In 2025 the Queen Victoria Fund Reading (QVFR) was set up following the closure of the Queen Victoria Institute (QVI) foot clinic in 2023.
The Queen Victoria Institute for Nursing the Sick Poor of Reading was founded in 1897 to provide domiciliary nursing for people in Reading who could not afford medical care.
At its height, the QVI employed 23 nurses and undertook some 78,000 visits per year.
1897-1948
Queen Victoria had indicated that, for the sixtieth anniversary of her accession to the throne, she did not wish for personal gifts, but encouraged local citizens to set up commemorative charities to improve the health of the nation.
From 1897, the QVI employed nurses who provided their services free of charge.
By the 1930s the QVI had also developed a service for over 10,000 subscribers who effectively insured against the cost of nursing. Over 40 local firms subscribed to the service for their employees.
1948-1972
The 1946 National Health Service Act changed the role of the QVI.
From 1 July 1948, Reading Borough Council became responsible for domiciliary nursing and an agreement was reached between the Borough Council and the Charity. The nurses became employees of the council.
Since then and over the years, the Institute has gradually redefined its purpose.
Up to 1972, the nurses provided night-time assistance in people’s homes.
1989-2024
The Charity acquired premises at 17 St Johns Road, and in 1989 was granted planning consent to use this property as a footcare clinic.
The footcare clinic provided a much-appreciated service for the elderly and the infirm of the Reading area until its closure in 2023.
The charity sold its property at 17 St. Johns Road in May 2024.