When we become a Foundation Trust, a key change will be the creation of a Council of Governors who will meet in public and represent the views of Members. They will work closely with the Board of Directors and are required to work in the best interests of the Trust. There will be 29 Governors.

The majority of Governors will be Foundation Trust public Members who choose to stand for election. Any Member will be eligible to stand if they wish (subject to a small number of technical restrictions), and all Members can also take part in the elections, which will be by independently verified postal ballot.

Elected Governors will serve for up to three years, representing public and staff constituencies. Public constituency boundaries are shown in the map here.  

The Council will have some appointed Governors (representing our partner bodies, for example Universities, Leeds City Council, other NHS bodies and local GP organisations.

There will also be elected Governors representing our staff.

What it means to be a Governor

It is worth starting to think now about whether you might be interested in nominating yourself as a Governor representing Members in your particular area. We will be looking for people of all ages, backgrounds and health interests who have some time to spare and want to get more fully involved in the running of their local hospitals.

We will organise special workshops so those people who are interested can find out more and understand the process more fully. Workshop details will be notified to all FT Members.

For those members who want to stand for election, when the time comes you would need to make your case to other members on why you should be elected, with an election statement and declaration of eligibility. More than one person can stand for each constituency, so the most popular candidate would be elected.

What Governors do

Governors have formal statutory duties that give them a clear role and a strong voice in the running of the Trust, including appointing the Chair and Non-executive Drectors of the Trust Board.

Governors will:

• Act as advocates for the Trust and lead recruitment of more FT Members
• Represent FT Members and exert influence on their behalf in the development of our hospitals
• Ensure the Trust listens to the views of Members about any areas of concern
• Give feedback to the Board of Directors on business and financial plans
• Assist with public consultations on service changes
• Take part in visits and inspections of Trust services