Our charity has won a prestigious 2022 GSK IMPACT award, following a rigorous selection and assessment process.

The awards, run in association with health think-tank The King’s Fund, are designed to recognise the outstanding work of small and medium sized charities working to improve people’s health and wellbeing in the UK. The charity was selected from over 350 charities nominated across the UK.

Katie Pinnock, Director of UK Charitable Partnerships at awards-sponsor GSK, said: “Haemochromatosis UK is unique in providing support services to people across the UK affected by this very prevalent but little-known genetic condition. Despite its small size, its innovative genetic testing services and education programmes for healthcare professionals are helping to drive up diagnosis rates and dramatically changing lives.”

The 2022 GSK IMPACT Award recognises Haemochromatosis UK’s significant impact on improving the health and wellbeing of people in communities across the UK who are living with the condition. The charity will receive £40,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by leading health and care charity The King’s Fund.  The charity will also receive a professionally-produced film about its work.

Innovative and people-centred

The awards judges were impressed with HUK’s efforts to tackle low diagnosis rates. Last May, the charity launched a brand-new service offering heavily subsidised genetic testing so that families at risk or living with the condition can be diagnosed much more quickly.

Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, Katie Pinnock said : “We were inspired by the way HUK places people with the condition at the centre of everything it does, and how it works to target the communities most affected by haemochromatosis, such as people living in Northern Ireland. We were also struck by the way the charity has responded to the pandemic, influencing at a national level to allow people struggling to access venesection treatment during lockdown to become blood donors.”

The charity acts as secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Genetic Haemochromatosis at Westminster. Sir John Hayes CBE MP, chair of the All-Party group, welcomed the award :

“I’m immensely honoured, as the chairman of the APPG for Genetic Haemochromatosis, to acknowledge and celebrate the recognition afforded by this prestigious award, for a charity that does so much to highlight this condition and campaign for the best measures to alleviate the challenges faced by people affected by iron overload. My thanks to the Kings Fund for giving this award, and congratulations to all involved with Haemochromatosis UK.”

Ben Lake MP Vice- chair of the All-Party group, applauded the charity’s team in securing the award :

“I am thrilled that Haemochromatosis UK have won the King's Fund/GSK Charity Impact Awards 2022. This is testament to the hard work, commitment and passion of the small team of staff and the fantastic volunteers who provide vital support for those affected by genetic haemochromatosis.”

No strangers to awards ceremonies themselves, the charity’s patrons Stephen McGann and Heidi Thomas hailed the charity’s success :

“We are delighted that the work of Haemochromatosis UK has been given this wonderful award. Haemochromatosis affects so many families, including our own. Whilst huge strides have been made in understanding the condition, more work needs to be done. This is a massive leap forward for everyone involved in the campaign.”

Chief Executive of Haemochromatosis UK, Neil McClements said: “We’re thrilled to receive this prestigious award - it’s like winning the Oscars! We’d like to thank the awards judges, GSK and The King’s Fund for recognising our innovative approach to serving our community. Although we are a small team, we’re delighted that our hard work has been so publicly recognised.  We look forward to building on this accolade in the coming months.”

A rigorous assessment and selection process

The 2022 winners went through a rigorous assessment, including an in-depth discussion with an independent assessor, and were selected by a judging panel of health and charity experts including Sir Jonathan Symonds, Chairman, GSK; Richard Murray, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund; Emma Ackerman, Funding Strategy Director at The National Lottery Community Fund; Aleema Shivji, Executive Director of Impact and Investment at Comic Relief; John James, Chief Executive of the Sickle Cell Society and Dr Dominique Allwood, Director of Improvement and Partnerships at UCLPartners.

Developing leaders in the charity sector is a key aim of the GSK IMPACT Awards programme and the charity has been invited to build on this success and take part in a tailored leadership development programme run by The King’s Fund. HUK will also be invited to join the GSK IMPACT Awards Network, a UK-wide network of over 110 previous award winners who work together to develop leaders, find new ways of working and provide mutual support.