Governors

Margaret Jackson

City of York

Margaret worked in the NHS as a nurse, midwife and senior manager for a total of 43 years before retiring in 2011.  She gained invaluable experience in the delivery of healthcare and in seeking and responding to the views of staff, patients and their families/carers and in working with a range of people from many different organisations. 

Since her election to the position of Governor in October 2012, she has worked with her governor colleagues to ensure that the Trust continues to hold the patient at the centre of all it does.  In April 2014, Margaret was elected Lead Governor by her colleagues.  By attending meetings and being involved in various committees and groups she has been able to see how the directors and non-executive directors fulfil their roles and how strategic plans are developed and put into action. 

Following re-election, Margaret has welcomed the opportunity to develop and take forward the role of both governor and lead governor in the Trust representing members and the community.  She ensures that the views of patients and their families/carers continue to be sought, considered and taken account of when discussing services.  She is fully committed to the role of Governor working with the Trust and its staff, willing to both congratulate and challenge the Trust on actions being considered or taken when delivering healthcare.

Robert Wright

City of York

Robert works for NHS Leadership Academy, which is like a business school aimed at developing new leadership behaviours in the NHS.  Robert believes his career experience of questioning and assessing NHS executives and senior leaders means as a governor he is comfortable challenging the Trust Board to assure patients, families and staff that they are doing all they can to provide first class, safe and value for money services.

Robert believes in holding people to account and that frontline staff should have a voice with regards to how services are delivered, but most importantly, he believes that patients and their families should be at the heart of everything the Trust does. 

Robert feels that as a governor he offers the Trust, fellow members and patients his whole hearted commitment to ensuring the Trust delivers safe, effective and high quality care; his belief in effective and robust governance and the importance of ‘speaking truth to power’; and his professional knowledge of what great leadership in the NHS looks like.

Helen Fields

City of York

From the age of 18 until retirement, Helen’s career has been firmly rooted in the NHS.  A registered nurse, nurse teacher with a master’s degree in education, she spent many years working in a clinical and teaching capacity.  For thirteen years she worked as a Senior Civil Servant in the Department of Health and was responsible for over 40 staff and a multi-million pound budget. 

Helen is very familiar with the work required of a governor having sat on the Board of the UK Sector Skills Council for Health and she was subsequently appointed as a Director of Strategy and Planning with the same body.  It is these skills plus those of communication that she brings to the position.  Helen’s links with York Hospital are predominantly through patient experience both personally following a mild stroke and also through caring for her elderly mum who has since passed away.   

Helen believes that giving time and commitment to the role of governor can bring real benefits to promoting excellence in patient care. She believes the governor community is highly valued and able to draw on a variety of experience and contributions.

Michael Reakes

City of York

Michael brings a unique global experience of healthcare services, having lived, worked and received medical treatment in the UK, USA, and Middle East.  His career has focused on the development of e-learning and training technology to improve job performance and safety, including projects in the medical field.  He has managed large projects, budgets, and supervised multidisciplinary professionals from a variety of nationalities.

Michael has good leadership, listening and communication skills, and a record of creative, cost-effective solutions. He can see the big picture and both sides of an issue. Michael states he is detail-oriented, organised and motivated and has led community organisations, and has experience of focus groups and feedback surveys.

Through his expereince, Michael is confident that he can effectively represent members of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, hold the non-executive directors to account, and help guide the development and delivery of safe, cost-effective, and sustainable healthcare in York.

Sally Light

City of York

Sally’s connection to the Trust dates back to 2001 when she worked with York and Scarborough hospitals on improving access to outpatient services.  Sally is currently the Chief Executive of the MND Association, a charity and membership organisation serving people living with motor neurone disease.

In addition to the charity sector, Sally has 25 years clinical and managerial experience in the NHS including serving on the Board of Barnsley Hospital Trust.  Most of her NHS career was spent working with clinical teams to improve patient experience and the way services were delivered.

