Five new faces on board at hospital (From Keighley News)

Five new faces on board at hospital

1:00pm Monday 20th August 2012 in News By Miran Rahman

New representatives have been elected on to Airedale Hospital’s council of governors.

The five new candidates are Val Henson and Stephanie Lawrence, staff governors for nurses and midwives; Alan Davies, public governor for Craven; Catherine Bourgeois, public governor for Skipton, and Nick Beeson, public governor for Ilkley.

David Child, public governor for Bingley, was also elected for the first time. He took over the role in April 2011 as second place candidate when Mark Haw Wells resigned.

Three public governors were re-elected for a second term – Adrian Mornin, for Keighley Central, Chris Nolan, for West Craven and Alan Pick, for South Craven. No one came forward to represent Lower Wharfe Valley or Pendle East and Colne, so these seats will remain empty until elections in March next year.

A spokesman for Airedale NHS Foundation Trust said: “More candidates are needed next year to fill the empty seats. Anyone interested in becoming a governor should e-mail members@anhst.nhs.uk for an information pack or contact 01535 294540.”

The trust has a total of 36 seats for governors, including 20 who are public governors and represent a local area.

Their role is to make sure the hospital’s board of directors does its job properly. They also represent the views of patients, members of the public and staff.

The newest Airedale governors had their first council meeting in public last month.

Alan Davies co-ordinates the Addingham Community First Responder team. The retired chartered engineer said: “The main reason I wanted to be a governor was to complement my other volunteering roles associated with health in the community. I am interested in increasing awareness of life-threatening emergencies and heart-related issues. I believe I can encourage good liaison between Airedale Hospital and these community organisations and that I have the skills to work alongside its board of directors to shape future developments.”

Stephanie Lawrence works for Airedale as a nurse manager in the community. She said: “I have become a governor as I am passionate about the NHS and making sure patients get high quality care.”

Val Henson has worked in the NHS for 30 years. She is currently manager of Airedale Hospital’s ward 21. She said: “Promoting Airedale and being part of its community that strives for best care is very important to me.

“I can use this experience to improve the wellbeing of the staff and to continue to be involved in developing a high quality service.”