Who we are

We are a foundation trust with accountability to our members. Our members elect many of our governors and our partner organisations appoint other governors. These governors together form our Council of Governors.

Governors are a key component of the overall governance arrangements for Foundation Trusts. In the Mutuo document ‘What is the role of the Governors of an NHS Foundation Trust?’, Cliff Mills describes the governance arrangements  through the use of the following diagram:

The Board of Directors is responsible for directing the Trust. It has a system of governance set up to give it assurance that what it decides is carried through. The non-executive directors chair board committees to which some decision making is delegated through their terms of reference.   

The Board of Directors determines the strategy and direction of the Trust and must do this in consultation with the Council of Governors who in turn must reflect the views and needs of the members who elected them and the organisations that appointed them.

The Board delegates most of the operational work to the Chief Executive who ensures that through the structures he has put in place, the work is operationally managed. 

The Trust Executive Group includes executive directors and clinical directors and takes many of the operational decisions.