1. An introduction from our Chief Executive and Chair
2. Our Strategy for 2026–2031: At a Glance
3. Our strategic priorities
4. Achieving our ambition
5. Our foundations – living our values
Imperial Health Charity
A: 10th Floor, 5 Merchant Square, London, W2 1AY
E: info@imperialcharity.org.uk
T: 020 3857 9840
Imperial Health Charity is a registered charity, number 1166084
IntroductionfromourChiefExecutive
We are proud to share our strategy for 2026–31 – a plan shaped by our values, our partnerships, and our belief in what great healthcare can achieve when ambition meets action.
As a charity, we exist for one reason: to help our hospitals – and the staff, patients and communities they support – do more. Over the next five years, we want to go further – delivering greater impact, supporting better health outcomes, and helping build a stronger, more innovative NHS.
We are in a strong position to do this. We are the official charity partner of the internationally-respected Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and work alongside world-leading clinicians, researchers, and educators. We have a track record of backing bold ideas and turning them into real-world improvements. And we are a well-led organisation, with strong governance and the financial stability needed to think long term. That gives us confidence – and responsibility – as we look ahead.
This strategy is about focus and purpose. We remain true to our core goals of delivering excellence in care, promoting the health of our communities, and championing innovation and research that makes a difference. But we are also choosing to concentrate our time, energy, and funding where we know we can make the biggest and most lasting difference. That means focusing in four clinical areas: cancer, children’s health, women’s health and frailty; and on NHS staff wellbeing. These five priorities – our five frontlines – will guide our fundraising, our grant making, and how we share the story of the difference we’ll make to make for patients, staff and our community.
We will continue to back pioneering research and clinical innovations – helping new ideas reach patients faster. But impact doesn’t stop at the lab or clinic. We will do more to share what we learn, bringing research findings into the public conversation, helping shape policy, and reaching wider audiences in clear and accessible ways.
Our ambition stretches from local to national and beyond. We support patients every day in our hospitals – from volunteers helping people find their way to appointments, to arts programmes that bring moments of calm, connection, and joy to busy clinical spaces. At the same time, the work we fund and enable contributes to national and international advances in healthcare. Local action, global impact – both matter, and both belong together.
None of this happens alone. Our partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust sits at the heart of this strategy. We share aims, values and ambition, and we work closely together while remaining proudly independent. In support of this, we will do more in collaboration with Imperial College London, the Paddington Life Sciences cluster, and partner charities to increase our collective impact across north west London and beyond.
This strategy is an investment – in people, in ideas, and in the future of healthcare. By delivering on this strategy, patients will benefit, staff will feel supported, and the health system we are part of will be stronger for it.
Gail Scott-Spicer, Chief Executive, Imperial Health Charity
AwordfromourChairofTrustees
As Chair of Trustees, I am delighted to support this strategy and the clear direction it sets for the years ahead.
This strategy is ambitious, but it is also grounded. It is built on a strong understanding of where we add the greatest value and how we can use our resources wisely to deliver meaningful change.
I am especially encouraged by our decision to focus. By prioritising these four clinical areas, and NHS staff wellbeing, we are making deliberate choices that will sharpen our impact and improve outcomes. It allows us to be more effective, more accountable, and more confident in how we measure success. Innovation and compassion go hand in hand, and I look forward to supporting the charity as it shapes the future of healthcare.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank our supporters, partners, staff, and volunteers. Your commitment makes this work possible. We look forward to supporting the charity as it delivers on this strategy and continues to play a vital role in shaping the future of healthcare – locally, nationally, and beyond.
Dr Andreas Raffel, Chair, Imperial Health Charity Board of Trustees
Our Strategy for 2026–2031: At a Glance
Great healthcare starts with the NHS, but it doesn’t end there. At Imperial Health Charity, we believe that world-class medicine should always be matched by world-class patient experience, innovation, and kindness.
Over the next five years, we are embarking on our most ambitious journey yet. We have aligned our goals directly with our Trust to ensure that every penny we spend and every hour our volunteer contribute goes exactly where it is needed most. Our work will go beyond supporting a hospital system; will invest in the health, happiness and wellbeing of our community.
Our Vision
To support the hospitals, NHS staff and patients in our communities to achieve the shared goals of exceptional care and experience of care, better health outcomes, and reduced health inequalities.
By 2031, we will be recognised by the public as a leader among NHS charities for delivering sustained positive impact for patients, NHS staff, and our communities, and making deep and long-lasting contributions to cancer care, women’s health, children’s health, frailty and NHS staff wellbeing at our Trust.
Our Mission
We will work with our Trust and partners to enhance the experience of care for patients, driving better outcomes both within our hospitals and in the wider communities we serve.
Our Three Strategic Priorities - How we will make a difference.
1. Supporting exceptional patient care in our hospitals: We will go above and beyond the standard of care by funding life-saving technology, refurbishing hospital spaces into healing environments, and providing the vital extras that make a hospital stay feel human and dignified.
2. Supporting the health of the communities we serve: We will take healthcare into the heart of our neighbourhoods. By focusing on prevention and working with local groups, we will work to close the health gap and ensure everyone has a fair chance at a healthy life.
3. Driving research and innovation: We will act as a launchpad for discovery. By funding novel research and new and innovative ways of working, we help our hospitals turn today’s big ideas into better, faster healthcare for patients tomorrow.
Our Five Frontlines - Where we will focus our expertise.
