Health service to receive nearly £1m from Bailiff's fund

Wednesday 29 July 2020

Nearly one million pounds of philanthropic donations will be given to the Health Department to purchase new equipment and fund a mental health project for frontline workers.

The donations were received by the Bailiff’s Covid-19 Fund, which was set up in April by Timothy Le Cocq QC after a number of private individuals expressed their wish to support the hospital and community in its management of the health crisis and its aftermath.

Over 150 people contributed to the disaster fund, with donations totalling £1,201,750. 

In addition to a £500,000 donation from local businessman Scott Thomas, the fund attracted other substantial donations, including a further half-a-million from Mike Platt and Andrew Dodd of major hedge fund Bluecrest.

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Video: The Bailiff launching the Appeal Fund in April.

The Appeal Fund was managed by a panel supported by advisors from health and community organisations, and the trustees have now agreed on who the recipients will be.

The majority of the funds will go to Health and Community Services, with £346,187 granted for a mental health project supporting frontline workers, and a further £609,000 donated for the provision of equipment that will assist patient care.  

An additional £80,000 has been granted to St. John Ambulance to support the first aid charity's operational budget after it provided “considerable support” to the main Ambulance Service during the early stages of the pandemic.

St. John Ambulance, along with Normandy Rescue, came under the command structure of the Ambulance Service as part of the island’s response to covid.

The charity's Chair, David Le Quesne, welcomed the donation, explaining the charity's income flow had been hit hard by the pandemic.

Pictured: St. John Ambulance will be receiving £80,000.

"We are Jersey’s first port of call for assistance when States emergency services are under extreme pressure due to an emergency such as that caused by Covid-19. We have called upon our trained staff and volunteers and we have made our premises and our ambulances and other vehicles available to help the States Ambulance Service. It must be remembered that we are an island and, in such an emergency, we cannot simply ask a neighbouring county or country for help, for they, as we now see, probably have their own problems with which they struggle to cope and, further, it may not possible to move people or equipment into our island," he said.

"During this pandemic, all our sources of income - first aid course fees, fees for attendance at public events, and so on, have dried up. The financial help we have received from the Bailiff’s Fund and other generous donors has kept our charity alive, for without such support, we could not have continued our charitable work."

All recipients are expected to receive the funds by Friday and the remaining balance of over £160,000 will be reserved for further applications from organisations in a public sector setting.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who donated so generously to the Fund, as well as all officers who have played a role in setting it up and administering it,” the Bailiff said.

Pictured: The Bailiff said he was particularly pleased some of the money would be spent on a mental health project for frontline workers.

“Whilst I believe Jersey is in a very strong position to cope given the new measures in place to address a further wave of covid-19, it is nonetheless reassuring to see these donations used to provide a support facility for frontline workers in their daily roles,” he added. 

“I am delighted to see donations going to two excellent and crucial frontline organisations. And I am particularly pleased to see a sum of money being diverted to a mental health project – something that is much needed and can often be missed when supporting staff.”