South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) provides a range of healthcare services from hospitals in Warwick, Leamington, Stratford and Shipston, as well as out-of-hospital community services across the whole of Warwickshire. It serves a population of more than half a million people.
In December 2019 the Trust gained an “Outstanding” rating from the Care Quality Commission, becoming one of relatively few Trusts to achieve this level of performance.
SWFT forms part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care System, along with other NHS Trusts, and other organisations.
Having Foundation Trust status means that SWFT has greater freedom to manage its own affairs. It is managed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for the delivery of care, quality and financial performance and which is made up of Executive and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs).
The Trust has a strategic partnership with the University of Warwick and is working alongside them to enhance medical education, teaching and research development. Thanks to strong relationships between researchers, clinicians, practitioners, and scientists, there is a shared ambition to offer long term benefits to patients, clinical teams, students and partners within health and social care. The Trust also works closely with Coventry University and the University of Buckingham. The Trust gained University status on 1 August 2022
The work of a Foundation Trust is also overseen by a Council of Governors (CoG) who are either elected by its members (public and staff) or appointed by local organisations such as local councils. This makes it more directly accountable to local people. This way, SWFT members actively influence the progress of the Trust and help it to be genuinely patient-centred in every aspect of its work.
Governors are a vital part of the NHS Foundation Trust mechanism for ensuring local accountability. Together as a Council, Governors have key responsibilities such as the appointment of the Chair and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and the appointment of the external auditors. In addition to these statutory duties, the Council’s wider role is to listen to the local community and feed this information into the Trust so that it can best develop its services, to hold the NEDs to account through observation of their work, and to develop an active membership. Governors do not have any responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the Trust. Individual Governors have no powers: this is only collectively as a Council.
Governors also get involved in project work within the Trust. Recent examples have included participation in the development of the new facilities at the Ellen Badger Hospital at Shipston, the development of the Elective Hub at Warwick Hospital, and work on plans to improve signposting and navigation of the Trust sites at Warwick and Stratford.
A SWFT Governor must be a resident (over 16 years of age) of the local community covered by South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust. Other than being a member of the Trust, they do not need to have any specific qualifications.
The Trust is currently recruiting for new SWFT Governors from among its members, which will be elected by the members in the individual constituency areas. Its membership is divided into geographic constituencies, each of which is represented by a number of Governors, see map included separately in this pack. The constituencies are as follows:
Public Governor Constituencies
- Northern Warwickshire, Coventry and Rugby
- Warwick District and Borders
- Warwick and Leamington Towns
- West Stratford and Borders, and
- East Stratford and Borders
Staff Governor Constituencies
- Medical and Dental
- Nursing and Midwifery (Acute)
- Nursing and Midwifery (Community)
- Clinical Support Staff (including scientific, technical and therapeutic groups)
- Non-Clinical Support Staff (including managerial and administrative staff)
Public Governors and Staff Governors are elected to represent the constituency of which they are a Member and hold office for three years or until the next round of general elections.
The NHS is increasingly moving to a more integrated model, bringing existing services and providers together to deliver more effective care at the right places where it is needed. With technology playing an increasing part in connecting the public with these services, it is an exciting and challenging time to be involved.
The responsibilities of a Governor can be summarised as follows:
- Influencing strategy: to comment on the Trust’s plans for the future
- Membership engagement: to communicate and consult with Members, feeding back their views on various topics
- Stewardship: to hold the Trust to its core purpose and values, on behalf of your constituents
- Performance review: to receive reports and question the Board of Directors on the performance of the Trust, focused on holding the Non-Executive Directors to account;
- Making appointments:
- to appoint and remove the Chair and Non-Executive Directors of the Trust, and set their remuneration
- to approve the Board’s appointment of the Chief Executive
- to appoint the External Auditor of the Trust
- Approvals: to approve any significant transactions.
Anticipated Time Commitment
The basic time commitment for the Governor role includes:
- Attendance at the four Council of Governors meetings per year (approximately 1/2 a day each plus reading/preparation time)
- Attendance at the two Round Table meetings (joint workshops with the Council of Governors and Board of Directors) per year (approximately 1/2 a day each), and
- Attendance at the Annual Members’ Meeting (AGM) (approximately 1/2 a day).
There are also other opportunities Governors are encouraged to get involved in, such as the Council’s Sub-Committees, various working groups or consultation/engagement activities. Most Governors play a part in at least one such Sub-Committee. Governors should also aim to attend to observe at least one public SWFT Board meeting a year and to observe the work of a number of the Board’s Committees, such as Audit Committee or Clinical Governance Committee.
Prospective Governors will need to be prepared to commit an average of perhaps a day or a day and a half each month to cover the basic and essential duties, but some Governors work for twice that or even more. This is their own choice: there is no shortage of opportunity to become involved!
Prospective Staff Governors are encouraged to discuss with their line manager the anticipated time commitment of the Governor role so that it can be accommodated around staff duties, as well as the development opportunities that the role can offer.
Governors are supported with training sessions to help them with their duties. The position is unpaid, but reasonable expenses incurred (such as travel) when carrying out the duties of a Governor will be reimbursed.
People become Governors for a variety of different reasons. There is no ‘typical’ Governor and nominations are welcomed from all sections of the community. Previous experience of the NHS is not required. Below are a number of quotes from Governors on their motivations and experiences of being a Governor:
“It gives me the opportunity to influence strategy and the direction the Trust is taking, which I wouldn’t normally be able to do.”
“The role gives me the chance to get involved in Trust-wide developments that affect patients, such as the Patient Portal.”
“Cascading information and being the voice for the area you represent is very important.”
“I felt I needed to pay something back for the care the NHS has given to me”.
Next steps
Anyone aged 16 years and over, and from the designated constituency area, can stand for election as a Governor.
To become a Governor, you need to be a Trust member. If you are not already a member you need to sign up by Friday 1 November 2024 by visiting https://
Additional general information can also be found in the GovernWell guide “So you are thinking of becoming a governor
Contact Information
If you require any further information or assistance to complete the Nomination Form, please contact Ciara Hutchinson at CIVICA on: 020 8829 8456 or email ciara.hutchinson@cesvotes.com