Our Council of Governors

The role of the Governors

The Board of Directors works closely with the Council of Governors to ensure that it understands the views of governors, and through them, the views of members.

The Council of Governors has a number of statutory duties, including appointing the Chairman and Non-Executive Directors and ratifying the appointment of the Chief Executive. The Council of Governors also determines the remuneration and terms and conditions of the Chairman and Non-Executive Directors, receives the Trust’s Annual report and accounts and auditor’s report, and appoints the Trust’s external auditor.

The public and staff members of the Council of Governors are elected from the Foundation Trust membership by the members and serve for terms of office between two and three years. The Council of Governors also consists of nominated representatives from key stakeholder organisations.

Your Governors

Contact us

You can contact the Council of Governors by emailing ekh-tr.governorsquestions@nhs.net or by letter to:

The Council of Governors Membership Office
Trust Management Offices
Kent and Canterbury Hospital
Ethelbert Road
Canterbury
CT1 3NG

Council of Governor meetings

The next Council of Governors meeting will take place on 17 July. The meeting will take place online.

Any questions for the upcoming meeting should be sent to ekh-tr.governorsquestions@nhs.net 24 hours before the meeting.

How to join

For joining details, please contact ekh-tr.governorsquestions@nhs.net.

For any queries, please contact Neville Daw, Governor and Membership Lead on 01233 616806 or via email to Neville.daw@nhs.net.

Our newsletter

Stay up to date with the December 2024 issue of our Council of Governors newsletter.

Council of Governor Committees

The Council of Governors hold Full Council meetings in public four times a year and have a further two meetings dedicated to development work and to provide an opportunity to look at specific topics in greater depth. A joint meeting of the Council and the Trust’s Non-Executive Governors is also held annually.

In addition the Council has a number of Committees to undertake specific roles. Powers cannot be delegated to these Committees; they are required to report the Full Council with a summary of their work and any recommendations or proposals to be considered. The Committees of the Council are as below. Ad hoc groups may also be formed from time to time to address specific issues, with clear terms of reference. Again, powers cannot be delegated to these groups.

Nominations and Remuneration Committee

Governors on this committee work with the Trust’s Chairman and HR Department to fulfil the Council of Governor’s statutory duty to appoint (or remove) the Trust’s Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and Chairman.

Recommendations are put forward from the committee to the Council of Governors for approval. The committee also has a key role in developing the appraisal policy for the Chair and NEDs and in putting forward proposals to the full Council of Governors regarding the remuneration to be offered for these roles. The Committee meets as required when NED vacancies arise and once a year to consider NED and Chair remuneration.

Membership Engagement and Communications Committee

Governors on this committee work with the Trust in the development of the Council's Membership and Members' Engagement Strategy. The Council of Governors exists as a two way “conduit” between the Trust, its membership and the public - the committee is there to facilitate this. The Committee is responsible for monitoring performance against the strategy and identifying any necessary changes. The Committee meets quarterly.

People and Governance Engagement Committee

The Committee is responsible to the Council of Governors for the following:

• Working with the Board of Directors’ Integrated Audit and Governance Committee (IAGC) to  establish the criteria for the appointment, re-appointment or removal of the Trust’s external  auditors, including the method for monitoring the quality of the external audit as set out in HEFMA NHS Audit Committee Handbook.

• Presenting to the Council of Governors the procurement process that it has followed for the appointment of the external auditors, the results of the procurement processes and recommendations.

• Receiving the external auditor’s plan and work timetable for the year, to review the external auditor’s performance and review any year end audit recommendations.

• Receiving the internal auditor's plan, work timetable and annual report, for information only.

• Seek assurance from the Chair of the IAGC that internal control processes are in place.

• Working with the Trust Secretary to ensure the Trust’s Constitution complies with latest legislation and NHSE guidance.

• Considering any locally proposed amendments to the EKHUFT Constitution.

• Reviewing the effectiveness of NED engagement with Council Committees and Working Groups and report conclusions to the Council.

• Consider proposals for changes to policies relating to the Council of Governors and make recommendations to Council.

• Look at issues of quality raised by Governors or their constituents to identify trends and themes.

• Look at the Board Assurance Framework and quarterly performance against the annual quality objectives and identified risk. Use this information to inform the development of a draft of the Council commentary on the Trust’s Quality Report to take to Council for agreement. 

• Propose to Council a topic for the Governor Indicator for audit by external auditors.