Our Council of Governors

I have spent my adult life caring for people, undertaking my nurse training in London at Great Ormond Street and the Middlesex Hospitals. I spent many years district nursing and developed the community liaison department within Musgrove Park Hospital. I have managed a 40-bedded nursing home, achieving the Investors in People award in six months, and have been a clinical advisor for NHS England on long term care appeal panels for the last ten years. I am very involved in the community, having set up and run a community lunch for the over 60s. I started the Good Neighbourhood Scheme in Stogumber with the Community Council and the scheme has now been rolled out across Somerset. I am a member of the village hall committee, a member of the Parochial Church Council and the Patient Participation Group at Williton Surgery. I enjoy gardening, walking my dogs and when I have time painting and upholstery; I especially enjoy my small grandchildren who live nearby. I was a governor at Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, and know how important links are with the community. As governor of Somerset NHS, I want to represent the people of West Somerset and ensure all their health needs are met mental and physical health.

I stood and was elected as a Public Governor some four years ago. I was already Chairman of the very active Wellington Medical Centre Patient Participation Group and had set up a patient transport group. It was suggested to me that I might stand as a SFT Governor for my area and I welcomed the opportunity so that I might offer support as requested to our very excellent Trust. My professional background has been very much involved with the voluntary sector, having spent 30 years with the National Federation of Women’s Institutes at its London HQ with the last 10 years as Deputy Principal at the, sadly closed, Adult Education College in Oxfordshire. My late husband and I then moved to Somerset for family reasons and I became Administrator for the Taunton Abbeyfield Society which included being involved in a new Abbeyfield build in the town. I was also appointed Company Secretary of the Somerset Building Preservation Trust which deals with the restoration of historic buildings in the County. I am now fully retired and I devote my life to voluntary work. We are so fortunate with the manner in which our SFT is run both by the professionals and volunteers. I enjoy every minute of my time as a Governor.

Born, bred and educated in Somerset, my family were for four generations the village bakers. Following three years at Cardiff studying food technology, and 10 years in the north of England managing large bakeries, I returned to Somerset with my Yorkshire-born wife and two children, to run the family bakery. I also set up a new IT company, Bakery Computing, to write and support software specifically for the bakery and food industries in the UK. Being lucky enough to live in a small village with a vibrant community, it is important to be involved. Over the years I have served as parish councillor, school governor, church warden, village hall trustee and chair of our local GPs Friends group. In the past 10 years my involvement as a volunteer with Samaritans of Taunton and Somerset has reinforced my interest in not only the improvement of, but also the need for, simplified access to support for people suffering from poor mental health. Through my practical business experience, involvement in rural community life and Samaritan ethics, I bring a practical yet empathetic view to the Council of Governors.

Having been a governor at Yeovil District Hospital for a number of years, I like to also be a governor of the Somerset foundation trust, as the Yeovil Trust will soon no longer exists. I am currently the South Somerset District Councils appointed governor, but I would like to become a governor in the new trust in my own right. I have found being a governor of Yeovil Hospital very interesting and rewarding, I would very much like to continue representing the community I live in, here in Yeovil, as having a local voice is very important. I am retired, so I can give time to being a Governor, this is very important as there is always something new to learn with meetings usually during the day time. I have my own transport so attending meetings will not be a problem, My Town and District Council career is coming to a close after 20 years, with the formation of the new Somerset Unitary Council, so I will have plenty of free time to carry out the duties of a Hospital Governor.

As a Yorkshire girl having moved to the West Country several years ago, I trained in general nursing along the way. Ran my own Nursing Home for 14 years. Changed direction to become a South Somerset District Councillor and for 10 years Chair of Scrutiny and Overview with particular interest in Social Housing and Troubled Families in deprived rural areas. Having been a partnership governor at Musgrove Park Hospital and now a Public Governor for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, my hope is to continue to support Somerset Rural Areas in all aspects of Health and Wellbeing in the Community.

The NHS needs the support and commitment of the public it serves. I’m pleased to be a public Governor of the Somerset Foundation Trust because I believe I have the skills, experience, commitment, the time to make a positive contribution to the work of the Trust and its patients. This is a time of great opportunity for NHS patients. With much greater emphasis on patients taking care of their own health needs, the NHS has introduced a range of opportunities, such as the use of digital technology. The opportunity exists for patients to make the best use of these innovations. I was Chair of the Polden Medical Practice PPG for four years and represented the Somerset PPGs on the NHS Somerset Primary Care Committee for three years. I have Degrees in Regional Planning and Business and worked at a senior level in both public and private sectors – as a Director of the Scottish Development Agency; Deputy Chief Executive, Tyne and Wear Development Corporation; Development Director, Windex Properties and Director Property and Environment, Scottish Enterprise. For ten years I ran an economic consultancy in Exeter. Work included community and stakeholder consultation, feasibility studies, business plans, teaching and capacity building. I am married and live in Chilton Polden. My daughter and son-in-law are NHS anaesthetists in Winchester.

