The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The College of Medicine's purpose as set out in the objects of the Company's memorandum of association is to advance health for the public benefit.
The College of Medicine was founded in 2010 to reform healthcare so that it works for everyone in a way that’s inclusive, progressive and compassionate. We’re redefining medicine beyond pills and procedures and re-connecting patients and practitioners, conventional and non-conventional approaches and people and their environments. The College is a coming together of the brightest minds in the UK including NHS pioneers, scientists, CAM professionals, students and members of the public.
The main objective for the reporting period was to provide a source of information and learning through supporting development and use of evidence to enhance clinical and cost-effectiveness in health service delivery, providing public and educational events to support health professionals in their working lives, patients in their recovery and self-care and students in their future career, recognising and rewarding outstanding achievements by clinicians, students, and service providers for new approaches and practices in patient-centred care and inputting to Government consultation and policies on health services.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Achievements and performance
The College of Medicine remains unique in its inclusive approach to membership recognising that everyone, including patients and carers as well as all disciplines of health and social care professionals, play an important role in the issues surrounding health. The Council, Trustees and the Executive have continued with the delivery of online events and activities showcasing interactive ways of supporting our community, in addition to planning face-to-face events for 2025/26. Online events have included lifestyle medicine, hypnotherapy and yoga as well as daily exercise sessions. In addition, the College has provided a number of discrete webinars on a range of topics.
While we still advocate that there needs to be a new attitude to healthcare: one which forges partnerships across society and emphasises prevention and a multi-faceted approach, our main focus in the past year has been on how we can best support our membership through these unsettling times of conflicts across the globe, and economic uncertainty.
The Trustees have provided a strong structured governance approach alongside ongoing support from the College and its members and supporters. They have continued to undertake a governance review of all of the teachers and educators that have been helping to strengthen the College’s education offering. There has been a focus to ensure that third party collaborators share the College’s values and to work on building membership.
Events and Collaborations in 2025-2026:
From April 2025 – Freddy's Free Friday Therapy at Four: free online Hypnotherapy Sessions provided by College member and Hypnotherapist Freddy Jacquin throughout the spring/summer.
From April 2025 – daily online exercise classes throughout the year led by Sarah Bazin, a Chartered Physiotherapist and HCPC registered member, who also serves as a Trustee and Council Member of the College.
From April 2025 – Integrative Herbal Medicine Clinic at Whipps Cross Hospital. An opportunity for medical and other clinicians to observe online, every second Wednesday, led by College member and medical herbalist Alex Laird.
From April 2025 – three days of free practice for College members as part of the trial membership at the Qigong Academy, run by College member John Millar.
25th April 2025 – From Surviving to Thriving in the NHS: A Weekend for Qualified Health Professionals. A series of retreats supported by the College, and led by College members Derek and Sandy Chase, both experienced NHS professionals.
6th May 2025 – Infant Massage Instructor Course. A series of online courses, created by College member Sonya Elnaschie, a Physiotherapist, Medical Herbalist, and Nutritional Therapist.
28th May–31st December 2025 – ´An Appointment with Murder’. Podcast featuring the leading forensic psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Johns and general practitioner Dr. Harry Brünjes, President of the College.
4th June 2025 – 4th Annual Creating Heath and Harmony in the Community Conference at Bournemouth University, supported by the College of Medicine.
28th June 2025 – BSLM 'Food and Mood' Masterclass: Evidence to Implementation, supported by the College of Medicine.
19th–21st June 2025 – Integrative & Personalised Medicine 25 Congress, including the College’s conference Food on Prescription.
28th–29th June 2025 – Yoga and Health 'Harmony' Festival, held at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, with a keynote speech by College Trustee Mr Michael Dooley.
27th July 2025 – Five Elements Online Masterclass provided by College member Dr Deniah Pachai.
From 30th July 2025 – Yoga Therapy for Anxiety. A series of online workshops provided by College member Heather Mason, and free for College members.
11th September 2025 – Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference, supported by the College of Medicine.
