A new Stars Appeal fund has been created to support education and training opportunities for staff at Salisbury District Hospital. 

The Education Fund has been made possible thanked to a donation of £134,601.03 from Salisbury Medical Society. 

Peter Collins, chief medical officer of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are hugely grateful to the Salisbury Medical Society for this incredible gift. It will enable the Stars Appeal to provide grants for educational activities to further the development of healthcare professionals working at our hospital and in the wider healthcare community.”

Members of the society and directors from Salisbury District Hospital gathered at a special ceremony on Wednesday, July 13 to mark the transfer of the society’s funds to the hospital’s charity to create the  new Stars Appeal Education Fund.

The Salisbury Medical Society was formed in the 1950s to promote the study and general knowledge of medicine, science and communication between hospital doctors and surgeons, dentists and GPs within the catchment area of the hospital. 

Recent trends have led to the Trustees deciding to draw the Society to a close and donate its remaining funds totalling £134,601.03 to Salisbury Hospital’s Charity, the Stars Appeal, specifically for educational use.

The newly created fund will be used to further medical education, training, publication and/or research of practising clinicians, nurses, midwives or allied health professionals working in the area covered by Salisbury District Hospital for the benefit of patients and staff development and wellbeing.

Dave Cates, of the Stars Appeal, added: “Whilst we have been able to fund some educational work in the past, such as courses for staff in specific departments and the development of the clinical simulation suite, this new fund allows us to have a general education fund to help staff across the hospital.

"The additional training and education it will make possible will benefit tens of thousands of local patients and we are hugely grateful to Salisbury Medical Society for this wonderful gift and all they have done over the last 70 years.”