To achieve the greatest impact, we are focusing our resources on five key areas that mirror the Trust’s own transformation plans. These are the frontlines where we will deliver our most significant work:
Cancer | Women’s Health | Children’s Health | Frailty | NHS Staff Wellbeing
By the end of this strategy, we will have invested millions into our local NHS, empowered thousands of volunteers, and helped create a hospital environment where technology is cutting-edge and compassion is everywhere.
OurStrategicPriorities
Priority 1. Supporting exceptional patient care in our hospitals
Transforming the hospital experience
Great healthcare is about the perfect blend of world-class medicine, delivered by happy, supported staff, in a caring, human environment. While the NHS provides expert clinical care, we provide the extra support that makes a hospital stay feel more human, and that moves care from standard to exceptional. We want every patient’s experience to be as personal, comfortable, and compassionate as possible.
We’ll ensure that world-class care is always matched by a world-class experience.
What we’ll do and how we’ll do it
Create healing hospital spaces
By funding major capital projects that transform wards, waiting areas, family rooms and children’s spaces into calm, welcoming environments.
Equip staff with the support and tools they need
By investing in life-changing medical technology and digital innovation that the NHS budget cannot always provide.
Improve the patient journey
By supporting test-and-learn pilots and new approaches through volunteering that remove barriers, improve safety, and make care easier to access and navigate.
Care for the whole person
By delivering our Arts Programme and expanding initiatives like our Patient Hardship Fund to support emotional, social, and financial wellbeing.
Tina Halton, Play Specialist at St Mary's Hospital
Priority 2. Supporting the health of the communities we serve
Building Healthier Communities
Good health starts long before someone arrives at hospital – and continues long after they leave. With prevention at the heart of our work in this area, we’ll focus on supporting communities so that –in the long term – fewer people will need hospital care. To improve outcomes and reduce inequality, we must work with communities, not just for them. By focusing on where need is greatest and listening to lived experience, we want to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, has the same chance to live a long and healthy life.
We’ll help prevent illness before it starts and support recovery long after a patient leaves hospital.
What we’ll do and how we’ll do it
Focus on what matters most
By partnering with the Trust to launch a Population Health Strategy Unit that uses local data to target the biggest health challenges and deliver high-impact projects.
Reduce health inequalities
By building on our successes and deploying our volunteers to deliver prevention-led support for the communities facing the greatest barriers to good health. Alongside this, we’ll work to ensure our volunteering programme is as diverse as the communities it supports.
Support healthier lives
By working with new and trusted partners to deliver physical activity, long-term condition management and wellbeing programmes in the community.
Bring care into the community
By investing in local groups and taking our arts and wellbeing activities beyond the hospital, to reach people where they live.
Priority 3: Driving research and innovation
Leading the Future of Medicine
Medical breakthroughs change lives – but only if ideas can move quickly from research into real care. We want to help accelerate that journey. We’ll act as a launchpad for innovation – funding the earlystage projects and new technologies that have the potential to change lives.
We’ll ensure that world-class medical discovery leads directly to faster, kinder, and more effective care for patients.
What we’ll do and how we’ll do it
Accelerate breakthrough research
By co-funding novel and high-impact studies that can be tested in our hospitals and shared across the NHS and beyond.
Turn discovery into better care
By investing in innovation grants that pilot new technologies and digital tools in real clinical settings.
Empower our people to innovate
By supporting hardworking doctors, nurses and midwives to turn frontline insight into research that improves patient care.
Invest where it matters most
By funding investments that support the Trust’s strategic priorities and our own charitable aims.
Dr Patrik Bachtiger, NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Digital Health
Achieving our Ambition
To deliver the ambitious changes we have set out for our patients and staff, this strategy is designed to be a period of planned, managed growth. We are putting our resources to work – investing our funds where they can do the most good today, while building a sustainable foundation for tomorrow.
1. Putting Our Resources to Work
We are fortunate to hold significant reserves, and we believe now is the time to use them. Over the next five years, we plan to invest £15 million from our reserves directly into our hospitals and community.
2. Growing Our Impact
To sustain our work for the long term, and support our hospitals, staff and patients for generations to come:
We are investing in our fundraising capacity to grow income and ensure the charity can continue to meet the increasing needs of our hospitals and communities. We will focus on raising funds for our five frontlines, including cancer, women’s health, and NHS staff wellbeing, while also increasing unrestricted income through regular giving and legacies.
By expanding our team, we will be able to strengthen relationships with our supporters and continue to provide exceptional care and stewardship for everyone whose lives have been touched by our hospitals.
3. Smarter, Faster Operations
We are modernising how we work behind the scenes so that more of our time and money can be spent delivering our charitable work, by:
Embracing new technology, cutting-edge tools and improved processes
Supporting and investing in our team, and
Carefully managing our investments, aiming for steady growth that beats inflation.
4. Accountability and Impact
To ensure we are staying on track and spending every pound effectively, we will launch a new, rigorous framework to measure our impact across the next five years.
By tracking our progress so closely, we can be more agile – investing more in what works and constantly refining our approach to ensure we deliver the greatest possible benefit to the Trust and our community.
Our Foundations: Living Our Values
To deliver an exceptional future for our hospitals, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards. Here is how we will lead by example between 2026 and 2031.
Our Commitment to the Planet
We recognise that the climate crisis is a health emergency. We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and helping our hospitals become some of the greenest in the UK.
Equality of Opportunity
We believe that a fairer world starts with a fairer workplace. We are committed to being an employer of choice, where the only barrier to success is talent.
Championing Diversity and Inclusion
A diverse team brings the diverse ideas we need to solve big challenges. We are building a charity that truly reflects the vibrant, multicultural community we serve.
