Governor Focus 2024

9 July 2024

A conference dedicated to NHS governors

Our national Governor focus conference is the leading free event for NHS governors. This year's event took place virtually on Zoom on Tuesday 9 July 2024. 

Our programme is tailored to equip governors with skills to better support trusts in delivering high quality healthcare. Delegates had the opportunity to:

  • Share, learn, and develop their knowledge to better prepare for the future.
  • Hear from expert speakers who are committed to maximising the governor role.
  • Learn from their colleagues through the governor showcase.

Showcase

We are pleased to share the work of our two showcase finalists who joined us at our conference on Tuesday 9 July.

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and East London NHS Foundation Trust.

Available session slides

Setting the scene – A national policy update

View Sir Julian's slides.

View slides

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Showcase session

View Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's slides.

View slides

Plenary panel - Governor support in a difficult climate

View slides from session speakers Selina, Joe and Katrina.

View Selina's slides

View Joe's slides

View Katrina's slides

East London NHS Foundation Trust - Showcase session

View East London NHS Foundation Trust's slides.

View slides

Keynote plenary - Effective participation and engagement with our members

View slides from session speakers Elliot and Russell.

View Elliot's slides

View Russell's slides

Programme

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09.55

Registration

10.00

Welcome and introduction

Welcome and introduction

Sir Ron Kerr will welcome delegates to our Governor Focus conference.

Chair

Ron Kerr

10.15

Setting the scene – a national policy update

Setting the scene – A national policy update

Sir Julian Hartley will provide an overview of the key issues facing the provider sector, with a particular emphasis on those areas of greatest concern to councils of governors.

Download the session slides.

Chair

Ron Kerr

Speaker

Julian Hartley

11.00

Showcase session one

Showcase session one

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

'A Pledge to Commitment – Embodying the essence of the statutory duties of the council of governors'

Governors in this trust have made individual pledges based on their statutory duties which have enabled them to really take ownership of the role. The initiative is innovative, effective and has created a positive dynamic within the council of governors.

Watch the animation here.

Download the session slides.

Chair

Ron Kerr

Speakers

Richard Amponsah

Tracey Davies

11.30

Comfort break (morning)

11.40

Plenary panel

Plenary panel - Governor support in a difficult climate

How can we strike the right balance between effectively holding to account our Non Executive Directors for the performance of the board and providing support to the trust at a really challenging time for the NHS? 

We will be joined by various speakers from foundation trusts who will share their perspective on how governors can add value to the organisation.  

Download the session slides from Selina, Joe and Katrina.

Chair

Ron Kerr

Speakers

Professor Joe Rafferty CBE

Selina Ullah

Katrina Smith

12.25

Lunch

13.25

Showcase session two

Showcase session two

East London NHS Foundation Trust

'Making Membership Matter'

Governors in this trust have stood back, really considered the purpose of membership and developed a new membership engagement plan. This has been co-produced with key stakeholders, links to the trust's wider priorities and has delivered many tangible activities in its first year.

Watch the animation here.

Download the session slides.

Chair

Ron Kerr

Speaker

Tina Bixby

Jamu Patel

13.55

Breakout session

Breakout session

Governors will be invited to discuss topical issues.

 

14.35

Comfort break (afternoon)

14.45

Keynote plenary

Keynote plenary - Effective participation and engagement with our members

Our panel will discuss how can we improve both members' participation and our general engagement with members, which has proven to be a struggle for most trusts. 

Our speakers will provide both an NHS and external perspective.

Download the session slides from Elliot and Russell.

Chair

Ron Kerr

Speakers

Elliot Roberts

Russell Gill

15.30

Closing remarks

Closing remarks

Sir Ron Kerr delivers closing remarks for Governor Focus conference.

 

15.40

Conference close

Speakers 

Elliot Roberts
Elliot Roberts

Director of Voter Interaction

Civica Election Services

 
Elliot has developed a wide-ranging breadth and spectrum of experience during his nearly 25 years’ employment at Civica Election Services.