Jeanette Anness

Ryedale and East Yorkshire

Jeanette had a career as a nurse in the NHS, latterly as a Diabetes Specialist. She is committed to obtaining the best health care services for the people of Ryedale and East Yorkshire. Since her election as a Governor in 2012, she has worked to ensure the Trust fulfils its commitment to put patients at the centre of all it does.  Jeanette finds the role of Public Governor very rewarding.

By attending meetings and various groups Jeanette has been able to see how the Board of Directors make strategic plans and implements them.  The quarterly Council of Governors meeting provides an opportunity to receive reports and to question the Chief Executive and other senior staff. 

Jeanette is a member of the Governors Community Services Group, which reviews the service delivery particularly the new developments. These become ever more significant with the pressing need for collaborative working between Health and Social care.  Jeanette is also a member of the Nominations and Remunerations Committee, which were responsible for appointing the current Trust Chair.

Jeanette chairs the Derwent  Surgery Patient Group meetings in Ryedale and attends the Scarborough & Ryedale CCG Patient Group, where there is an opportunity to present the views and concerns of patients and their families. 

Sheila Miller

Ryedale and East Yorkshire

Sheila has been a Governor for the Ryedale area since September 2012 and has experience of over 20 years working within the community on various patient groups, hospices and inspections which helps her to fulfil her role.  She monitors any plans for Malton Hospital and Community Services in Ryedale.  

As a Trust Governor she has been invited to sit on various groups, including the Patient Experience Group which is responsible for setting the strategic direction of patient experience across the Trust, and the Constitution Review Group, which discusses and approves amendments forwarded from the Board to the Trust’s constitution. 

Sheila has also taken part in 'PLACE' inspections which help to ensure the environment, cleanliness and food offered to patients in all the hospitals within the Trust is the best possible standard. 

In the community, Sheila sits on the Derwent Surgery Patient Group which offers feedback to the Trust from various residents in Ryedale. She also sits on the Transport Group which involves ensuring patients and families know of the various concessions available for long term illnesses and finding ways of helping patients access all our hospitals in a more efficient way. She also drives for the Community Transport team in Ryedale which has become extremely busy since the change in the Ambulance Transport Services.

Andrew Butler

Ryedale and East Yorkshire

For the past four years Andrew has served as a public governor at York Teaching Hospitals representing the Selby constituency. He has recently moved to Malton and is looking forward to representing the Ryedale constituency.

During His time as Governor he took a special interest in scrutinising the trust’s finances and annual reports to Parliament. He was the chairman of the Trust’s Constitutional Review Committee, which ensured the trust’s constitution remained compliant with new legislation. He was also a member of the appointment panels for the Trust’s Medical Director and Chairperson.

Over the past four years as a governor he feels one thing has been utterly clear – Our NHS is financially strained and will be for years to come. Governments, commissioners, regulators and NHS England will push to centralise services. It will be down to local Governors to work with the Trust to push back and show that a good NHS is one that invests in local community services to help people avoid unnecessary inpatient stays.

One of the best developments he has seen at the Trust has been the development of moving elective orthopaedic services from Scarborough to Bridlington hospital. By utilizing the Trust’s estate in this way, more bed space is available at Scarborough and Bridlington has a new, high quality service running from it. Andrew will be pushing to see how the Malton Hospital estate could be better used to improve services.

Clive Neale

Bridlington

Clive has lived in Burton Agnes, near Bridlington for 8 years, since he took early retirement.  He started his working life by training as an accountant and subsequently moved on to take a degree in computing science, both of which qualifications have enabled him to have a wide and varied business career. 

Clive worked in the service and distribution industry for many years in a number of diverse roles, latterly at Board level.  In the final part of his career, he worked for the Department of Health, initially in policy areas including the National Tariff.  He then moved to a Senior Business Manager role in one of the largest directorates within the department and his responsibilities included forward planning, governance, human resources and finance. 

