Constitution and history

History

The Charity was created by Trust Deed on the 15th August 1996 and named as the Westcountry Ambulance Services Trust Fund. On 1st July 2006, following the merger of Westcountry Ambulance Services NHS Trust with Dorset Ambulance NHS Trust, the Charity was renamed the South Western Ambulance Service Trust Fund.

On 1st March 2011, the Corporate Trustee attained Foundation status, and the Charity’s name changed to the South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust Fund.

Following the acquisition on 1st February 2013 of the Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust by the Corporate Trustee, the net assets of the Great Western Ambulance Charity were transferred to the South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust Fund on that date.

In September 2017, the Charity Commission for England and Wales approved the Charity’s working name: “South Western Ambulance Service Charity”.

 

Trustees

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is the Corporate Trustee of the South Western Ambulance Service Charity. The executive and non-executive directors of the Trust Board share responsibility to ensure that the Corporate Trustee fulfils its duties when it manages the charitable funds.

 

Charitable Funds Committee

The Trust Board, on behalf of the Corporate Trustee, has delegated responsibility for managing the charitable funds to the Charitable Funds Committee.  The current members of the Charitable Funds Committee are:

• Margaret Batty - Non-Executive Director - Chair of the Committee
• Margaret Arnold - Non-Executive Director – Deputy Chair of the Committee
• Andrew Rosser - Executive Director of Finance and Infrastructure
• Amy Beet - Executive Director of People and Culture

 

What are the purposes/objectives of the charity?

• The Trustee shall hold the trust fund upon trust to apply the income, and at their discretion so far as may be permissible, the capital, for any charitable purpose or purposes relating to the NHS wholly or mainly for the services provided by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.
• The overall objective of the charity is to fund activities that benefit patients of the NHS thereby providing a public benefit.

Examples of these activities would be the welfare and training of staff and providing medical equipment and training to Community First Responder groups and others.

The overall strategy of the charity is to provide support by funding:

• Staff Expenditure, including training and staff development
• Motivation of staff, by improving staff facilities and providing services that improve staff wellbeing and thereby of indirect benefit to patients
• Equipment
• Medical and other equipment in addition to that normally provided by the NHS