GOVERNORS
Governor elections:
nominations wanted You – our staff and public members – are a central feature of the local accountability of a Foundation Trust. As a Foundation Trust we have greater freedom from central Government control – the members elect governors to hold the Board to account for the way the hospital is run and to ensure this is in the interests of the membership. Our public and staff governors reach the end of their three year term of office on 31st March 2014. The elections for these positions will therefore begin shortly and we are looking for public and staff members to put themselves forward for election. No formal qualifications or experience is required; governors simply need to be committed to the role and engage with the members they represent. Governors will have access to training and support from the Trust. There are two aspects to the governor role: The first aspect is to represent the members. This involves advising members on developments at the Trust; and also seeking members’ views on key strategic issues facing
14 The Pulse
the Trust and feeding these back to the Board. The second aspect is to hold the Board to account. This involves exercising powers such as appointing and removing the Chair and NonExecutive Directors (and agreeing their pay), approving significant transactions at the Trust and any proposed large increases in non-NHS income for the Trust. It is important to note however, that governors are not responsible for the leadership or management of the Trust (this is the role of the Board and Chief Executive respectively). The governor role is therefore unpaid. In terms of time commitment, governors must as a minimum attend the quarterly meetings of the Council of Governors which are held at 5.30pm in the Civic Centre, Uxbridge and also spend time engaging with the members they represent. There are also opportunities for governors to be involved in some further groups or activities. John Coleman, Lead Governor, provides further insight into some of his activities as a Public Governor below.
We will be holding briefing sessions in December where you can find out more about being a governor and how to stand for election: • Monday 2nd December, 3pm – Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, Hillingdon Hospital • Wednesday 11th December, 7pm – Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, Hillingdon Hospital • Monday 16th December, 3pm – Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, Mount Vernon Hospital • Monday 16th December, 7pm – Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, Mount Vernon Hospital
If you cannot attend one of these sessions or have any further questions, please call the Foundation Trust Office on 0800 8766953 or email froundation@thh.nhs.uk.
The election process To put yourself forward you simply need to complete a nominations form that will be available from 10th January and return this by 28th January. Voting will then take place by secret postal ballot between 14th February and 7th March. Further information on the process will be provided at the briefing sessions in December.