As a Governor you will be responsible for engaging with our members and the wider public (at large) and will be encouraged to develop your own networks so to canvass views and forward these to our Trust Board.

Governors represent the interests of Trust members and the public, not the Trust itself. 

Governors need to make sure that they always listen to and represent the full range of viewpoints of their members and the public and not just one viewpoint. Incorporating different perspectives can help lead to more effective and sustainable services for patients and service users. 

Listening to the experiences of service users, members and the public, Governors should always take care to ensure that they represent the views of the members and the public as a whole, not just their own personal experiences. Governors can pick up feedback in conversation with people they already know.

A patient’s or service user’s experience can be very different from what a trust intends or assumes it to be and they can choose to tell governors what works, what doesn’t and what could be done better. Although each person’s view is important, governors should seek to explore in collaboration with the trust to see if a particular issue is affecting a greater number of people.

We continually provide support to our Governors in order to develop their skills/carry out their role.

If you are thinking of becoming a governor, we hope this information will help you decide, but please feel free to contact Sharon Scott, sharon.scott27@nhs.net for further information.