To celebrate our 125th anniversary since the Hospital’s foundation in 1898, we have launched our Community Champion Initiative to support people in the local community who are struggling with debilitating conditions and have difficulty accessing the care they need.
Please note that applications are now closed.
The Community Champion Initiative
The relationship and mutual support with our local community have long-standing roots. New Victoria Hospital was initially founded as a charity by a group of doctors and GPs who wanted to support its community by offering free treatment to patients as an independent Hospital. Since its foundation, the Hospital has relied on donations and local memberships to support its activity and has offered a considerable number of pro bono treatments to local patients.
We acknowledge that many people are awaiting treatments, struggling to get access to the medical care they need, or even giving up on seeking help. David Marshall, our Hospital’s CEO, says, “In the spirit of ‘building together’, New Victoria Hospital launches its Community Champion Initiative to be a lifeline for many patients keen to get back to optimal health through necessary treatment, care, and attention. It has been a challenging few years, so we want to continue demonstrating our commitment to the wider patient community who have shown resilience, generosity, and care to others despite their health struggles”.
What does the Community Champion Initiative involve?
We have allocated £125,000 for selected UK applicants whose condition is treatable, and this will include receiving:
- Consultations
- Diagnostic examinations
- Therapies
- Surgery
and any necessary post-op treatment to help improve their quality of life, completely free of charge.
We want to hear your stories
The initiative is open to all UK residents who have been coping with a condition for a long period, would like a second opinion, need medical or surgical treatment or are struggling to access the support they need.
The Hospital is calling on individuals with inspiring life stories, showcasing resilience over adversity. If you are facing the daily struggle of debilitating conditions from a physical and mental point of view, but keep pushing through your symptoms and fighting for a good quality of life, tell us your story and apply for the Community Champion fund.
We particularly encourage stories from people who are dealing with a diagnosed or undiagnosed condition, a parent looking after their children despite their health struggles, a parent concerned for their own child’s health, somebody worried for a loved one, or anybody who needs medical attention but has difficulty accessing the specialist care they need.
We want to hear your personal story, how you are coping with your symptoms, how your condition has an impact on your day-to-day life, but most importantly, how access to medical care would change your life: at work, in your hobbies and the impact of your health on your family and loved ones.
Applications will be evaluated from a clinical and ethical perspective by an appointed selection committee made up of local community ambassadors, members of the Hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee, Hospital staff, Hospital board directors and The Victoria Foundation trustees, the parent charity of the Hospital.
The deadline to apply to receive free medical care is the 11th of September 2023 (extended deadline: 2 October 2023). Applications are now closed.
We look forward to hearing your stories and changing some lives with our Community Champion Initiative.
To read more about the initiative and submit your application, visit our Community Champion Initiative page.
