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Governor Elections 2022 – Elected Voice of our Members (Public and Staff) and the general public, representing their interests and views.

Governor Elections 2022 – Elected Voice of our Members (Public and Staff) and the general public, representing their interests and views

The 2022 Governor Election results are formally outlined as part of our Annual Members’ Meeting  pre-recorded presentations (film-clips) which are available to view on our Annual Members’ Meeting webpage [link to https://mft.nhs.uk/member-meetings/annual-members-meeting-3/]  (found under the ‘Members’ Meeting’ section of our website – www.mft.nhs.uk ).  Newly elected and nominated Governors formally started in office on 21st September 2022 – see our new Council of Governors by visiting the ‘Meet our Governors’ webpage [link to https://mft.nhs.uk/the-trust/governors-and-members/council-of-governors/]

As a Foundation Trust, we are directly accountable to our members (public and staff), local population/communities, partners and other organisations with whom we work, and in keeping with our Constitution, patients, carers and the public are brought together in a single Public Member Constituency which is subdivided into the following areas: 

Benefits of being a Public Member

As a Public member, you decide exactly how much you want to be involved.  For example, you may simply wish to vote for the representative(s) that you want to be elected as a Public Governor alongside receiving regular and exclusive membership information (event invitations, newsletters and updates).  Or you may wish to play a more active role, including:

  • Giving opinions and being kept informed of plans for future developments
  • Participating in surveys/questionnaires
  • Being involved and consulted on issues such as changes and improvements to services
  • Attending member events/open days
  • Being involved in health promotions/campaigns
  • Fundraising
  • Recruiting new members
  • Putting yourself forward for appointment as a Non-Executive Director when vacancies arise
  • Standing for election as a Public Governor

Standing for Election as a Governor of our NHS Foundation Trust

As outlined above, one of the key ways that Public Members can become more involved in the work of our Trust is through our Council of Governors with eligible Public Members being able to put themselves forward as a Public Governor candidate and/or vote for the candidate(s) that they feel best represents their views, during the election process (usually starts Summer/Autumn each year) with Public Governors being directly elected from and by Public Members.

Our Trust has 32 elected and nominated (appointed) Governors who together make up our Council of Governors. The majority of our Governors (24 out of 32) are directly elected from and by our members (public and staff) with Public Members electing 17 Public Governors.

Governors are responsible for representing the interests and views of both our public and staff members alongside the general public, seeking performance assurance from our Board of Directors, and helping us to shape the Trust’s future priorities and plans:

  • On behalf of members, the Council of Governors sit around table with the Board of Directors to share both their and member’s views during decision-making processes and when formulating future plans
  • Members therefore have a voice, through the Council of Governors (their elected representatives), which ultimately helps us to shape our future service provisions to more meet our members’, and their family’s needs.

Why are Governor Elections held?

The Trust holds Governor Elections each year to fill any vacant seats on our Council of Governors and/or to open up seats for Governor positions whose term of office is coming to an end.  Our elections are run by an independent, external organisation with members (public and staff) voting for the candidate(s) that they wish to be elected to our Council of Governors using the ‘Single Transferrable Voting’ (STV) system.

Over the years, many of our public and staff members have been interested in standing for election as a Governor with some of their key motivations being:

  • Having a passionate commitment to the NHS and to the Trust’s hospitals and a desire to make a difference alongside giving something positive back to the NHS.
  • To make a positive contribution to ensure patients and carers get the highest quality of care at the Trust and, on their behalf, seeking performance assurances from the Trust’s Board of Directors.
  • To use their personal experience as a patient/carer to help improve standards of care quality and safety, and the care environment.
  • To help the Trust to consider patient/staff views when responding to any challenges it faces e.g. finance, restructuring, increasing demand etc.
  • To be a voice/advocate for what matters the most to patients and their families, and to the wider community.
  • To be a voice/advocate for staff and share their perspective with the Board of Directors.
  • To give a voice to particular communities/groups e.g. minority groups, people with learning disabilities etc.
  • To support the Trust in putting patients at its core and foster a culture of valuing and engaging staff.

If you would like to find out more about the Governor role or election process, please contact Donna Beddows, Foundation Trust Membership Manager, via e-mail donna.beddows@mft.nhs.uk

Changes to your Public Membership Details or Cancelling Your Membership

As part of the membership application process, the Department of Health asks NHS Foundation Trusts to capture information in relation to ethnicity, language and disability status etc. so that we can be sure that we are representing all sections of our communities. We therefore ask membership applicants to disclose this information during the application process with all information collected being confidential, in keeping with Data Protection Rules and is not released to third parties.  A copy of MFT’s privacy notice can be found on the Trust’s website https://mft.nhs.uk/privacy-policy/

Members Taking Action on the Environment

Our Trust has a ‘Green Plan’ to ensure we play our part in to meet the NHS commitment to be net zero carbon by 2040. To support this, we would like to reduce the amount of paper we use by sending information to our members by email. If you have a valid e-mail address, and are happy to receive information this way, please support us by adding an email address to your membership record/details. You can do this by:

* If you do not know your member ID or you experience any problems registering your e-mail, please contact the Membership Office via e-mail ft.enquiries@mft.nhs.uk

Our new ‘Member Portal’ – enables you to directly change, update or cancel your Membership

You can now manage all your membership data through our ‘Member Portal’.  You can access this (register) by visiting:  https://secure.membra.co.uk/MemberPortal/MFT and inputting the email address you have added to your membership details or have previously provided as part of your application process.  You will then be asked to input your first name and set a password.  To complete the registration process, you will be sent an email with a link to confirm your ‘Member Portal’ account.

The ‘Member Portal’ makes it quick and easy for you to view, add or update general information, your communication preferences, and your ‘involvement/engagement interests’.  This helps us to make sure that the information we provide to you is tailored to your interests, and your desired level of involvement.

Any changes you make will automatically update your membership record.  You can also cancel your membership should you wish to.

If you are experiencing problems registering to the ‘Member Portal’, want to update your e-mail address or personal/involvement details, or cancel your membership without using the ‘Member Portal’, or if you have any other queries, please contact the FT Membership Office.

Contact our FT Membership Office

The Foundation Trust Membership Office will be able to assist if you have any queries in relation to Membership or Governors and can be contacted by:

Post:
Freepost Plus RRBR-AXBU-XTZT
MFT NHS Trust
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9WL

Phone:
0161 276 8661 (office hours 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday; answering machine outside these hours)

E-mail:
ft.enquiries@mft.nhs.uk

Family and Friends – How to Join Public Membership of our NHS Foundation Trust

We are committed to establishing a truly representative membership and welcome Members and Governors from all backgrounds, religions, beliefs, race, colour, gender, sex, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, age, social or economic status or national origin.  If you have a family member or friend who you think would be interested in becoming a public member of our Trust, application is easy, completely free and open to anyone aged 11 years or over who live in England and Wales with our ‘Membership Application Form’ being available via:

  • An online form, by clicking the ‘Become a Member of our Trust – Membership Form’ button on our website , or by scanning the QR code below.