Setting up a UK based charity

Has anyone any experience or knowledge of setting up a UK charity? I'm wanting to know the legal/financial stuff.

This is what we have in mind...on Boxing Day, Mr TQ and I visited the hospital where he was born - St Luke's Missionary hospital in Chubua near Dibrugarh. We gave a donation of course but were overwhelmed by the gratitude of the staff, for what was to us a smallish amount of money.

When we changed our plans and headed back to Assam for the end of our trip, we paid them another visit to see if there was something more meaningful we could do for them. The hospital cares for over 500 new-borns every year, as well as any other local emergencies. The people in this area are mainly tea estate workers - very poor and mostly illiterate. Those who work on good estates have medical care provided by their employers, but the most desparate people come to this under-funded and ill-equiped hospital. The staff are fantastic, and do their vitally needed work under very difficult conditions, sometimes being attacked by the very people they are trying to help. They have very little to work with, when we were shown the delivery room where Mr TQ entered the world, we were amazed by the complete lack of equipment - there was a bed, a light and a weighing machine. We spoke to the senior staff and asked what was most needed:

Doctors (not many qualified doctors want to work here, turn-over is rapid)

Untra-sonography machine

X-ray machine

ECG machine

Baby incubators

None of these are things we can readily lay our hands on (but if you can, let me know!). However, one thing they do need (and without which most of the above would be useless) is a good generator.

We asked around locally how much such a thing would cost, and we think that for us, with a little fundraising, this is a realistic objective for us to acheive.

So, we have a couple of ideas in the pipeline but what we need to know first of all is how to set the project up legally and fully accoutable financially. Obviously we want a clear separation from our own finances and be able to take advantage of the tax allowances/gift aid/etc that charities are entitled to. If anyone has experience of this sort of thing or knows where to get started, please let me know.

Cheers TQ