West Suffolk Hospital seeks council members for NHS Foundation Trust

20 August 2004

The West Suffolk Hospital is inviting nominations for the Council of Members who will represent the views of the public and staff should it become a NHS Foundation Trust.

The West Suffolk was recently given the all clear by John Reid the Secretary of State for Health, to move to the final phase of its NHS Foundation Trust application, assessment by an Independent Regulator.

It now has to put in place all the elements that go with being a Foundation Trust, including a Council of Members, while its application is scrutinised by the independent regulator. If successful it will become a self-governing organisation on 1 November 2004.

The Council of Members will comprise 16 representatives of the public and five staff representatives, all of whom will be voted into office by those who have indicated that they wished to be members of the Foundation Trust. Others on the council will include representatives from volunteer groups, other NHS organisations, local authorities and education providers.

Since the West Suffolk announced its intention to become a NHS Foundation Trust more than 8,800 members of the public have said that they wish to be ordinary members. More than 1,400 have expressed the ambition to be elected to the council.

The trust is now writing to these people enclosing a copy of the Roles and Responsibilities of the Council of Members, inviting them to confirm their interest and to attend a special workshop in early September, at which they will find out more about what is involved in being a part of the Council of Members.

Once the nominations are confirmed the election for council members will go ahead, conducted by Electoral Reform Ballot Services Ltd.

The timetable for the election is:

More than 2,500 members of staff also qualify for membership and will follow the same procedure to elect their representatives.

The council will have a range of responsibilities, including the election of the Foundation Trust chairman and non executive directors. It will also approve the appointment of future chief executives. The current chairman, non-executive directors and chief executive of the West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust will automatically transfer to the NHS Foundation Trust in the first instance.

“People can now start to see what it really will mean to our community to have a NHS Foundation Trust,” said Veronica Worrall. “Never before have members of the public had a direct say in the running of their local hospital and how it should develop in the future.

“We are looking for committed and enthusiastic council members who represent the whole community through their ages, backgrounds and real interests in developing health care for all.”

There is still time for people to express interest in membership and to put themselves forward as candidates for the Council of Members. They should contact the trust on 01284 713450 or go to its website wsufftrust.org.uk/foundation and print off a copy of the nomination form to be completed and returned to the Electoral Reform Ballot Services.