CHRISTIE charity bosses have pledged that donations WON’T be used to pay for the day-to-day running of the hospital when the budgets are combined under new rules.
The Treasury will force NHS trusts to list donations on the hospital’s balance sheet from April.
Critics fear the move paves the way for the government to use hospital charities as a way to cut funding. The Christie Hospital, in Withington, has the second largest NHS charity in the country with £15m donated last year.
Louise Hadley, from The Christie Charity, said: “We would like to reassure all our supporters and fundraisers that any changes will make no difference to the way donations are used.
“The donations our charity receives are used to fund research and improvements in patient care and the spending of these funds is approved by our charity funds committee.”
Christie charity bosses are using charity cash to set up radiotherapy treatment centres in Oldham and Salford, to bring care closer to patients.
According to the Charity Commission, NHS charities control assets worth more than £2bn.
It includes £3m a year for Wythenshawe hospital, £159,00 for Tameside Hospital, £339,000 for Stepping Hill Hospital, in Stockport and £572,000 for Pennine Acute Trust which runs hospitals in Oldham, North Manchester, Bury and Rochdale.
A Charity Commission spokesman said: “It is important for all charities to guard their independence and for their independence to be recognised.”
But Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman, said: “This move could lead to hundreds of millions of pounds of donations being effectively nationalised.
“People make donations on the understanding that it is up to charities to decide how to spend it, not ministers.
“The government could potentially use this as a smokescreen to cover up cuts in future health spending.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “The accounting rule does not change the fact that the deployment of all the monies donated remain the responsibility of the trustees.”
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If I ever needed another reason not to vote Labour at the next election, this is it. It is absolutely disgusting that they are doing this. Keeping charity donations separate was one of the main principles when Labour set up the NHS back in 1948. Also, some of the main reasons the charities exist are to pay for things (scanners etc) which they can't afford with the money from their budgets but desperately need.
I've seen comments on this story on other websites and so many of them state that they will never again give to hospital charities, and I've also seen ones such as people who have currently bequeathed their entire estate to Great Ormond Street Hospital who are going to change their wills as a result of this. I don't trust the government to handle the taxes I pay; I certainly don't trust them to handle the money I give voluntarily!
If a hospital has a well-organised and proactive charity unit which is successful, why should it be penalised by having its main budgets cut as a result (which will happen whatever spin the government might put on it, otherwise why the hell are they doing this in the first place?)?
I bet it is. Used to run day to day services I mean.
Is it the same people handling the donations that gambled and lost £7million of 'our' money in the Icelandic Bank collapse.
If so why are these people still in the job......
My next donation to Louise Hadley of the Christies treasury will be a £1 betting slip with my selection for next years Grand National, if it wins, Christies win.
I stopped giving to hospital charities when the NHS 'reforms' were introduced and a pseudo business model introduced into the NHS. This was because the money wasted on accountants and managers necessary to run the bureaucracy of this farce easily outweighed money given by charities. By giving to charities you were simply aiding and abetting the wasteful NHS changes introduced by our politicians and their business cronies. If you have spare money, save it, you may need it yourself when you become ill.
I will not give any donations until I am sure that the money will go directly to the patients and or research. Charity money is not part and parcel of the hospitals budget and believe me as a retired health care professional if it is lumped in with " Budgets" the government will use it.
Unfortunately, donations HAVE been used. My wife works there and although she finds the work tremendously humbling we worry whenever she is due to be paid because of the haphazard and unprofessional way that Christie funds seem to be administered.
just another labour tax for services they have allowed to fail with too many managers(and pensions),and not enough public care.stop the waste stop the rot!!!billions spent on 3rd world nothing on us , we will be a 3rd world country soon if gordon gets his way.
Id like to know why the lotto can give away £100m to the asylum seekers that don't belong in the uk this was 2 years ago give it to the people that need the cash like christies some body child could benefit fro all that cash
ok so the labor party is not great !! I must admit things have not gone swimmingly in the past few years . But that said labour has not sold off all the family silver to fund a great time . We are heading for bleak times no matter who gets in!! the tories will be far worse. They will put money in the pokets of the rich. can we have OLD labour back please. all the money has gone to the rich and scroungers. instead of joe public. Things will change!!
Mr Average - they may not have sold off all the family silver, but they did recklessly sell off all the country's gold at the wrong time, thereby flooding the market with the result that they only got half the value they should have been able to get for it. Another brilliant decision by Iron Chancellor Mr Brown!