FIBROID FORUM UK
CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION NO. 1177878 REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
31 DECEMBER 2022
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Fibroid Forum UK
Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31 December 2022
The Trustees of the Fibroid Forum UK present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022.
The board of trustees is satisfied with the performance of the charity during the year and the position as of 31 December 2022 and consider that the charity is in a good position to continue its activities during the coming year.
Charity's Registered Address
253 Lordship Lane London SE22 8JF
The charity is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 1177878
A summary of the objects of the charity as set out in its governing document:
The relief of sickness and the preservation of health of women who are suffering or are at risk of suffering from uterine fibroids, in particular but not exclusively by:
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(1) raising awareness of fibroids and how it impacts on the lives of sufferers;
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(2) educating and empowering women suffering from fibroids to enable them to make informed choices about the best treatment options for them and how to access them; and:
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(3) aiding the research of the causes of fibroids to help alleviate and eliminate the condition and to publish the useful results.
An explanation of the charity's main activities and objectives for the year
The charity took over running the Guys & St Thomas' quarterly Fibroids Support Group meeting in September 2017. At the point that the charity took over the running of the meetings they had been taking place in the Gynaecology Department corridor waiting area at Guy's Hospital, but they were then relocated to a lecture room at St Thomas's Hospital.
In 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown restrictions the quarterly meetings moved to the Zoom online platform which has enabled the charity to continue offering this vital support to fibroid sufferers and enabled access to attendees from further afield. These quarterly meetings continued online in 2022. Attendees were required to preregister to attend and asked to remain on camera during meetings.
The support group meetings have continued to raise awareness of fibroids and how the condition impacts on the lives of sufferers; educating and empowering women suffering from fibroids to enable them to make informed choices about the best treatment options and how to access them.
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The meetings also continued to provide a forum for practitioners and researchers in the field to share information and expertise on the treatment options available to sufferers.
During the course of the year meetings had contributions from guest speakers, including in September 2022, Phoebe Hanson-Lowe, a research student who had recently completed a Masters titled, "Persistance, Resistance, Assistance: on Black fibroid patients’ experiences of patienthood, illness and (self-)care". A number of the charity's Facebook Group members had contributed to Ms Hanson-Lowe's research for her thesis, which went on to win the Mario Rutten Master Thesis Prize 2020-2021[1] . Ms Hanson-Lowe studied shared her research findings during the support group and took part in a Q&A session.
In December 2022 the guest speaker was Dr Sally King from Menstrual Matters who spoke about menstrual health and findings on pre-menstrual syndrome which was followed by a Q&A session.
The support group meetings have also provided the opportunity for sufferers to share their experience of the condition, the various treatment options that they had undergone, the challenges in obtaining treatment as well as the self-care they have engaged with in treating their condition. Some attendees continue to regularly attend meetings even after receiving treatment and make valuable contributions to the group discussions.
The charity continues to have a social media presence both on Facebook and Twitter, with the charity's private Facebook group providing a forum where sufferers of the condition can share their experience, ask questions, and gain support from other sufferers. Articles regarding the condition and other gynaecological conditions are also shared in the Facebook group.
Facebook, Twitter, and Eventbrite have also been the means by which support group meetings have been publicised.
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity trustees are responsible for the overall management and control of the charity. All decisions are made by the trustees.
The trustees met on seven occasions during the year to discuss governance of the charity, plan support group meetings and ways of promoting awareness of fibroids and the treatment options available.
The charity is not part of a wider group structure.
Public benefit
The charity's trustees continue to have regards to the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance. The trustees are aware of the guidance and have taken it into account when decision making to which the guidance is relevant in the running of the charity. On any occasion where the trustees decide to depart from the guidance, they have good reasons for doing so and this is recorded.
1 Mario Rutten is a professor of Comparative Sociology and Anthropology of Asia at the University of Amsterdam where Ms Hanson-Lowe studied.
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The trustees believe that the charity has continued to provide public benefit through the support group meetings for fibroid sufferers, many of whom have fed back with their appreciation for a supportive forum and a network in which to share their experience with other sufferers as well as gaining information from practitioners in the field. The has enabled sufferers of the condition to make better choices about the treatment options available to them. Several of the attendees continue to regularly attend the support group meetings.
Public benefit has also been provided through the charity's Facebook group which was established in 2017 and is administered by two of the trustees. At the end of the reporting period the Facebook group had a total of 633 members.
Financial Review & Annual Return Questions
The financial statements are set out in the accounts for the period ending 31 December 2022. The accounts have been presented as a Receipts and Payments Accounts.
No funding was raised In 2022 and this is reflected in the accounts. Grant making is not the main way that the charity carries out its purposes.
During the financial period for this return, the charity received no income or grant funding from contracts from central government or a local authority.
During the financial period for this annual return, the charity received no income from outside of the UK.
During the financial period for this annual return, the charity did not operate outside England and Wales and no money was spent or transferred outside England and Wales.
The charity has no trading subsidiaries.
During the financial period for this annual return, none of the trustees received remuneration or benefits other than any expenses incurred.
None of the trustees were paid:
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(a) for being a trustee;
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(b) for providing professional advice or services to the charity; or
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(c) for any other benefit from the charity (for example accommodation, car, holiday).
The charity has no employees or paid members of staff and during the period covered by this annual return, none of the trustees resigned to take up employment with the charity.
The charity had no UK volunteers during the financial period. All activities were undertaken by the trustees.
The charity has no overseas expenditure and therefore no monitoring controls in place to monitor such expenditure.
None of the charity's trustees are in roles within the charity requiring a standard, enhanced, or enhanced with barred lists DBS check.
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Members of the Board of Trustees at the date the report and the accounts were approved
Audrey Skervin (Chair) Yvonne Maye (Treasurer) Elfreda Skervin Helen Odozi Dawn Martin
3 November 2023
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Charity Name No (if any) Fibroid Forum UK 1177878 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01.01.2022 31.12.2022
| Section A Receipts and payments | Section A Receipts and payments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|
| - | 265 | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
- | 265 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - | - | ||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
||||||
| 265 | ||||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - | |||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases (see table) |
||||||
| , | - | |||||
| - | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | ||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | - | - | - |
265 | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | 265 |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
03/11/2023
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| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B1 Cash funds |
Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details Details Details Signature Dawn Martin |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name DAWN MARTIN |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| Dawn Martin | DAWN MARTIN | 03.11.2023 | |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
03/11/2023
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