Thank you for your interest in becoming our next Trust Chair.

Our current Chair reaches the end of his term of office at the end of 2025 and we are therefore looking for an individual to chair the Trust going forwards.

This appointment is one of the most important things the Council of Governors does and so we are heavily involved and interested. As a Foundation Trust, the Chair works closely with the Council of Governors and is also Chair of the Council's quarterly meeting of the governors.

You will be able to read in this pack about the diverse range of services provided by our Trust. Suffice to say it is large and complex, filled with fantastic achievements, wonderful staff, and challenges alike. The challenges the Trust is experiencing are no secret, being widely reported, and if you don't know what they are I would suggest a little homework before applying. Any applicant needs to be 'eyes wide open' and have a fire for the challenge and the consequent opportunity to take forward our improvement journey as Chair; improvement that the Trust has already made considerable progress on.

The concept of an NHS Foundation Trust rests on local accountability, for which governors are seen as providing a pivotal role. The Council of Governors, collectively, is the body that binds a Trust to its patients, service users, staff and stakeholders. It consists of elected members from the public and from staff, along with appointed individuals who represent members and other stakeholder organisations. Our Council has 27 members at full strength, bringing a diversity of knowledge, skills and experience to the Council.

The main purposes of the Council of Governors are to:

• Hold the non-executive directors (NEDs) individually and collectively to account for the performance of the unitary Board of Directors
• Represent the interests of the members of the Trust as a whole and the interests of the public. Since 2022 that has included the population of the local system of which the Trust is part.

Although governors have other duties as may arise periodically at a Foundation Trust, it is fair to say that we have developed as a set of people with a considerable body of skill which has evolved into an engaged and enthusiastic Council of Governors. We take more of an interest in the Trust than our minimum statutory requirements compel us to. We do this in a spirit of partnership as part of the Trust and will be looking for a Chair who welcomes governor engagement, involvement and feedback – seeing the Council as part of our family team. An open, can do, positive and involving attitude is sought.

Patient services at Nottinghamshire Healthcare are provided at more than 123 sites by 11,000+ colleagues, across a diverse range of specialisms. We have three Care Groups, which reflect the diverse range of services we provide: Mental Health; Community; and Forensics. For governors this presents its own challenges in becoming familiar with services, in being able to represent members and inform our engagement with NEDs. One way we address these is through service visits, accompanied by NEDs wherever possible. At the end of the visit, a joint report is written highlighting any issues discovered. We also raise questions and request development sessions on particular topics or about particular services, with the Trust always responding proactively to these requests.

I wish you the very best in your application should you choose to go ahead. If you feel it would be helpful to have a chat before applications close I am very happy to do so, please contact Lucy Mills our Governor and Membership Officer to arrange.

Best wishes,

Greg Bradshaw
Lead Governor and on behalf of the Council of Governors