NHS Highland Charity has published its Annual Report for 2025-26, highlighting a year of remarkable generosity, community support and investment in health and care across Highland and Argyll and Bute.
While NHS Highland provides frontline health and care services across the region, NHS Highland Charity funds projects and initiatives that can go beyond core NHS funding to make people's experiences of care in Highland more comfortable, supportive and personal.
Over the past year, the Charity raised £1.53 million, invested £874,843 in projects and services, and awarded 409 grants that enhanced the experiences of patients, families and staff throughout the region.
The 2025-26 annual report highlights some of the most tangible impacts that charitable funding has had on people across the region, from enabling therapeutic activities for care home residents to funding new equipment, supporting research and expanding opportunities for staff development.
One such example has been funding for scalp-cooling systems for chemotherapy patients on Skye and Lochaber. For many people receiving chemotherapy, hair loss is one of the most distressing side effects of treatment, affecting confidence, dignity and self-identity at a highly vulnerable time. Scalp-cooling systems can reduce the amount of hair lost during chemotherapy and are available at many larger hospitals across the region. Our donors helped to fund two of these systems for patients, at Broadford Hospital on Skye and Belford Hospital in Fort William, ensuring patients could get this support closer to home.
Donations also helped residents in Wick's Pulteney House enjoy meaningful experiences like therapy animal visits and accessible boat trips. Thanks to local donors’ support, the staff team delivered a varied programme of activities throughout 2025, including therapy pony visits, petting animal sessions, accessible boat tours, afternoon tea outings, flower arranging and live music. Funding made it possible to design activities that were enjoyable, inclusive and carefully adapted to residents’ needs. Residents talked about the visits and outings for days afterwards, shared photos and memories, and used the experiences as conversation starters with staff, visitors and family members. Staff also reported improved morale and more opportunities for meaningful personal interaction, helping create a warmer and more uplifting atmosphere across the home.
Supporting our staff is also a key priority of the charity. With £30,000 of funding from NHS Highland Charity, NHS Highland launched a two-year pilot mentoring scheme which completed in late 2025. Funding supported protected time for clinical leads, administrative support, mentor training and the collection of anonymised feedback. The scheme was open to all doctors, at any career stage. During the pilot, 80 doctors accessed mentoring support and 26 mentors were trained. Feedback showed the scheme helped doctors build confidence, gain clarity and feel better able to sustain their careers. In response to strong demand and positive results, NHS Highland had the evidence required to commit to continuing the service beyond the Charity-funded pilot.
These three examples provide a taster of the tangible impact that donors have had across Highland and Argyll and Bute this year. Every day, we see the difference that compassionate care can make to people and families. What this report demonstrates so clearly is the incredible difference our communities make too.
Whether someone chooses to make a donation, organise a fundraiser, leave a gift in their will, or support the Charity in another way, their generosity helps create opportunities that go beyond core services. The annual report also celebrates the thousands of people, community groups, fundraisers, donors and supporters whose generosity made this work possible.
Joanne McCoy, Vice Chair of the Charitable Funds Committee and Charity Trustee, said: "What makes me most proud is that this impact is being felt from our most rural and island communities to our larger hospitals and services. The support of our donors, fundraisers, volunteers and partners is helping health and care go further in every corner of Highland and Argyll and Bute."
"To everyone who has supported NHS Highland Charity this year, thank you. Your generosity is creating lasting improvements for patients, families, staff and communities across our region."
View the NHS Highland Charity Annual Report 2025-26 (pdf, October 2026).
NHS Highland Charity (SC016791) is the official charity supporting NHS Highland. It helps turn generosity into practical support for patients, families and staff across Highland and Argyll and Bute. From small comforts to meaningful improvements, charitable funding supports projects that enhance care experiences and wellbeing, beyond what NHS budgets can provide. The charity’s work is made possible by the generosity of local communities, donors and supporters who want to help care go further, close to home.