The Council of Governors have a duty to represent the interests of members and the public. The Board regularly meets with the Council of Governors formally at least five times a year at the Council of Governors meetings. The majority of Governors are active within our local district and have both informal and formal connections with third sector and statutory health related organisations. The Board of Directors routinely engage with the Council of Governors in line with the Governors statutory duties and responsibilities.
Our Trust manages its relationship with the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee through the office of Governance and Corporate Affairs. Directors attend meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees when requested by them to discuss matters related to local NHS policy and planning.
The Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee is also presented annually with a draft of the Foundation Trust’s Quality Report for comment (and inclusion within our Quality Report) prior to publication of the report.
Our Trust has arrangements in place with Healthwatch Bradford and District. These informal arrangements are managed through the office of the Chief Nurse and primarily support Healthwatch in undertaking local outreach work from our hospital sites to support their engagement activities.
The Council of Governors have met with Healthwatch as part of their engagement with external stakeholders.
Formal arrangements are in place for the receipt of inspection reports from Healthwatch concerning our Foundation Trust, and Healthwatch is presented annually with a draft of the Foundation Trust’s Quality Report for comment prior to the final publication of the report. The statement from Healthwatch is included within the report.
The Trust has an active volunteering community which continues to grow significantly. The largest of our volunteer groups are the Friends of BRI, and the Friends of St Luke’s.
The Trust also has an active and highly regarded Chaplaincy Volunteer Group. All Volunteers are encouraged to provide feedback with regard to service users through the volunteer manager and chaplaincy manager.