An exciting new era has begun at the Royal United Hospital, with the election of the Trust’s first ever NHS Foundation Trust Governors.
Eleven Public Governors and five Staff Governors have been chosen to represent the views of members, and they will sit on the new Council of Governors alongside five Stakeholder Governors. Nearly 3,000 people voted, and the overall election turn-out was 32%.
Governors act as representatives for their respective areas and provide a link with the wider community. Their role includes holding the Trust’s Board of Directors to account for our performance, delivering strategic plans, and meeting our core purpose and values.
Chairman Brian Stables says: “We’re delighted with the response we had to our first ever elections, both in terms of the number of people who put themselves forward and the number who grasped the opportunity to have their say and cast their vote for those they want to represent their views.
“The establishment of our first ever Council of Governors heralds the start of a new era in the history of the RUH.
“I am looking forward to working with our new Governors, who have the privilege of representing our growing membership and will play a pivotal role in the future of our organisation.
“These are genuinely exciting times for us and we now feel we’re really on the way to becoming an NHS Foundation Trust.”
The Governors will now start their induction process and will be operating in shadow form until we are authorised as an NHS Foundation Trust, which is likely to be in Spring 2013. The 21 members of the Council of Governors will meet in full for the first time early next month.
11 Public Governors were elected across our six public constituencies – City of Bath, North East Somerset, Mendip, North Wiltshire, South Wiltshire, and the Rest of England and Wales. Each of the constituencies elected two Governors, apart from the Rest of England and Wales, which elected one.
- Amanda Buss – City of Bath
- Dominic Tristram – City of Bath
- Nick Houlton – North East Somerset
- Helen Rogers – North East Somerset
- Ian Bynoe – Mendip
- Michael Welton – Mendip
- Adrian Bligh – North Wiltshire
- Jan Taylor – North Wiltshire
- Jane Shaw – South Wiltshire
- Robin Swaffield – South Wiltshire
- Bill Aiken – Rest of England and Wales
Staff members contested five seats, and the following were elected:
- Julian Hunt – Consultant Nurse
- Liz Brown – Emergency Department Doctor
- Hassan El-Wakeel – Associate Specialist Surgeon in Breast and General Surgery
- Michael Coupe – Consultant in Anaesthesia in Intensive Therapy Unit
- Colin Downie – Associate Specialist in Paediatrics
Five Stakeholder Governors are also in the process of being appointed from NHS Bath and North East Somerset, NHS Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset Council, Wiltshire Council, and a representative from the University of Bath.
