A while ago, I was challenged by a friend who asked "What are you doing, Andrew, to get involved in the Health sector/Spinal movement?". He'd recently been elected to the board of the Bristol Royal Infirmary. As fate would have it, I'd just received a circular from Salisbury District Hospital asking for people to stand as governors. So, spurred on by his challenge, I attended an introductory evening at the hospital about what being a governor entailed. There are 27 of them, they meet four times a year - more if you join a working group - and "Governors provide an essential link between the Trust and its members, feeding back information from the membership that can be used to help shape and plan services for the benefit of local people. They also have a number of statutory duties, including the appointment of Non Executive Directors and considering the Trust’s Annual Plan."
It sounded fascinating, and an opportunity to give back something to a place that had given and continues to give me so much. I could stand as representative of Kennet, one of Salisbury's seven public constituencies. Or, as a spinal patient, I could stand as a "patient/carer Governor who represents the interests of patients from the Trust’s specialist services" (plastic surgery, burns, cleft lip and palate, spinal injuries). I decided to stand as a patient/carer Governor.
The process, managed by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), is surprisingly simple. I needed no proposers. I just had to complete a basic form and include a one hundred word statement. Mine reads: "I am 43, married, have two children and live in Devizes. In 2006 I had an accident that has left me in a wheelchair. I spent 14 months in the Spinal Unit at Salisbury Hospital. I used to run my own business but am now retraining to become a primary school teacher. I know what it’s like to be a patient. As a governor, I would ensure that patients’ needs and concerns are heard. I would bring my management and fundraising skills. I would ensure that staff, particularly nurses, get wider recognition. Finally, I would improve communications to members."
Nominations are now closed. Voting packs were sent to members yesterday and results will be provided to the hospital by the ERS on 15th May. There are two people standing against me.
So, if you're a member of the Trust ("members are drawn from three groups - Public, Patients and Staff. Public members are the local people that come from our general emergency catchment area and live within one of six areas known as constituencies. Patient/Carer members live outside the general emergency catchment area and have been treated in the Trust's specialist services since 1 January 2003". For more information, and to register as a member, visit the hospital's site) - if you're a member, vote for me me me! And if you're not, keep your fingers crossed...
Postscript: I've just checked with the Trust about voting. You can only vote if you were registered as a member before the voting papers went out. So if you were stirred by my rousing statement and moved to vote for me...unless you're already a member, sorry, you can't. You can always send me messages of support though!
