HOPE, The Royal College Foundation

07 Jun 2017

The College has today announced plans to launch a new philanthropic fund – HOPE, The Royal College Foundation – in Autumn 2017.  The fund will build on our existing reputation of delivering and supporting a wide range of healthcare projects around the world.

Over the next few months, we welcome you to help us shape our thinking.

The founding vision of our College was to unite health professionals with the same aim of enhancing patient care.  This enduring goal has been key to shaping the diverse, inclusive nature of our College today. We have expanded well beyond Glasgow, both nationally and internationally, and membership has grown to include medicine, surgery, dentistry, travel medicine, and podiatry.

The skill, commitment and passion of our membership define us and ensure we continue to set the highest standards of healthcare. But we want to give more. We strive to give hope to people living in challenging circumstances with limited access to healthcare. We want to provide vital services to those people most in need by breaking down barriers and bringing people together to improve care. By combining our core values, our care and our compassion we believe we can truly make a difference to healthcare together by creating a new charitable fund to further the reach and impact of our College.

There are a staggering number of people across the UK, and around the world, who are deprived of access to basic healthcare.  This inconsistency means people face unbearable suffering and inequality every day.  We believe this is unacceptable.

Our healthcare professionals demonstrate an unwavering commitment and passion to go above and beyond their duties every single day. However, a lack of funding and limitations on the provision of education and training has a fundamental impact on what can be done. We need to empower professionals and communities to collaboratively build a positive future.  At the College, we can be the enabler of this empowerment and change through HOPE, our new philanthropic fund. 

Our motivation is simple.  We need to end unnecessary suffering by enabling healthcare professionals to care for those most in need.  This means constant and far-reaching support for the aspirations, talent and passion of our members and the wider healthcare community.

We have a clear and firm eye on driving the agenda for change, leading the charge and embracing the drive for global citizenship. These are not challenges confined to any locality, community or territory, they are global challenges which require a global vision. 

Improving healthcare quality, provision and distribution can start with a simple act, thought or commitment, be that personal or collective.  It can be individually driven, evolve through communities or a response to societal pressures.  The reality is it just needs to start but we cannot do this alone.  We need support and investment to make this start.

So our pledge is simple, but nonetheless compelling.  We can change the lives of people and communities for the better through determination and innovation, working collaboratively with others demonstrating a strong commitment to healthcare.  We can all play a part in making this difference by the sustainable delivery of education and provision of healthcare. Imagine the possibilities of what we can achieve together with HOPE.

Can you help shape our thinking around HOPE? Click on this link to have your say rcp.sg/HOPEQ or email hope@rcpsg.ac.uk 

Read the President’s blog post

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