Project Launch Fund
Project launch fund boosts grass roots projects in LLR
The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland came together in early 2022 to launch a new grant scheme called the Project Launch Fund to turbo-charge great improvement ideas.
The fund was for bright ideas with a long-lasting, sustainable impact and was open to anyone working for the NHS and voluntary sector health organisations in LLR.
We were overwhelmed by the innovation, imagination and commitment we saw in the applications and were delighted to award many thousands of pounds to more than 120 schemes, including mental health projects, for hospital equipment, better treatment areas for cancer patients and new community facilities for isolated people. The impact on staff, local people and communities will be huge.
Although the fund has now closed, project support from our team will continue to make sure that these projects come to fruition and have a big impact now and in the future too.
Successful bid examples
BRIGHTSPARKS SMOOTHIE SOUND SYSTEM MUSIC PROJECT – £20,600
The BrightSparks charity’s Smoothie Sound System music project is successfully providing unique opportunities to the most vulnerable and isolated mental health service users in Leicester, including young men from BAME communities, and the funding will be used to expand this service.
INFRA-RED VEIN FINDING EQUIPMENT – LLR COMMUNITY PHLEBOTOMY SERVICE £2,000
The Community Phlebotomy Service which provides care for housebound patients across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, will use the funding for two infra-red vein finders.
The service visits patients daily in their own homes to take veinous blood samples as requested by GPs
HAND-HELD ULTRASOUND MACHINE – GLENFIELD HOSPITAL £6,300
The echocardiography department at Glenfield Hospital will use the funding for a handheld cardiac ultrasound machine to help them quickly perform scans on patients at their bedside or wherever they may be in the hospital.
BRIGHT PATH FUTURES PROJECT, WEAVER INSIGHT – £17,000
The Bright Path Futures Project will help more non-English speaking female asylum seekers in Leicester have a voice, live independently and access the support they need to learn the most fundamental skill needed to take part in wider society – speaking, reading and writing English.
RADIOTHERAPY PRIVACY SCREENS AND SKYLIGHTS, UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF LEICESTER – £14,000
Thousands of patients awaiting radiotherapy treatment at the University Hospitals of Leicester will benefit from speedier treatment, increased dignity and comfort through new privacy screens and skylights.
DIGITAL MEETING POD, THE CENTRE PROJECT – £26,000
The Centre Project in Leicester will create a new digital meeting pod to help its service users improve their access to digital services and make NHS digital services accessible and inclusive.