Since moving to the area he has become involved in the community through the Village Sports Association and the Bowls Club, both of which he chairs.  He is also a member of Bridlington U3A, having served as vice chair for 3 years. 

His background in the private sector and in central government, together with an enquiring, open mind and a determined commitment help to serve the community in the role of Public Governor for the Bridlington area.

Catherine Thompson

Hambleton District

Catherine lives in Sutton on the Forest in the South of Hambleton District with her husband and young son, and has lived there since 2009 when she moved from York. Catherine worked as a physiotherapist at York Hospital for over 10 years, before leaving in 2008 to teach physiotherapy and other health related subjects at York St John University. She now works in healthcare management at NHS England, based in Leeds, and her role is to improve patient and carer experience of health services across England.

Catherine takes a keen interest in the health services that are provided locally, and would like to be a Governor for York Hospital so that she can influence and support the services to be the best that they can be for the people in this area. In her work she has the privilege of visiting hospitals and healthcare staff across England. She gets to see many different ways of delivering care and supporting patients, and sees what is possible and what can be achieved. She is used to working alongside hospital managers, patients,

carers, and patient organisations and so she feels comfortable challenging and asking questions of others to ensure that decisions are made in the interests of patients.

Liz Black

Scarborough

Liz became interested in being a governor because she felt that the NHS, and especially Scarborough Hospital, was under represented and, like many people, wishes to do what she can to support the establishment in future developments.

Liz is a psychology graduate with an MBA in Business Administration.  Having come from India she has sound understanding that a health service is vital in any society and that it has to be supported and nurtured in order to progress.  Liz has lived in the area for around fourteen years and is a member of the local parish council and the North Yorkshire Police ‘Incidents Advisory Group’.

Liz is on the board of trustees for the Newby and Scalby Parish Hall and the Patient Panel for the Prospect Road Surgery.  As a governor she will endeavour to preserve our services at Scarborough Hospital and support upcoming projects that are beneficial to local people.

Richard Thompson

Scarborough

Richard is retired and now feels he has more time to commit to being a governor.  He stated the role is valuable, rewarding and is part of the essential business of providing, effective, sustainable care and even more demanding services for patients within our community.

Totally mindful of complying to NHSIs criteria, having served over nine years as a Public Governor to his local Mental Health NHS Trust in the past, Richard finds it important that comments, feedback and requests from service users in the constituency are relayed to the Trust to be actioned in a positive manner.

Over 40 years of Local Government involvement, National Park and 15 years with the Ambulance Service has given him a wide experience and knowledge of both clinical and mental health challenges on a day to day basis affecting our vast Constituency/Trust area.

Keith Dawson

Selby

Information coming soon.

Stephen Hinchliffe

Whitby

Stephen has been the Governor for Whitby and Esk Valley for 5 years. During that time he has endeavoured to work with the Trust after the merger, to enhance community and hospital services both at Whitby and Scarborough.

Significant improvements have taken place at Scarborough Hospital with a new modern ward, department upgrades and car parking. He feels York Trust have worked very hard to develop the efficiency of community services in Whitby and the Esk Valley before the transfer to NHS Humber trust.

Stephen worked initially in printing technology, post university in Liverpool , he did physiological research into hormonal control of gastric secretion.

He was then in teaching for 35 years and has the National Head Teacher qualification. After retiring he became a partner in a gardening business for 4 years, before moving back to  Whitby.  Stephen is a Local Authority Governor for 2 schools, as well as his role with the Trust.

Stephen continues to work hard as a Public Governor within the Trust to further the development of Scarborough Hospital, to provide high quality services to Whitby and Esk Valley residents when they make their choices for treatment. He is committed to working with the Trust to offer local consultant clinics across a range of services in Scarborough and Whitby.

Stephen has involved himself in many of the Trusts vital committees and this has been very important in developing his understanding of the structure and management of one of the largest geographical Health Trusts in England.

Whitby and the Esk Valley has an unusual position in terms of health provision with its geographical position linking it to South Tees and Hambleton/Richmondshire, as well as York/Scarborough.

