Leaving us a Gift in your Will and saying your Forever thank you

Our legacy vision is - to fulfil YOUR wishes and help provide MORE for our staff, patients and their families now and for generations to come

Please consider supporting your local hospital by leaving a gift in your Will to The Countess Charity

When making a Will your family and friends will be your most important consideration. However, after you have provided for your loved ones please consider supporting your local hospital with a gift that can have a lasting impact. This is a great way to support people in your local community. It is also tax efficient as leaving a gift in your Will to a registered charity is exempt from Inheritance Tax and Income Tax. You can do this by remembering The Countess Charity with a gift in your Will which your solicitor can help administer for you.

For more information:

• Download our leaflet here: Gift in Will Leaflet 
• Click here to view or download a free electronic copy of 'Your guide to leaving a gift in your Will'.
• If you would like to benefit from our Free Will writing service please click here.

Every gift left in a Will, however small or large, makes a difference for our patients

Gifts in Wills, sometimes known as legacies, have supported hospital care since before the creation of the NHS and continue to allow us to provide additional equipment and comfort for the benefit of our patients and their families. Legacies are an important strand of our income generation helping us to ensure that the Countess of Chester Hospital can provide the very best care and facilities for our patients and staff now and in the future.

What your forever thank you gift can do | Recent projects funded through gifts left in Wills

 

 

Support for NHS staff

To help staff who are feeling burnt out, anxious or exhausted we have provided:

A quiet / recreational space for our junior doctors through the refurbishment of the doctor’s mess room. The upgraded room provides facilities for cooking, sofa beds for power napping / sleeping, computer terminals, table tennis tables and a TV. The room is now an attractive space where staff can relax and recover between long and busy shifts.

Support for patients and their families

The following improvement projects were funded by unrestricted gifts left in Wills to our Hospital Fund which allows us to direct charitable funds where there is the greatest need at a given point in time:

• Vibrant and colourful portable screens for the children’s theatre recovery area to allow more privacy and dignity for our young patients
• Activity boxes – for the benefit of patients with complex needs to help mitigate stress and anxiety
• The Shed – a themed non-clinical environment for the stimulation and relaxation of our patients at Ellesmere Port Hospital
• Wheelchairs – That are up to date and easy for patients and their families / carers to use
• Vein viewer – a device allowing for a better patient experience for those whose veins are difficult to find when having bloods taken

Restricted gifts in Wills left to specific areas of the Hospital have included the provision of:

• An additional Electrocardiogram (ECG) machine for the prompt diagnostic investigation in the diagnosis of heart attacks in the busy Emergency Department
• Intensive Care Unit specialist turning bed – for the benefit of critically ill patients
• Specialist cardiac equipment – for the Cardio, Respiratory and Vascular Department for use in clinic
• GastroGenius breath test machine and a 24 hour blood pressure monitor for the benefit of our gastroenterology and diabetic patients respectively

Commenting on the breath test machine Dr Ruth Harris, Consultant Gastroenterologist said:

“It was an honour, for me, to be involved with this donor's hospital care from when I first met him in 2010. I have been so touched by the generosity of this unexpected gift in his Will and I am very pleased that we have been able to purchase this machine which will be used to care for patients that have similar conditions to the donor.” 

  

Dr Ruth Harris with the breath test equipment

 

The Phlebotomy team with the Vein Viewer

There are 4 different ways of leaving a gift in your Will to us:

Residuary legacy – this is a gift of the balance of your estate or a proportion of it donated to The Countess Charity when all your other wishes have been taken care of

Pecuniary legacy –this is a gift to The Countess Charity of a specified sum of money. It is advisable that your Will is reviewed every few years as the value of your gift will vary over time

Specific legacy – this is a gift to The Countess Charity of an item (or items including jewellery, stocks and shares and property) which can be used in the way that best benefits The Countess of Chester Hospital's patients and staff

Contingent legacy – this is a gift in your Will that depends upon the occurrence of an event which may or may not happen. E.g. a gift to a charity which applies only if other beneficiaries named in the Will die before the person who has made the Will

Important information when leaving us a Gift in your Will

We always recommend that you seek the advice of a solicitor when making your Will to ensure that your instructions are legally valid and that your wishes are fulfilled. Your solicitor can discuss the different types of gifts you can make in your Will with you and ensure that the correct wording is used.  You can choose either to donate to The Hospital Fund that allows for clinical staff to apply for items they need or to benefit a specific area of the hospital. Your Will should specify ‘The Countess Charity, Registered Charity Number 1050015’ and state whether you wish your gift to be used for a specific area within the hospital or to The Hospital Fund. 

Question: I've already made my Will, can I still leave you a Gift in my Will?

Answer: Yes!

An up-to-date Will is incredibly important. It’s the safest way to look after the loved ones and charities that you care about most.

If you have already made your Will but would like to leave a gift to The Countess Charity, you can do so by making a simple addition to your existing Will. This is called a codicil. Your solicitor can advise you about this.

 Supporters are increasingly helping us through their Wills because it costs nothing now