Council of Governors

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AMM 2015: Governors' report (Raymond Sheehy)

Lead Governor Raymond Sheehy give a report of Oxleas' Council of Governors' year at the 2015 Annual Members' Meeting.

Governors are service users and carers, the public, trust staff and appointed governors and together they form our Council of Governors. The Council of Governors is chaired by Trust Chairman, Andy Trotter, with Lead Governor Raymond Sheehy as Vice Chair. They meet four times a year and the meetings are open to the public.

Governors give up their time voluntarily, but are supported and given training to help them gain the skills to contribute effectively and understand the way the trust works. 

Being a governor is a serious and important role. The statutory duties of the Council of Governors are:

  • to hold the trust's non-executive directors individually and collectively to account for the performance of the Board of Directors.
  • to represent the interests of the members of the trust as a whole and the interests of the public.

The Board of Directors and Council of Governors work closely together. The governors agree the strategic direction of the trust and its services and represent the views of the trust’s members.

You can find out more about the governors representing each constituency using the links below. 

Our Council of Governors (11 September 2018 onwards)

Changes to our Council of Governors from 11 September 2018

Our Council of Governors will reduce from 42 to 37 governors in total.

The number of governors in our public constituencies will reduce to 10 as follows:

  • Bexley (three governors)
  • Bromley (three governors)
  • Greenwich (three governors)
  • Rest of England (one governor - no change)

The service user/carers’ constituency will reduce to 11 and be divided into seven new classes:

  • Bromley adult (two governors)
  • Bexley adult (two governors)
  • Greenwich adult (two governors)
  • Forensic and prisons (one governor)
  • Children (two governors)
  • Learning disability (one governor)
  • Carers (one governor)

Our staff constituency will be divided into seven classes:

  • Bexley Adult (one governor)
  • Bromley Adult (one governor)
  • Greenwich Adult (one governor)
  • Children (one governor)
  • Learning Disability (one governor)
  • Forensic & Prison (one governor)
  • Corporate and Partnership Organisations (one governor)

9 appointed governors remain unchanged:

  • Local Authority (3 governors)
  • Partner organisations (6 governors)

For the avoidance of doubt, to give effect to the transitional arrangements described in our Constitution and only for the purposes of enabling an election to be held prior to 11 September 2018, each member who retains membership of their existing class (below) shall be deemed to be members of the new class for which they are eligible until such time as their membership of relevant new class take effect formally on 11 September 2018.

Our Council of Governors (until 11 September 2018)

Until 11 September 2018 when the above changes take effect, the Council of Governors remains comprised of 42 governors as follows:

13 public governors:

  • Four each for Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich boroughs
  • One for Rest of England

13 service user/carer governors (divided into special interest groups):

  • Four representing Working Age Adult Mental Health (including the interests of those in forensic and prison services)
  • Two representing Older People
  • Four representing Adult Community Health
  • One representing Children
  • One representing Learning Disability
  • One representing Carers

9 appointed governors:

  • Three Local Authority
  • Six partner organisations 

and seven staff governors with subcategories representing care groups.

Public, staff and service user/carer governors are elected by members of their own constituency using the single transferable vote system.

For appointed governors: our partner organisations, as defined in our constitution, were asked to nominate a representative. Appointed governors are appointed for a term of three years.

How to contact a governor

You can:

  • email oxl-tr.governors@nhs.net
  • call 01322 625752 and leave a message for a governor
  • write to a governor c/o The Trust Secretary's office, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Pinewood House, Pinewood Place, Dartford, Kent DA2 7WG