Gerry Richardson

University of York

Dr Gerry Richardson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Economics (CHE) at the University of York in the UK. CHE has a leading international reputation, and is one of the world’s largest health economics research centres. 

Gerry has over 20 years’ experience as a health economist concentrating on applied and methodological issues in cost-effectiveness analysis. 

Topics of interest  include optimal skill mix for health professionals, the cost-effectiveness of self-management interventions, and the cost-effectiveness of childhood and parenting interventions. 

Recently he has led public health evaluations that involve decision making across sectors (primarily health and education) and over time. 

Chris Pearson

North Yorkshire County Council

Chris has been appointed as a stakeholder governor on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council. 

As part of his Council portfolio, Chris sits on the Care and Independence Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Joint Sub-Committee for Transport, Economy and Environment and Scrutiny of Health Committees together with the Selby Area Committee. 

Chris was appointed as a stakeholder governor in October 2015 and as part of his responsibilities also attends the Trust’s Transport Group. 

Andrew Bennett

YHTFM LLP

Andrew cares passionately about the NHS, the Trust and the services it provides.  Andrew has lived in Scarborough for a number of years and he is extremely proud to work for the NHS Trust that serves this area.  Andrew has worked in the NHS since 2002 and during this time he has worked entirely in a non-clinical support service in Estates and Facilities. 

In his current role in the Capital Projects Department, Andrew is constantly striving to improve the quality, functionality and safety of the Trust’s healthcare facilities for patients, visitors and staff in order to improve the patient experience and health outcomes.  In this role Andrew is used to representing the interests of others selflessly and objectively and he is determined to bring this same approach to representing the staff of Scarborough and Bridlington at the Council of Governors.

The variety, and increasing seniority, of experience Andrew has gained from his involvement in capital projects and maintenance services across the Trust has given him a very good understanding of the diverse issues involved in running a healthcare organisation.  He understands that the key role of Trust Governors is to review, question, challenge and hold the Board to account to ensure that the Trust is running properly and delivering its services effectively.

For Andrew, a key part of being a Staff Governor also means using the opportunity to influence, on behalf of staff members of the Trust based in the Scarborough and Bridlington area, the Trust's approach to shaping the scope and quality of the healthcare it provides for the benefit of the whole community. 

Andrew joined the NHS to make a difference and he is constantly appreciative of the positive impact that the work of Estates and Facilities staff can have on the patient experience and the vital support it can give to the services provided by their clinical and nursing colleagues.

Dawn Clements

Hospice Movement

Dawn has come on board as an appointed governor representing the hospice movement, specifically St Leonards Hospice in York, and St Catherine’s in Scarborough as the Trust felt it important that End of Life care is represented at governor level.

Dawn is currently Director Of Fundraising at St Leonards Hospice in York, and so has direct experience of the service provided by this sector within the area.  Dawn has been working in the charity sector for 3 years, prior to this she help a number of senior roles at ASDA Head office in Leeds covering both community, brand management and customer experience, and so brings a wealth of experience in these areas acquired in a commercial business environment, as well as operating within a lowest cost to operate environment.

Dawn has held trustee roles in charities, and is an active Dementia Champion – having created 400 Dementia Friends over the last 2 years. Dawn stated that she ‘wanted to do this role for a number of reasons, she lives in York and is a regular user of the services at York District Hospital.  It will also give a deeper insight into how the CCG, NHS and the wider system works together, and hopefully her experience in the private sector will add value as she can bring both a different view and approach to areas such as patient experience, membership etc.  Dawn has said that ‘It is so important that the end of life experience in York and surrounding areas is the best it can be and she wants to be part in making sure that happens’

Helen Noble

Scarborough and Bridlington

Helen was successfully appointed as a governor for the staff constituency at Scarborough Hospital (including Bridlington) in October 2012.  She thoroughly enjoyed her first term as a staff governor and felt she had been able to contribute and support staff through the acquisition of Scarborough and York Hospitals Foundation Trust.  This is an extremely important role which involves making sure that Scarborough and Bridlington based staff feel involved in the strategic direction of their organisation, something that she feels very passionate about. 

