What is the Governor Advisory Committee?

Governors are represented at NHS Providers through an elected Governor Advisory Committee (GAC) consisting of eight governors, a foundation trust chair and an NHS Providers director. The meetings are overseen by a chair who has been voted in by the committee. Terms of office for the governor members are three years.

Our GAC has a demonstrable impact on the work we do. It offers the chance to influence and help shape the services we offer to governors such as our GovernWell training programme, annual Governor Focus conference, in-house training and guidance resources.

Committed to continuous improvement, GAC members identify areas of debate and action and contribute in a number of ways. The committee meets routinely four times a year, and offers a chance to network and share insights on good practice across member trusts. For more information please contact governors@nhsproviders.org.

I stood for the GAC because I believe that now is a more exciting time than ever to equip governors with the right knowledge and development opportunities so they can continue to make active and innovative contributions to the NHS.

Previous GAC member    

 

How can I get involved?

As well as sharing your existing skills and experience, being a committee member offers an opportunity to develop yourself in new areas while making a real difference to governors. We hold elections for positions on our GAC every three years. The next GAC elections for the new committee will take place in late 2023/early 2024. Each foundation trust will be able to nominate one governor to stand for election to one of eight governor positions.

Our elections are supported by Civica Election Services (previously Electoral Reform Services). Votes are cast by the single transferable vote system (STV), designed to achieve proportional representation, through ranking candidates in order of preference.

Please see here for our 2021 Report of Voting.

I stood for the GAC to bring my knowledge and expertise to assist in the development of the governor role and their training.

Loretta Light    South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust - ambulance service constituency

Current Governor Advisory Committee members (2021-2024)

Meet your Governor Advisory Committee here.

• John Adler, Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust - acute services constituency
• Anne Carlile, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust – patient/carer/service user governor constituency
• John Jones, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust- mental health services constituency
• Loretta Light, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust - ambulance service constituency
• Adrian Thorne, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust - stakeholder governor constituency
• Howard Tidman, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust - staff governor constituency
• Stephen Churchill, Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust – community services constituency
• Suzy Brain England OBE, Chair, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Chair representative from NHS Providers Board
• Miriam Deakin, Director of Policy and Strategy, NHS Providers

If you would like to contact any of the GAC members, please email governors@nhsproviders.org.