The merger between Taunton and Somerset and Somerset Partnership is an exciting opportunity to benefit the care that all patients receive. It is a privilege to act as a public governor for the new trust, as it has been to be a Musgrove governor for the past eight years. The NHS is going through a period of change and it is important that the voice of the public is heard and taken into account when decisions are being made about future healthcare in Somerset. As a governor of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and as chair of Healthwatch Somerset I have the opportunity to do this. I am chair of the Quality and Patient Experience Group, which listens to the concerns that patients and the public may have and bringing them to the attention of the executive team. I am a member of my surgery’s Patient Participation Group, so am aware of local healthcare issues.

I am retired registered mental nurse and also a global chartered management accountant. For many years I was active in the local network of CIMA and was chair of the Bristol Focus Group. I am a member of the Patient Participation Group of the East Quay Medical Centre. I frequently attend the Somerset Mental Health Stakeholder Engagement Forum. Prior to the merger of Somerset Partnership NHS and Taunton and Somerset NHS I was a governor of the Somerset Partnership NHS for three years. During my last term of office, I sat on the Strategy and Planning Working Group. During my last term of office I sat on the Strategy and Planning Working Group. I was until recently a governor of a secondary school in Bridgwater and was the Vice-Chair of the Board and also the chair of the Leadership and Management sub-committee. The Trust has done some great work during the recent difficulties, but we should not rest on our laurels. We have to make sure that the recent recognition that the NHS has been given does not get forgotten in the coming years. Its weaknesses have to be remedied and we have to ensure that it is ready the next challenge. I sincerely intend to continue the work that I started and ensure that further improvements are implemented.

Throughout my working life I have been involved with improving patient outcomes by enhancing the skills and knowledge of healthcare professionals, developing independent education programmes across many therapy areas and am a published co-author on Guiding Principles of Continuing Medical Education in Europe. I see being a governor as a potential extension of improving patient outcomes. I am an associate hospital manager at a private mental unit, reviewing patients sectioned under the Mental Health Act, recently joining the trust in a similar role. Mental health is a major challenge and my exposure to the medical, social, financial and legal aspects of mental health as well as direct involvement with often particularly challenging patients I believe will be of value my role as governor.

I became a governor to help people who have trouble helping themselves. I have spent the last 30 years of my working life with the Somerset Ambulance Service, most of it on the road, and sometimes in senior positions. I have been a town or district councillor for more than 30 years and was the Mendip District Council representative on the Somerset Community Health Council (health Watchdog) and vice chair for two years. I am now a member of Somerset Healthwatch, the local health/social care watchdog. During my years with the Community Health Council I worked with NHS partners to introduce a 24/7 service stroke service and saw community hospitals set up rehabilitation stroke units. During my 46 years with the NHS I have seen the patient’s journey from the beginning to the end of life. My role as governor gives me opportunity to look more closely at the middle of life’s journey and to ensure that Mendip residents receive what they are entitled to.

I’ve been involved with Somerset NHS since 1998, when I was appointed a Mental Health Act Panel Member – a service I continue to this day. Subsequently, I’ve also been a NED and governor for Somerset Partnership and, latterly, a governor for Yeovil Hospital. My background is in social work, and has included working in the fields of mental health and criminal justice ( I served as a Quaker Prison Chaplain at Shepton Mallet prison for thirteen years – a sex offenders’ prison). For twenty -two years I have lived and worked overseas in a number of countries where I experienced different health care systems. In the Caribbean I helped set up three treatment centres for adolescents, which are all still fully functioning to this day. Having lived and worked in the Mendip area for many years, I am aware that residents are concerned that all mental health inpatient facilities have been moved out of the area. I’m also aware that Frome patients fall between two ICS’ which can have it’s own potential pitfalls. I hope I can be a voice for Mendip patients in my role as governor of the newly provider integrated Trust. As I have been involved in the lead up to the merger, I hope to be able to see it through to a successful conclusion for the welfare of patients.