The mechanics and techniques offered and utilized by organizations to facilitate participation, and the understanding of the rationale behind voter media choices, have grown with rapid sophistication in recent years. Our in-house knowledge and exposure allows us to understand and map out voter behaviour and use data and control group analytics to maximize the number of participants in election processes.
Jamu Patel
Jamu Patel

Deputy Lead Governor

East London NHS Foundation Trust

 
Jamu is a Luton resident. She is a retired qualified dental nurse and worked part-time with special needs children at a Junior School. Jamu is very active in the community, working in various voluntary organisations locally where she has gained an understanding of the social and medical needs of her diverse local community. Jamu always represents the views of the public and uses her knowledge to ensure she can support East London NHS Foundation Trust to provide services to meeting the needs of local people.
Professor Joe Rafferty CBE
Professor Joe Rafferty CBE

Chief Executive Officer

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

 
Chief Executive Officer at Mersey Care since 2012, Joe has led a substantial expansion of the trust whilst modernising both the estate and digital infrastructure. He has consistently been named in the UK’s top 50 NHS chief executive’s and 100 most influential people in healthcare by the Health Service Journal. Joe is a founder member of the Zero Suicide Alliance UK and was named a commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2020 for his work on suicide prevention.
Julian Hartley
Julian Hartley

Chief Executive

 
Sir Julian Hartley joined as chief executive in February 2023, having been chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals since 2013, where he led a major programme of culture change and staff engagement to deliver improved quality, operational and financial performance.

Julian’s career in the NHS began as a general management trainee and he worked in a number of posts before progressing to a board director appointment at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust.

In 2019 Julian was asked to be the executive lead for the interim NHS People Plan, having previously worked as managing director of NHS Improving Quality, and in 2022 he was awarded Knight Bachelor for services to healthcare in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Katrina Smith
Katrina Smith

Company Secretary

Black County Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

 
Katrina has worked in the NHS for 12 years, the past five as a company secretary and has experience in differing NHS regulatory frameworks, from high secure services to the National Blood and Transplant services. She is currently the company secretary for Black Country Healthcare which serves a population of 1.4m. Katrina is committed to improving transparency and accountability through simplified and streamlined corporate governance.
Richard Amponsah
Richard Amponsah

Interim Assistant Director of Patient Safety/Staff Governor and Interim Lead Governor

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

 
Richard qualified as a nurse in 2004 and joined Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in 2006. He has dedicated his career to ensuring that service users and their families have a positive experience of care. Richard actively encourages patient and carer involvement in co-production and endeavours to display trust values in his practice. Richard intends to use his second three year term as staff governor to support the achievement of the trust’s DIGBQ strategy that translates into Develop, Innovate, Grow, and Build, with Quality as a foundation.
Ron Kerr
Ron Kerr

Chair

NHS Providers

 
Sir Ron Kerr has spent all his career in the health and care sector and has been a chief executive at national, regional and local level for over 30 years, latterly as chief executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust until 2015.

He is currently a board member of the GEL/NHSE Partnership Board and is also a trustee of Guy’s and St Thomas' Foundation and King’s College London. He was knighted for services to the NHS in 2011.
Russell Gill
Russell Gill

Head of Community Delivery

Co-op Group

 
Russell is head of community delivery and worked for the Co-op for over 30 years, fulfilling a variety of leadership roles concerning co-op membership, democracy and governance and community and campaigning activity. His role encompasses the execution of the Co-op's membership participation and community engagement activities. He is also chair of Co-op Academies Trust, a multi-academy trust based in the North of England operating 32 schools including primary, secondary, special and post-16, sponsored by the Co-op. Russell was awarded a Masters in Management of Co-operatives & Credit Unions by Saint Mary’s University, Halifax , Nova Scotia.
Selina Ullah
Selina Ullah

Trust Chair

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

 
Selina is trust chair at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. She is an experienced senior executive with a background in the public sector including healthcare management, local government, and professional regulation, working on policy formulation, transformation, service modernisation, regulation and governance. Additionally she has over three decades experience of the Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise sector. Previously, Selina was the deputy chair and senior independent director at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  She is a board member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Tina Bixby
Tina Bixby

Community Engagement Manager

East London NHS Foundation Trust

 
Tina’s career was purely financial services before she joined the NHS in 2016 as a part-time membership officer at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, before becoming a full time assistant trust secretary in 2019. Tina joined East London NHS Foundation Trust in July 2021 as part of the Corporate Secretariat team, as an executive assistant. The last two years have been back working with Governors and Members and currently on secondment in the role of community engagement manager, helping to advocate the need to hear the voice of the community and act on it.
Tracey Davies
Tracey Davies

Lead for Members and Governors

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

 
Tracey has been working for the NHS for over 15 years, eight of those years working directly with governors at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Tracey first started in the mental health directorate and spent a year in Human Resources before moving to the Corporate Governance Team. Studied journalism at the University of Lincoln, post grad at De Montfort University.

What previous delegates said

“I thought it was an excellent experience to be able to listen and gain insight from other people in similar positions to me.” 

“Thank you for great event excellent networking opportunity.” 

“Rich and stimulating interactive sessions really highly engaging and a lesson in themselves.” 

“All credit to the organisation of the three days, very well attended, excellent information sharing.” 

contact us


For more information please contact the Governor focus events team.

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