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Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS) Council of Governors

Our Council of Governors provide an opportunity for our patients, public, staff and partner organisations to influence the services we provide. They also feedback information to the people they represent about the Trust's vision and performance.

The DCHS Council of Governors

We have 31 elected and appointed governors.

18 of these governors have been elected by the public, 10 by our staff and three by the following key partner organisations:

NHS foundation trust governors are the direct representatives of our local communities. They play an important role within our Trust; they share information on our performance and forward plans and engage with and provide a voice for our members and the public.

Governors do not manage the operations of the trust; but provide appropriate challenge to the board of directors and collectively hold them to account for our performance.

On election, we will provide new governors with an induction and a ‘Buddy’ and we provide training and development for all governors throughout their term of office.

DCHS governor responsibilities

  • Represent the interests of the members of the Trust and the interests of the public
  • Work in partnership with the Board
  • Hold our non-executive directors to account for the performance of the Board
  • Select, appoint and/or decide the remuneration of the chair and non-executive directors
  • Approve the appointment of the DCHS chief executive
  • Approve the DCHS external auditor
  • Receive the annual accounts, auditor’s report and annual report
  • Attend the Annual Governors and Annual Members Meeting
  • Be consulted and contribute to the plans of the Trust
  • Approve changes to the Trust’s constitution
  • Inform local people about the Trust, its visions and its performance

​​​​​​Meetings and events

Governors are expected to attend at least three Council of Governors meetings each year. There are a variety of other ways that they can get involved including:

  • Observing Public Board meetings and Board Committees
  • Attending sub-groups of the Council of Governors which provide an opportunity to focus on key areas with a commitment from corporate and operational staff to attend and support the discussion
  • Providing input towards the Chair and Non-Executive Directors (NED) yearly appraisals
  • Attending insight visits and involvement in the Quality Always Accreditation Panels
  • Attending twice yearly joint Board and Council of Governors development session
  • Attending the Annual Governors Meeting and the Annual Members Meeting
  • Involvement in the judging panels for the Extra Miles Awards
  • Involvement in Non-Executive Directors recruitment

If you would like any further information about the role of a Governor, please email dchst.governors@nhs.net

 

  • A register of interests is in place for all members of the Council of Governors.
  • Governors are required to complete a declaration and any changes during the year must be notified to the associate director of corporate governance/Trust secretary immediately and formally.  
  • This is reviewed annually and, in addition, at the start of each meeting governors are required to declare any interests that may affect the papers considered.
  • The register is available to read here.

Upcoming Council of Governors meetings

If you would like to the join the virtual meeting please see the joining details below or contact the Governor and Membership officer - E: dchst.governors@nhs.net 

Meeting dates

  • 10 January 2024 - (2-4pm) via MS Teams - Click here to join the meeting
  • 13 March 2024 - (2-4pm) via MS Teams - Click here to join the meeting
  • Tuesday 7th May, 10am-12pm – Leahurst Room, Walton Hospital
  • Thursday 11th July, 2pm-4pm, Leahurst Room, Walton Hospital
  • Thursday 12th September, 10am-11.30am, via MS Teams
  • Wednesday 6th November, 5pm-7pm via MS Teams
  • Tuesday 7th January, 10am-12pm via MS Teams
  • Wednesday 12th March, 2pm-4pm, Venue TBC

Agendas and papers 2024

Agendas and papers 2023

Agendas and papers 2022

If you would like to access agendas from meetings prior to January 2022 please E: dchst.governors@nhs.net 

  • Governors are required to act with discretion and care to maintain confidentiality at all times with regard to information gained via their involvement in the Trust.
  • The conduct of our governors at meetings is positive and respectful of the views of their fellow elected and appointed members, executives and non-executive directors. When attending external meetings or events, it's important for governors to be ambassadors for the Trust.
  • Members seeking election to the Council of Governors will be required to sign a declaration to confirm that they will comply with the Council of Governors Code of Conduct in all respects and that, in particular, support the Trust’s Vision and Values and key objectives.
  • All governors should adhere to the principles of public life as defined by the Nolan Committee. The seven principles are; selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

To become a DCHS governor, you first need to be a member of the Trust itself.

Register now or contact the Governor and Membership Officer on 07870 503 648.

Electing governors

Once you've received your membership information, you'll then receive details of upcoming elections.

Members can nominate themselves to become a governor when an election takes place in their constituency. The nomination form involves writing a statement (maximum 250 words) to tell people why they should vote for the candidate.

Governors are elected to the role by members of DCHS for a period of up to three years.

To view information on recent elections, please click here.

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