Supporting Access Staff Nominated Charities
The Access Foundation is committed to supporting the charities that matter most to our people, often these are exceptional organisations that support individuals and families coping with life limiting illness.
Three recent grants that have been nominated by Access staff include The Oddballs Foundation, Crohn’s and Colitis UK and The Brain Tumour Charity.
The Brain Tumour Charity
The Foundation awarded a grant of £66, 946 to The Brain Tumour Charity, the largest dedicated funder of research into brain tumours globally.
Working in collaboration with Clinical Nurse Specialists, the charity has developed a specialised prototype, called the My Support Plan Tool, as part of its BRIAN - brain tumour support app.
The funding is supporting the pilot of the new My Support Plan Tool at several neuro-oncology centres in the UK. The pilot is planned to run for nine months and is expected to show that users are able to communicate more effectively with their clinicians, receive better personalised comprehensive support, and overall have a better quality of life
“The Brain Tumour Charity team and our partner neuroscience centres are so pleased and proud to have the support of The Access Foundation in developing the My Support Plan Tool”
Catherine Fraher, Director of Services and Digital Health, The Brain Tumour Charity said:
“The Brain Tumour Charity team and our partner neuroscience centres are so pleased and proud to have the support of The Access Foundation in developing the My Support Plan Tool which aims to help people develop a personalised plan for their support and care. Today, only 21% people have an effective holistic needs assessment and resulting care plan with their healthcare team. That means most people are not connecting quickly enough to get the right help for their changing needs. My Support Plan Tool aims to improve this and give people more control to cope better with their own, unique situation.”
The Oddballs Foundation
The OddBalls Foundation is a charity that aims to make a real difference to male health around the world and tackle the stigma associated with testicular cancer. A £10,000 grant from the Foundation is supporting the charity’s ambassador programme, which organises educational awareness talks at schools, colleges, universities and within the workplace.
The programme aims to deliver over 825 OddBalls presentations, educating more than 125,000 people through talks each year, distributing over 30,000 Check Yourself guides and Check Yourself cushions to help breakdown the stigma associated with testicular cancer.
“We are extremely grateful for the generous support from The Access Foundation, it’s a substantial sum of money that will go a long way in helping to raise awareness of Testicular Cancer.”
Kieran Kelly, The OddBalls Foundation Manager commented:
“We are extremely grateful for the generous support from The Access Foundation, it’s a substantial sum of money that will go a long way in helping to raise awareness of Testicular Cancer. A special thanks to Justin Jolly from Access, for nominating us as his staff sponsored charity, without his recognition we would not be in this fortunate position.”
Crohn’s and Colitis UK
The Foundation has also made a grant of £10,000 to Crohn’s and Colitis UK, the leading national charity for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
There are currently over 500,000 people living with Crohn’s or Colitis in the UK, but there is a significant shortage of qualified nurses specially trained to support patients with the condition.
The foundation grant will address the skills shortage and aims to upskill and train nurses and will give each the funding, resources and support to complete an MSc in advanced practice.
Access to an appropriately qualified IBD nurse is vital to ensure people living with Crohn’s or Colitis can access responsive health services and achieve improved health outcomes.
“The RCN credentialing through Crohn’s & Colitis UK was a fantastic experience, enabling me to focus and improve my practice but also realising just how much we do to help improve a person’s journey with this condition.”
Rachel Campbell, Crohn's & Colitis, UK Nurse Specialist said,
“The RCN credentialing through Crohn’s & Colitis UK was a fantastic experience, enabling me to focus and improve my practice but also realising just how much we do to help improve a person’s journey with this condition. I would like to thank Crohn’s & Colitis UK for the opportunity to showcase my advanced practice and for introducing me to other fabulous Crohn’s & Colitis UK Nurses.”
Foundation Trustee, Piers McLeish commented:
“Life can be unpredictable and sometimes serious medical conditions strike unexpectedly. Our foundation supports a wide range of health and wellbeing charities which do vital work to help people manage serious medical conditions, often providing a lifeline and connecting them to the right networks and treatment.”
