The Governor advisory committee

Governors are represented at NHS Providers through an elected Governor Advisory Committee (GAC) consisting of eight governors and two foundation trust chairs. The committee meets quarterly and meetings are overseen by a chair that has been voted in by the committee. Terms of office are three years.

GAC members provide oversight and feedback on our work and areas that require debate and action. They will have the opportunity to help shape the governor services we provide to our members such as our GovernWell training programme, annual Governor Focus conference, in-house training and guidance resources.

I stood for the GAC because the governor’s role matters and I want to help support it on a national platform.

Peter Abell    Chair, Governor Advisory Committee

 Current members of the Governor advisory committee are:

• Peter Abell, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – acute services constituency
• Robert Alabaster, North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust – ambulance services constituency
• Amanda Buss, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation trust - any category constituency
• Anne Carlile, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust – patient/carer/service user constituency
• Alison Fisher, Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust - public governor constituency
• Pauline Garnett, Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – staff governor constituency
• John Jones, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust – mental health services constituency
• Chris Roberts, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust – community services constituency
• Suzy Brain England OBE, Chair, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – chair representative
• Vacancy – chair representative
• Miriam Deakin, Director of Policy and Strategy, NHS Providers (non voting member) 

How can I get involved?

We hold elections for positions on our GAC every three years. The next elections will take place in late 2020/early 2021.

Alternatively, if you wish to get in touch with the governor advisory committee please contact governors@nhsproviders.org

Why should I stand to become a GAC member?

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.

Committed to continuous improvement, GAC members identify areas of debate and action and contribute in a number of ways – by inputting into our governor e-newsletter, governor presentations and providing valuable feedback on our resources.

The committee meets four times a year, and offers a chance to network and share insights on good practice across member trusts.

Governor advisory committee elections

The next GAC elections for the new committee will take place in November.  Each foundation trust will be able to nominate one governor to stand for election to one of eight governor positions.

The election is supported by CIVICA (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. For further details on the voting process, you can view our STV diagram and brochure. 

For more information on the GAC please contact claire.mesica@nhsproviders.org