TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT
The trustees of the Friends of the Mary Hewetson Hospital, Keswick charity present their annual report and the audited financial statements for the year ended
30[th] SEPTEMBER 2023
Registered Charity No. 232708
1. OBJECTIVES and ACTIVITIES
Our charity’s objective is “to provide amenities for the Patients and Staff of the Mary Hewetson Hospital, Keswick.” Keswick Community Hospital is a vital asset in this rural area, its medical facilities used both by the residents of the area as well as the many thousands of visitors to the World Heritage Site that is the Lake District National Park.
In the preparation of this report, the trustees have paid due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Commission. The public benefits that flow from our charity purpose are (a) the preservation and enhancement of the local medical facilities provided to the public by the Keswick Hospital; (b) providing the public the means by which they can directly support their local Keswick Hospital. No harm arises from our charity’s purpose, the sole beneficiaries are the public, whether local residents or visiting tourists. No private benefit arises.
‘The Friends’ raise funds from the public by way of legacies, gifts in memory of deceased relatives, general donations and grant applications. We then manage those funds, actively liaising with the hospital administration to pass on the money raised through the funding of various projects e.g. facility refurbishment, the funding of purchases such as new medical equipment, the funding of miscellaneous maintenance services, etc.
2. ACHIEVEMENTS and PERFORMANCE
General donations from the public of £2,356 were down significantly on the previous year (£8,257). This is probably due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which will have affected charitable giving generally, but could also be the result of a recent change in NCIC admission policy meaning fewer local patients being treated at our hospital. Nonetheless, our already strong financial position has been further strengthened by some remarkably generous legacies and grants amounting to £174,278.
Our highlight achievement for this financial year was an additional payment of £100,000 to North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) that helped finance the costs of a significant recent hospital ward extension[1] . The public benefits of this extension are four (4) new and modern ward beds, a 33% increase in inpatient capacity.
1 The extension was finalised and opened in 2019.
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In terms of our operations, and given the recent demise of our local Barclays branch, we are looking into modernising our charity’s banking facilities either by upgrading our existing Barclays account or by opening an account with a new charity-friendly provider. We are looking for online banking that provides dual (at least) authorisation, faster and CHAPS payments, online statements, card donation terminals, etc. and hope to be online early in the forthcoming financial year. Apart from reducing the Treasurer’s workload, it will also make donations and receipts easier and far more secure.
Another key operational project begun in 2022/23 is the modernisation of our communications, through a dedicated charity website and email address. The domain www.friendsofkeswickhospital.org has been secured, as has admin@friendsofkeswickhospital.org. The email is already in use, a website development company has been appointed and the website itself is close to completion[2] . Our firm belief is that this modest but important investment in technology will facilitate and encourage donations, and will help us to raise awareness with potential (and existing) donors of our funding work with Keswick Hospital as well as within the hospital itself with both patients and staff. The eagle-eyed will already have noted one small but important part of this project: our new Friends logo adorning the header of this document, which will be used going forward on all our communications.
3. FINANCIAL REVIEW
During the twelve months to 30[th] September 2023, The Friends continued to offer financial support to the facilities at Keswick Hospital to a total of £104,687. Our single largest funding item was the payment of £100,000 to North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC), which went towards the costs of a previous hospital extension. Other items funded included the purchase of a new lawn mower used by the Keswick Lions charity to mow the hospital grounds (£575), providing Christmas presents to the patients (£400), a hot trolley (£1,032) and bain marie (£216) for the hospital kitchen, and some frightening-sounding equipment for the hospital’s physiotherapy department (£2,870).
Our overall financial position remains very strong, with total income for this financial year up significantly due to three very generous legacies, totalling £170,028. Other donations were down on the previous year, however, totaling only £2,356, probably due to the ongoing
2 The website development costs are being wholly funded by a generous donation in memory of our late fellow trustee, Glenda Holme.
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cost-of-living crisis and a change in patient admissions policy. Income tax refunds under the Gift Aid Scheme were £0, due to a lack of qualifying donations. Investment income totalled £7,232, significantly up on the previous year due to the higher interest rates now available. Net of disbursements made - the largest by far being the £100,000 payment to NCIC - our assets grew by £78,365 to a total of £441,986. With such significant funds now at our disposal, a key aim for the forthcoming financial year will be to work with the Keswick hospital authorities to identify a suitable purchase to fund, perhaps another ward extension or perhaps the provision of a feature item of medical equipment.
The principal funding sources for our charity continue to be gifts in memory of deceased relatives, legacies, general donations, HMRC gift aid refunds, and grants.
3.1 Administrative Costs
The trustees discharge their duties without remuneration and employ no staff. Administrative expenses totalled £49 including postage, advertising, stationery and an annual lottery licence paid to our Local Authority. This constitutes less than 0.5% of income received during the twelve month period.
3.2 Investments
The bulk of our assets are held in National Savings Income Bonds and fixed-term Building Society accounts, with balances reported regularly to the Trustees. To minimise risk each Building Society balance is below £85,000, thus falling within the Government Guarantee Policy. National Savings Income Bonds are government-protected up to £1 million. For further details see the accompanying accounts, audited by W J Pridmore.
