Governor Focus 2024

9 July 2024

A conference dedicated to NHS governors

Our national Governor focus conference is the leading free event for NHS governors. This year's event takes place virtually on Zoom on Tuesday 9 July 2024. 

Why attend?

Our programme is tailored to equip governors with skills to better support trusts in delivering high quality healthcare. Delegates will have the opportunity to:

  • Share, learn, and develop their knowledge to better prepare for the future.
  • Hear from expert speakers who are committed to maximising the governor role.
  • Learn from their colleagues through the governor showcase.

Showcase

Application submissions for our showcase have now closed.

Tickets

We anticipate high demand for this event, and spaces are limited. Reserve your spot today to guarantee your place at our conference.

Please note that we will initially allocate no more than five places to each trust to ensure that governors from across the country are able to get the most out of the conference.

Book now

Programme

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09.55

Registration

10.00

Welcome and introduction

Welcome and introduction

Sir Ron Kerr will welcome delegates to our Governor Focus conference.

Chair: Sir Ron Kerr, Chair, NHS Providers 

 

 

10.15

Setting the scene – a national policy update

Setting the scene – a national policy update

Sir Julian Hartley will provide an overview of the key issues facing the provider sector, with a particular emphasis on those areas of greatest concern to councils of governors.

Chair: Sir Ron Kerr, Chair, NHS Providers   

Speaker: Sir Julian Hartley, Chief Executive, NHS Providers

 

 

11.00

Showcase session one

Showcase session one

Further information will be available soon.

Chair: Sir Ron Kerr, Chair, NHS Providers   

 

 

11.30

Comfort break (morning)

11.40

Plenary panel

Plenary panel - Governor support in a difficult climate  

How can we strike the right balance between effectively holding to account our Non Executive Directors for the performance of the board and providing support to the trust at a really challenging time for the NHS? 

We will be joined by various speakers from foundation trusts who will share their perspective on how governors can add value to the organisation.  

Chair: Sir Ron Kerr, Chair, NHS Providers   

Speakers: Selina Ullah, Chair, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 

Professor Joe Rafferty CBE, Chief Executive, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust 

 

 

12.25

Lunch

13.25

Showcase session two

Showcase session two

Further information will be available soon.

Chair: Sir Ron Kerr, Chair, NHS Providers 

 

 

13.55

Breakout session

Breakout session

Governors will be invited to discuss topical issues.

 

 

14.35

Comfort break (afternoon)

14.45

Keynote plenary

Keynote plenary - Effective participation and engagement with our members

Our panel will discuss how can we improve both members participation and our general engagement with members which has proven to be a struggle for most trusts. 

Our speakers will provide both an NHS and external perspective.

Chair: Sir Ron Kerr, Chair, NHS Providers

Speakers: Elliot Roberts, Director of Voter Interaction, Civica

Russell Gill, Head of Membership and Community Delivery, The Co-operative Group, and Chair of the Board of The Cooperative Academies Trust

 

 

15.30

Closing remarks

Closing remarks

Sir Ron Kerr delivers closing remarks for Governor Focus conference.

 

 

15.40

Conference close

Speakers 

Elliot Roberts
Elliot Roberts

Director of Vote Interaction

Civica Election Services

 
Elliot has developed a wide-ranging breadth and spectrum of experience during his nearly 25 years’ employment at Civica Election Services.

The mechanics and techniques offered and utilized by organizations to facilitate participation, and the understanding of the rationale behind voter media choices, have grown with rapid sophistication in recent years. Our in-house knowledge and exposure allows us to understand and map out voter behaviour and use data and control group analytics to maximize the number of participants in election processes.
Professor Joe Rafferty CBE
Professor Joe Rafferty CBE

Chief Executive Officer

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

 
Chief Executive Officer at Mersey Care since 2012, Joe has led a substantial expansion of the trust whilst modernising both the estate and digital infrastructure. He has consistently been named in the UK’s top 50 NHS chief executive’s and 100 most influential people in healthcare by the Health Service Journal. Joe is a founder member of the Zero Suicide Alliance UK and was named a commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2020 for his work on suicide prevention.
Julian Hartley
Julian Hartley

Chief Executive

 
Sir Julian Hartley joined NHS Providers as chief executive in February 2023, having been chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals since 2013. NHS Providers is the membership organisation for the NHS hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services that treat patients and service users in the NHS. We help those NHS foundation trusts and trusts to deliver high-quality, patient-focused care by enabling them to learn from each other, acting as their public voice and helping shape the system in which they operate. NHS Providers has all trusts in England in voluntary membership, collectively accounting for £104bn of annual expenditure and employ 1.4 million staff.
Ron Kerr
Ron Kerr

Chair

NHS Providers

 
Sir Ron Kerr has spent all his career in the health and care sector and has been a chief executive at national, regional and local level for over 30 years, latterly as chief executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust until 2015. He is currently independent chair of Healthier Together, the sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and a board member of Genomics England Ltd. He is also a trustee of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity and King’s College London. He was knighted for services to the NHS in 2011.
Russell Gill
Russell Gill

Head of Community Delivery

Co-op Group

 
Russell is head of community delivery and worked for the Co-op for over 30 years, fulfilling a variety of leadership roles concerning co-op membership, democracy and governance and community and campaigning activity. His role encompasses the execution of the Co-op's membership participation and community engagement activities. He is also chair of Co-op Academies Trust, a multi-academy trust based in the North of England operating 32 schools including primary, secondary, special and post-16, sponsored by the Co-op. Russell was awarded a Masters in Management of Co-operatives & Credit Unions by Saint Mary’s University, Halifax , Nova Scotia.
Selina Ullah
Selina Ullah

Trust Chair

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

 
Selina is trust chair at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. She is an experienced senior executive with a background in the public sector including healthcare management, local government, and professional regulation, working on policy formulation, transformation, service modernisation, regulation and governance. Additionally she has over three decades experience of the Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise sector. Previously, Selina was the deputy chair and senior independent director at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  She is a board member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the General Pharmaceutical Council.

What previous delegates said

“I thought it was an excellent experience to be able to listen and gain insight from other people in similar positions to me.” 

“Thank you for great event excellent networking opportunity.” 

“Rich and stimulating interactive sessions really highly engaging and a lesson in themselves.” 

“All credit to the organisation of the three days, very well attended, excellent information sharing.” 

contact us


For more information please contact the Governor focus events team.

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