Helen qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1988 and went onto train as a Midwife, qualifying in 1991.  She has worked in a number of different roles within the maternity services and after almost 20 years, with a passion for governance and a strong interest in the quality and safety agenda she applied for a role within the Governance Team taking on the role of lead for safety and quality.  Her current role following the acquisition with York Hospital Foundation Trust has been as the Head of Patient Safety across the Scarborough and Bridlington sites.  Over the past several years she feels she has contributed and raised the profile of Patient Safety amongst her colleagues. 

Mick Lee

York

Mick came to the Trust from a military background having served with the Royal Air Force for 31 years as a fire-fighter.  He has been with us for almost 8 years now and feels that during that time he has become more fully aware of and appreciative of, the Trusts aims and objectives.  He feels that there is so much negativity surrounding the NHS, with articles appearing in the national press almost on a daily basis.  If we are to believe what we read, then it would appear that the organisation is always going to be under pressure to deliver its primary role within society, that of being able to deliver free first class health care to all.    

As a member of staff himself, he feels that we should all be justifiably proud of what the Trust has achieved.  Mick’s role as the fire safety advisor enables him to meet and get to know many people across all staff disciplines; he sees at first hand the professionalism and dedication of staff.  The one thing which is only too apparent, is how focussed they are in putting the welfare and care of the patients first, above all else. 

There is no doubting that as an organisation we are constantly expected to operate under huge financial pressure in order to deliver more for less and it is only right that we should be held to account because of those expectations.  But let us not lose sight of the fact that despite those pressures both from within at a trust level and externally from a national level the one constant we share is our continued commitment to our patients.

Jill Sykes

York

Jill has worked for the Trust for approximately 33 years starting her career in the NHS in Sunderland in 1978 working in Medical Records.   She studied for professional qualifications and a number of promotions; resulted in being successful in a range of senior management roles within York Teaching Hospital Trust. 

The roles Jill has undertaken have encompassed areas within the hospital  ranging from  out patients, site administrator to  working  within  the contracting department liaising and negotiating with GP practices involved in GP fund holding  and agreeing contracts, which led to her present role as Assistant Director of Commissioning.  This has given her the experience to negotiate contracts with both internal and external colleagues within CCG’s resulting in the opportunity to broaden her understanding and involvement and negotiation skills necessary in the numerous diverse agendas associated with a healthcare organisation.  Jill would like to be able to use the opportunity to influence,   and be instrumental in the Trusts approach to shaping the scope and quality of health care it provides to the benefit of the whole healthcare community.

She understands the role of the Trust Governors is to question, challenge and hold the board to account when necessary to ensure that the Trust is delivering services efficiently and effectively and having joined the NHS to make a difference, she welcomes the opportunity to share this passion and vision.

Sharon Hurst

Community

Sharon has worked for the Trust for approximately 28 years.  She trained as a registered nurse at York and has held various nursing posts including staff nurse, ward sister and matron. Sharon has also been a deputy directorate manager and worked corporately in healthcare governance and risk and legal services and last year she learnt about integrated working in the community.

Review papers described colleagues re-shaping health and social care and working in partnership with patients. She decided then that she would like to be part of the community team. So, when a position as a Locality Manager for Selby and South York was advertised, she applied and was appointed in January 2015.

Sharon joined the NHS to make a difference and appreciates the impact that her community colleagues have on patients’ lives. When she talks about colleagues she includes those directly and indirectly involved in patient care e.g. therapists, community and specialist nurses, human resource managers/advisors, administrators and colleagues working in estates.

She is committed to patients receiving quality services they require and desire by appropriately trained staff. It is also important that staff are supported by the organisation’s leaders to deliver services in the 21^st Century.