Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity awarded grant to support the delivery of vital wellbeing support to NHS staff

  • Written by Rachael Vowles
  • Posted: 03 Jun 2026
  • 1 min read

Thanks to a grant made by NHS Charities Together and NHS England to Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust will be able to provide additional support to help improve the wellbeing of staff, both now and in the future.

The grant has been awarded as part of an £11 million programme - which includes a £5 million contribution from NHS England - and is one of 61 ambitious projects across England to receive funding from the programme since its launch in 2024.

Through this funding, the Trust will deliver a “What Matters To You” initiative which includes health coaching and peer-to-peer support. This work will help ensure that NHS staff have the support they need to continue providing the best possible care for patients when it matters most.

We are incredibly grateful to NHS Charities Together and NHS England for this funding.
This new programme begins with an Accredited Health Coaching training programme which is designed to be sustainable and scalable through a “Train the Trainer” model, ensuring that the benefits ripple out beyond immediate teams and divisions. Alongside the training, the programme will provide wrap-around support for our Wellbeing Champions, including rapid-access referral routes between Employee Relations and the Champions network, targeted interventions from MSK Specialist Occupational Therapy, and a local wellbeing fund to address short-term, low-cost divisional challenges

Jill Matthews, Chief Officer Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity

It is hoped that through “What Matters To You?” training, practitioners from within the UHDB Wellbeing Champion network can build confidence in wellbeing conversations and practical skills they can use every day to help build a positive workplace culture through connection and support.

Our people dedicate their working lives to supporting our local communities and it is vitally important that we look after them too. We have over 440 Wellbeing Champions across the organisation who are trained in peer support, providing 1,700 hours of dedicated wellbeing support every month. This grant will support us to grow and enhance that network - ultimately providing more support to our hardworking NHS staff

Amanda Rawlings, Executive Director of People Services at UHDB

We’re proud to be supporting NHS charities with funding that has the potential to make a positive difference to our hardworking NHS staff and reduce the mental and physical toll of working in such a challenging environment.”
Evaluation and learnings from these projects will be used to inform future rounds of funding to support NHS staff wellbeing and to ensure that all projects are sustainable and have a lasting legacy to benefit the workforce both now and in the future

Ellie Orton, CEO, NHS Charities Together