18th September 2025 – Commonwealth Leadership Institute Summit, held face-to-face and online, with the closing address delivered by College Lead for the Commonwealth, Professor Jonathon Gray.
4th October 2025 – College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy Webinar: The Cardiovascular System, supported by the College of Medicine.
21st November 2025 – Working with Childhood Trauma: Havening Group Practice Session provided by College member Louise Carmi.
22nd November 2025 – The Bodymind Conference: Reuniting What Was Never Apart. The second conference of the College’s Bodymind Faculty, which took place in London.
29th November 2025 – College of Medicine Annual Student Conference: The Future of Healthcare – facing challenges and embracing opportunities together, held at Governers' Hall, St Thomas' Hospital, London.
13th January 2026 – Intelligent Health webinar: Activating Healthy and Engaged Communities. Including speeches by College of Medicine Co-Chair, Sir Sam Everington, and College Council member, Dr William Bird.
From 22nd January 2026 – Lifestyle Medicine for Musculoskeletal Pain. A series of webinars by College Lead for Musculoskeletal Faculty, Mr George Ampat.
Other collaboratives:
Beyond Pills Campaign – launched by the College of Medicine in 2022 at Integrated & Personalised Medicine Congress, calling for urgent Government intervention on over-prescribing in the NHS. This is now known as Beyond Pills Alliance and is the non-parliamentary wing of the Beyond Pills All Party Parliamentary Group which launched in December 2023, bringing together the APPG for Prescribed Drug Dependence and the College of Medicine Beyond Pills Campaign. The Campaign has a panel at IPM each year.
Twin Farm Project- started in 2022
Project Objective
• To demonstrate the potential role of healthy food, engaging with the outside environment, farming and sustainable food production with improving individual health and healing.
• To take groups of 6 patients on 6 occasions at 2 weekly intervals to the farms
A three partnered event:
Sustainable Food Trust
University of Bristol
College of Medicine
Faiths/Kings Fund- Initial meeting held in March 2024 bringing together eight people who are in the forefront of social prescribing and around 15 of the different Faiths to explore how we can progress social prescribing and how we can maximise the input of the Faiths to it. A follow-up meeting was hosted at the House of Lords.
Creating Health & Harmony in the Community – The aim of CHHC is to encourage individuals to live in harmony with ourselves, the natural and built world, with the land, plant and animal kingdoms as well as with our fellow human beings. We also aim to create and encourage healthy happy equal safe future generations to live in a healthy happy safe sustainable environment and community.
Eatwell Community is a whole community approach for a given geographical area including school initiatives, gardening projects and a commitment that anyone who wants to grow things can, connection to farms, buy in from local shops/supermarkets, etc.
Intelligent Health – The College is collaborating with Intelligent Health (Roots Academy) on projects to offer wellness plus resilience and mental health (all about workplace mental health), green spaces, health, and nature via Zoom.
A Commonwealth Young Leaders Summit was held in February 2026 at Windsor Castle. The Commonwealth Young Health Leaders Fellowship and the Commonwealth Leadership Institute (Health). These initiatives aim to provide platforms for young leaders to advance ongoing dialogues on health, foster innovation, and forge partnerships to enhance the well-being of the Commonwealth's 1.6 billion young people.
The College has been involved in the Future Health Leaders Programme; an initiative aimed at cultivating the next generation of healthcare leaders. This year-long program includes virtual sessions and culminates in a two-day event at Windsor Castle. Participants engaged with renowned speakers, collaborated on future projects, and received mentorship to enhance their leadership capabilities.
The production of a booklet highlighting 10–20 GP practices demonstrating innovation and strong community engagement. This aligns with national priorities around neighbourhood health and the leadership role of primary care.
Healthier UK is a group of organisations under the umbrella of the College of Medicine who will work together to help understand how health is created for individuals and communities. The group will be limited to an initial three years with a clear end outcome to understand and measure the assets that make a healthy and thriving society.
Student & Youth. The College is working hard with its Student Council Co Presidents to develop and engage Student ambassadors, a forthcoming conference and essay prize and encourage young people to engage with the College.
