Publish date: 2 July 2020

People sought to become heartbeat of local NHS


People in Northumberland and North Tyneside are being encouraged to become the heartbeat of their local NHS and put themselves forward to be a public governor of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

The trust has 22 vacancies for public governors and the deadline for nominations is 5pm on Wednesday 29 July 2020.

There are four vacancies in Berwick, four in Blyth Valley, five in Hexham, three in North West Tyneside, three in Wansbeck, two in Wallsend and one in North Shields.

Public governors play a key role in shaping the future of services in Northumberland and North Tyneside and represent the views of local people.

To request a nomination form contact the trust’s independent electoral services provider Civica Election Services (CES) Ltd on 0208 88 99 203 or ftnominations@cesvotes.comor apply online www.cesvotes.com/NHFT2020

Alan Richardson, chairman of Northumbria Healthcare, said: “Our public governors play a hugely important role in our trust and are the heartbeat of our local NHS.

“They help us to shape our priorities and develop health services in hospitals and the community.

“They are the voice of local people and build links with the many communities we serve across Northumberland and North Tyneside.

“If you have an interest in your local NHS, we’d urge you to get involved and make a difference.

“If you’d like to have a chat about the role of public governors, please do not hesitate to give our foundation team a call on 0191 203 1296.”

To be in the running to be a public governor, people must be a member of Northumbria Healthcare. This is done by completing an online application form at www.northumbria.nhs.uk/get-involved/join-our-our-foundation-trust or calling 0191 203 1296.

Duties include holding non-executive directors to account for the performance of the board, reviewing the annual accounts/report and representing the interests of the public in governance meetings.