The Treasurer’s investment policy is to preserve the value of the donated funds, to grow the value risk-free, and ensure funds are readily available when Keswick Hospital funding opportunities are identified. To facilitate the latter, our largest investment is in instant-access National Savings Income Bonds. Our Building Society fixed-term accounts can also be called upon if required, albeit with interest penalties.
Longer term, we look to maintain a contingency reserve of £20,000 in order to always be able to react to and fund any unanticipated Keswick Hospital requests.
4. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT
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Our charity was originally formed in 1965 as a Trust with its objective, as stated in Objectives and Activities, being “ To provide amenities for the Patients and Staff of The Mary Hewetson Hospital, Keswick ”. The Constitution was adopted on 1[st] February 1993, amended on the 25th November 2015, and is registered with the Charity Commission.
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- See https://register of charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity search/ /charity details/232708
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Trustees are appointed by invitation of the existing trustees and generally drawn from interested members of the local community. No formal training is given. Trustees shall include the Hospital Manager (or nominee), and the town’s Senior GP (or nominated Deputy). Trustees have the power to co-opt. The current quorum for voting at meetings is ten (10) Trustees. The business of ‘The Friends’ is conducted and managed by a committee, who meet a minimum of four (4) times annually. The Officers are the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer.
During the course of 2022/23 trustees Julie Ousby and Judith Atack stood down and, sadly, we also lost Glenda Holme who passed away at Keswick Hospital in January. The trustees would like to put on record their gratitude and profound thanks to Julie, Judith and Glenda for all their support in previous years. We welcomed as new trustees Dr. David Brigham from the local Castlehead Medical Centre, Shelagh Lambert and Sylvia Darigala.
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TRUSTEES 2023
Margaret Maud Bragg Dr. David Brigham[3] Mike Bulman
Dr. Jim Cox - Vice-Chair (from Oct 2022) Sylvia Darigala Carole Harrison
Dr. Peter Edwin Hemingway[4]
Dr. Eugene Lambert - Treasurer (from Feb 2022)
Shelagh Lambert Gail Miller - Secretary Susan Reid Susan Robinson Dorothy Anne Savage - Chair Janice Mary Smith Carrie Wilson[5]
BANKERS
Barclays Bank PLC., Keswick
AUDITORS
Lamont Pridmore, 8 Stanger Street, Keswick
CONTACT
Dr. Eugene Lambert High Gale, Applethwaite Keswick Cumbria, CA12 4P
This report was prepared with reference to the guidelines in the UK government’s CHARITIES SORP (FRS 102) 2nd Edition - Oct 2019 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/fle/870619/charities-sorp-frs102-2019a.pdf
3 Local GP
4 Local GP
5 Hospital Manager
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FRIENDS OF THE MARY HEWETSON HOSPITAL
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2023
CONTENTS
1. Receipts and Payments Account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities
2. Independent Examiner’s Report
FRIENDS OF MARY HEWETSON HOSPITAL
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2023
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT (GENERAL PURPOSES FUND)
| 30 September 2023 | 30 September 2023 | 30 September 2022 | 30 September 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| RECEIPTS | |||||
| Voluntary Sources | |||||
| Donations - General | 174,278 | 1,596 | |||
| - In Remembrance | 2,356 | 8,257 | |||
| Income Tax Refunds | - | 18 | |||
| 176,634 | 9,871 | ||||
| Income from Assets | |||||
| National Savings Bond Interest | 6,484 | 708 | |||
| Building Society Interest | 748 | 896 | |||
| 7,232 | 1,604 | ||||
| ______ | ______ | ||||
| 183,866 | 11,475 | ||||
| PAYMENTS | |||||
| Direct Charitable Expenditure | |||||
| Christmas Gifts per Ward Manager | 400 | 200 | |||
| Gifts to Hospital and Donations to N Cumbria | |||||
| Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust | 104,687 | 5,464 | |||
| 105,087 | 5,664 | ||||
| Other Expenditure | |||||
| Postage & Sundries | 414 | 50 | |||
| _____ | _____ | ||||
| Total Payments for the Year | 105,501 | 5,714 | |||
| NET RECEIPTS FOR THE YEAR | 78,365 | 5,761 | |||
| CASH FUNDS AT LAST YEAR END | 39,620 | 33,859 | |||
| TRANSFER TO INVESTMENTS | (85,000) | - | |||
| ______ | ______ | ||||
| 32,985 | 39,620 | ||||
| STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES | |||||
| £ | £ | ||||
| Cash Funds at this Year End (as above) | 32,985 | 39,620 | |||
| Non-Monetary Assets: | |||||
| - | Held for Investment Purposes |
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| National Savings Income Bonds | 324,000 | 164,000 | |||
| Building Society Term Deposits | 85,000 | 160,000 | |||
| _ | _ | ||||
| 441,985 | 363,620 |
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE FRIENDS OF THE MARY HEWETSON HOSPITAL
I report on the unaudited accounts of the Trust for the year ended 30 September 2023 which are set out on page 1.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As this charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirement of section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) does not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 43(7)(b) of the Act, whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of Independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
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to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act; and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with
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accounting requirements of the Act
have not been met; or
- to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
W J Pridmore Chartered Accountant
8 Stanger Street Keswick Cumbria CA12 5JU
31 October 2023
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