Governor Elections 2023 Nominees
With nominations now confirmed, we are pleased to introduce the individuals up for nomination for the 2023 Governor elections, who are passionate about healthcare and have put themselves forward to be considered.
Governors are a vital for local accountability. They have key responsibilities such as the appointment of the Chair and Non-Executive Directors on the Board of Directors and the selection of the external auditor. They also have an important advisory role to our Board, including the development of the Trust’s Annual Plan, which sets out our priorities for the coming year.
Nominees for Reading
Jon Wellum
Governors ensure that “the views of local people and communities are heard.”
I ask members for their support in a second term as a public governor for Reading, representing your views.
My first term began in September 2020. Covid time. Meetings were held via Teams, as were the few Service visits. Council forms the main meetings through the year. Guided by conversations with the public I actively participate, representing their views.
The Council has three subgroups:
- Living Life to the Full, the opportunity to learn about the many services provided by the trust
- Membership, how we represent ALL. I was instrumental in improving the newsletter, increasing accessibility.
- Quality, we review the quarterly interim Quality Account looking for a consistent high standard of care.
In the last three years I have joined most of these three sub-committee meetings, contributing actively to the discussions. This year I have undertaken five in person service visits. Why! To learn more about the trust services so that I can describe them to you. The outstanding finding from all visits is the care, dedication, and kindness shown by all the service teams.
As Deputy Lead Governor I shall be attending the 2023 NHS Providers Governor Focus Conference and a meeting with the BOB ICB chairman to discuss enabling public engagement.
Your views are important. As an elected governor I will represent them.
Raymond Emmett
I have been fortunate enough to have held a number of interesting and informative roles throughout my adult life including:
- Trustee and chairman of an Alms House charity
- Vice chairman of an Environmental Trust
- Local government Councillor
- Chairman of the Planning committee
- Vice chairman of Housing.
- School governor and chairman of the board.
All of these voluntary positions have been useful in providing a broad insight into the management of the organizations and enabled me to contribute to the broader decision making process. I have lived in Berkshire for 11 years and been impressed with the management of the RBH and the management of the provision of health provision.
James Cuggy
I've been a member of the Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust for a few years and have attended some AGMs in person prior to Covid, following any news and updates with great interest.
I'm a person who is very passionate about social justice and especially ensuring every member of the public has access to the best possible state provided healthcare, without having to remain on long waiting lists, feel unsupported at moments of crisis or critical need, nor be potentially overlooked or neglected if requiring any sort of specialist attention.
Mental health is one of the areas predominantly close to my heart, and I have tried, over the years, in tandem with my work, to provide the most possible support via volunteering with some local charities, such as Sport in Mind and Brighter Berkshire. The underfunding and staff shortages that have arisen in recent years, together with, or rather, in the wake of a political motivation to privatise many areas of public healthcare, have left the NHS with deep financial and resource constraints, which has been reflected on the waiting times and quality of care experienced by many patients.
For me, this is completely unacceptable, and what best way to be able to fight for all patients to have the best care they're entitled to as denizens of the county, as well as medical staff having their concerns and aspirations heard and potentially met, than being elected to the Council of Governors.
Nominees for Slough
Nigel Oliver
I have over twenty years of experience of being involved with the Mental Health Service in Slough as a user and a Governor. If elected, my only concern would be to play a part in improving the life of anyone suffering in Slough & East Berkshire. My door would always be open to help, advise and to comfort those suffering from this terrible debilitating condition, anxiety, depression, OCD, etc. Plus, I have the willingness and indeed desire to explore new ideas to help ease peoples pain where maybe everything else has failed.
I would like to see more activities for people especially at weekends and Holidays, plus in the evening time, when people can be very lonely and feel left out. I would regard it as an honour and a duty to be of assistance.
Thank you for your support.
Abdorajeerm Hassan Jama
I am currently a Youth Worker for local young people's charity Together As One (Aik Saath), working in Slough and surrounding areas.
Tragically, my brother passed away in 2015 due to knife crime. I leverage my experiences to try to ensure future generations grow up safe and make the right decisions around knife crime and gang activity. Working with young people has given me an insight into many of the health challenges they face and I am hopeful I can build on this knowledge to support the Trust's work in this area.
My personal experiences are a driving force behind my desire to join the Board of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Many of my personal experiences, including moving from Somalia due to the war there, have caused me personal trauma. I have also been diagnosed with schizophrenia. These many challenges mean there are few aspects of the recovery ecosystem that I have not experienced personally. I have
shared my experiences with students so that they are better able to serve people with mental health challenges. I would now like to use my personal experiences to improve things for people with mental health challenges at the strategic level. With support, I have learned to manage my condition as best I can and as a mental health advocate, I have helped other individuals. I would now like to support the strategic development of the Trust in this area, as well as the Trust's wider work.
