Eligible organisations and individuals
Full member hospices
Clinical staff
Clinical staff can apply for grants towards courses that improve patient care or improve management and leadership skills.
For the purpose of this programme we define clinical staff as all those engaged in the provision of care. This includes:
- doctors
- nurses
- social workers
- healthcare assistants
- physiotherapists
- chaplains
- nutritionist/catering staff.
Management and leadership courses must be accredited.
Non-clinical staff
Non-clinical staff can apply for grants towards accredited courses that aim to significantly raise the individual’s level of competence, in particular their management and leadership skills.
We are not able to award grants for courses focussing on:
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bookkeeping and accounts
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driver training
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website development
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HR
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horticulture
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IT.
Check if your employing organisation is a member of Help the Hospices.
We define accredited courses as those which are recognised by an external education or national body.
Associate member hospices
Doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants working in associate member hospices of Help the Hospices are eligible to apply but only for funding towards courses specifically focused on palliative care.
The amount applied for must be match-funded by the employer. A letter stating how much they will be contributing to the course must be sent by post or scanned in and sent by email before an application can be considered.
Care homes
Doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants working in care homes (residential or nursing homes) are eligible to apply for a grant due to specific funding currently available from the Wolfson Foundation. However, only courses specifically focused on palliative care will be eligible.
The amount applied for must be match-funded by the employer. and a letter stating how much they will be contributing to the course must be sent by post or scanned in and sent by email before an application can be considered.
How much can you apply for?
Individuals can apply for a maximum of 50% of course or module fees, up to a total of £1,500 per year.
For conferences, a maximum of £75 per day or 50% of the total cost of the conference will be awarded, whichever is lower.
The amount awarded will be decreased proportionately for applicants working less than 18 hours a week.
General criteria
Applications must be received at Help the Hospices at least one month before the start of the course, conference or module.
Grants must be claimed within twelve months of the award being made. Help the Hospices reserves the right to withdraw funding on grants older than 12 months.
For conferences focussed on palliative or direct patient care, grants may be available for those who have posters or oral presentations accepted. They are not available purely for attending conferences.
We are not able to award grants for one day study courses.
Applications can be for individual modules or a particular year of multi-year courses.
A new application form must be submitted for each subsequent year or module and must be received by the grants team at least a month before the start of the next year or further module.
Overseas courses directly relevant to the applicant’s position are eligible. However travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will not be considered.
Examples of the types of courses for which individuals might succeed in obtaining funding is available.
The following are not eligible for funding:
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any course or conference that has already started or taken place
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applications for one day study courses
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applications to attend a conference where a poster or oral presentation has not been accepted
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courses focussing on bookkeeping and accounts, driver training, website development, HR, horticulture or IT
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applications from employees of Marie Curie Cancer Care, Sue Ryder Care, the NHS (except associate member hospices), Macmillan Cancer Support
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courses that are obligatory in order to fulfil statutory requirements, eg first aid courses, fire and risk assessment or control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH)
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courses that are termed as update or refresher courses
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distance learning courses for counselling and communication skills
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subsistence, travel and accommodation costs incurred whilst attending courses
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courses or conferences already subsidised by Help the Hospices, including courses run by our education department.
- in-house training. We can not fund applications to attend courses organised by the employing hospice, unless they are externally accredited and that no more than 25% of participants are staff from the host hospice
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applications for courses or conferences where fees are under £200
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costs towards research funding but, we will consider funding towards PhD tuition fees.
Next steps
If you and the course or conference you would like to attend fit the eligibility criteria above, then you can apply for a professional development grant quickly and easily online.