Supplement Desk Reference – a new funded project lined to and extending previous Self Care initiatives for the College: the Self Care Toolkit, Our Health Directory and ‘Instead of Antibiotics’ A new sponsor, Integria Healthcare from Australia has agreed to fund a two-part project to produce a Supplement Desk Reference for prescribers under the College of Medicine’s name.
Membership Review
Membership levels remained steady during the year, continuing to contribute both financially and by raising awareness of the movement. Gross membership income for the year was just under £20,725, representing a drop of just over £3,000 compared with the previous year. This reflected a lower number of membership renewals and the provision of complimentary memberships following the I&PM Congress.
The College of Medicine is grateful to the ongoing support for its sponsors, donors and members. Donations from Vitabiotics, Nelsons, and a number of private donations have enabled the College to deliver its aims of creating and promoting sustainable healthcare through supporting and delivering educational events to demonstrate “what good looks like” in health creating communities. A private donation continued to provide support for Twinned farms & Future Health Leaders Projects.
The statement of financial activities shows net expenditure for the period of £20,837 (2025: £24,044 net expenditure). General reserves stand at surplus £106,015 (2025: £121,143).
The charity's policy on reserves is to maintain a level of reserves so that the charity holds a level of working capital to operate effectively. The trustees believe six months operating costs should achieve this goal and has achieved this with its current level of reserves. The financial stability of the College remains a core focus for the Trustees and Executive and events planned for next financial year will be targeted to cover current issues and areas of topical interest to encourage uptake and participation across a broad spectrum of interested bodies.
Authorisation of all transactions and projects, which include dual bank signatories and a formal approval process for expenses and payment of invoices. In line with the continuing risk assessment process undertaken at least annually, the Board of Trustees remain confident in the financial governance which is monitored through the production and review of management accounts and risk register. Where appropriate, systems and procedures are in place to mitigate identified risks. External risk in terms of funding is monitored regularly, through the Executive team, Council and Board of Trustees alongside the business planning process which reviews the opportunities to promote diversification of funding through a combination of corporate sponsorship and donations and a focus on core strategic activities that generate further membership and/or revenue. Internal risks are minimised.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee. The charity is registered by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Board of Directors are elected to serve a period of three years after which they are electable for two consecutive terms.
The board has the relevant skill mix to support the work of the College, including, medicine, health policy, research, business and consultancy.
All directors are familiar with the practical work of the College. As directors retire and/or new directors join the board, adequate induction and familiarisation will be arranged.
The College has an elected Governing Council comprising up to 20 volunteer members, all practising clinicians who provide the strategic reference and input and sector intelligence. The Council meets at least four times a year (often virtual). The College also has the following committees and advisory councils (members are all volunteers): Scientific Advisory Council, Co-badge/Ethics Committee, Nominations Committee (all ad hoc) and recently re-established Student Council.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the charity. All of the trustees are members of the charity and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of wind up. This report is prepared in accordance with the small company regime (Section 419(2)) of the Companies Act 2006. On behalf of the board of trustees.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The College of Medicine (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2026.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The College of Medicine is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Nile House, Nile Street, Brighton, BN1 1HW.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Resources expended are included in the statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis inclusive of any VAT that cannot be recovered.
The charitable activities comprise expenditure on the charities primary purposes as described in the Trustees Report ie. to advance health for the public benefit. It includes costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those indirect costs necessary to support them.
Governance costs relate to the running of the charity and include examiners fees, legal advice for Trustees and costs associated with statutory requirements such as preparation of the annual accounts.
Fixed asset additions with a value under £2,000 are not capitalised.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Governance costs includes payments to the independent examiners of £1,600 + VAT (2025: £1,390 + VAT).
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. The charity paid £4,319 travel expenses to one trustee during the year (2024: £8,012 to one trustee).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Donations without conditions were received from trustees totalling £2,000 (2025: £nil). There were no other disclosable related party transactions during the year (2025 - none).