The paper promotes a ‘postvention framework’ of useful practical advice designed to support organisations with their immediate response to the event and subsequent recovery.
In Autumn 2021, the RCGP launched a pilot to support practices after the sudden death of a colleague.
NHS Practitioner Volunteer and User Voices Network
We awarded £5,000 to support the establishment and ongoing activities of the new NHS Practitioner Volunteer and User Voices Network. The Network brings doctors at varying stages of recovery from mental illness and addiction together with service providers, commissioners and charitable organisations in order to give voice to the experiences of the practitioner-patients, enable them to help shape the development of support services, raise awareness of the key issues affecting the management, support and processes for doctors who become unwell, and to explore the gaps in service provision and barriers to seeking help.
What could make a difference to the mental health of UK doctors?
We commissioned and funded a systematic review by Professor Gail Kinman of the University of Bedfordshire and Dr Kevin Teoh of Birkbeck University of London of existing research on the mental health of doctors, the factors that increased the risk of poor mental health, and the implications for their own wellbeing and that of their patients. Published in partnership with the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM).
Caring for Carers during the Covid-19 Pandemic
We provided £500 to support the Intensive Care Society with its work promoting the mental health of frontline intensive care staff during the Covid-19 emergency.
A Calm Zone for Medical Staff
We know how important it is that medical staff have the opportunity to take a break from the pressures of the frontline. That’s why we donated £500 towards furniture for a calm zone at the Royal Free London Hospital so that doctors, nurses and colleagues could have a safe space to sit comfortably and feel supported.
Helping a New Charity to get Online
Caring for Carers, otherwise known as Doctors Mess, is a charity which provides peer to peer support and advice designed to support the mental health of doctors and others working in the healthcare profession. We were delighted to be able to provide £975 to support the charity with its new website.