Sahibi Sharma
I'm a great advocate for working in NHS and other health and social care organisations. I have previously worked for GP practices in Ealing and Hounslow as a medical data coder and medical note summarizer. Initially, I pursued work-experience at my GP practice handing out prescriptions, booking patient appointments and sorting out medical records. I also had an opportunity to pursue work-experience in Wexham Park Hospital in the records library. During my A-Levels, I pursued work-experience at a local Colnbrook pharmacy.
Previously, I had been a member of 'Patient Panel Connected Care Group,' I regularly attended the meetings across Berkshire, Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead. The issues such as Informed Governance, GDPR act and patients rights were discussed on the meetings. Previously, I have been a Healthwatch champion and I was involved in registering the patient complaints about their experience of GP practices and other NHS services. I have organised pop-up shops at local carnivals and hosted stalls for 'World Mental Health day' and Diabetes UK.
I have undergone a 5-week induction course "Introduction to working in healthcare “by WEA. I had also undergone "Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation" training at a GP practice and "First-aid training. “Currently, I’m working for Health and Wellness retailer Holland and Barrett and I aspire to become a certified health coach in the future. I intend to work as a medical-administrator and a holistic health and wellness coach; bridging the gap between two fields.
If elected as a Governor, I would bring a lot of change locally.
Non- Clinical Staff Nominees
Alun Griffiths
As the Fire Safety Specialist for Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, I am involved with services and staff across the Trust from Board Members, Senior Management Committees to the staff both clinical and non-clinical throughout the county.
I believe through my role I have vision and lived experiences of staff at all levels and the difficulties encountered in delivering a first class patient based service to the people of Berkshire.
In essence, I believe I can bring the voice of the staff to the governors and as an elected governor make a difference in the delivery of health services in Berkshire.
Stephanie Wynter
I should be elected as Non-clinical Staff Governor because of my leadership experience, healthcare sector knowledge and passion in representing and empowering others.
I have managed various roles such as Corporate Equality Lead, BAME communication Lead, Diversity Road Show Project Manager, Migration Training lead, and Project manager to the newly launched non-clinical staff network within the Trust. Through these roles, I have gained experience in representing staff views, influencing decision-making processes, and raising awareness of initiatives. It has significantly improved my analytical skills, on how we analyse data, interpret reports, and make informed decisions based on the available evidence. But also delivering better outcomes effectively and productively.
My Integrity, empathy, objectivity, resilience, passion around empowerment and the ability to see and take action around risks and impact in any challenging situation, is recognised by my colleagues. And the humility to ask for support, be supportive to teammates should they need me and help them thrive when collaborating.
I have also worked in various governance roles such as an ED&I Co-Opt Primary School Governor, Microsoft Advisory Board Member and Non-Executive Director for the Executive Personal Assistant Association (EPAA).
As someone with a strong non-clinical background, a business administration and digital professional and is a person of colour and a woman, I can contribute a unique perspective to discussions around health inequalities, disparities, and needs within the community and workforce.
If elected, I will prioritise the interests of the organisation over my own and remain committed to fulfilling my duties.
Clinical Staff Nominees
Anne Jumba
As a clinical team member of BHFT who has an experience of working clinically in the community settings as from a novice community staff nurse and have grown to a confident nurse within few years. I think it is time for me to be able to speak out for clinical staff in the community at the same time keep up with evidence based patient centred care in the community and promote clinical staff job satisfaction.
Julie Thorogood
I believe that becoming a governor would be an excellent opportunity to gain an overview of the overall performance of the Trust as I usually get so immersed in my daily work that I do not allow time to look at its strategic direction. Equally, I have a genuine interest in making a positive contribution and playing an active role in representing staff views in developing quality services for patients and enhancing staff working lives.
Mubashir Ilyas
I would like to be considered for Governor because I put my clients and people at the heart of all my work. Delivering exceptional service is the most important part of my job as IPS Employment Specialist, and it should be the priority of all staff as it will only result in the growth and development of the organisation.
I’m an excellent listener who has the ability to encourage, motivate and inspire all people. This would allow me to gather views but also respond to them by offering suitable services which the Trust offer and signpost appropriately. I have exceptional cultural awareness which allows me to effectively communicate with people of all backgrounds. I possess strong values such as kindness and integrity, and place these at the forefront of my intentions and interactions. I believe that my interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence would be a real asset in the role of Governor.
I believe that my skills would enable me to gather high-quality information about the services that we provide. It’s important to gather insightful views reflecting the interests of members and the wider public, but also align them with the interests of the Trust and how we aim to achieve our strategic vision. These views can help to ensure continuous improvement. Implementing them across services would demonstrate to relevant stakeholders that we are listening, and we are making a difference.
Sunaina Bajaj
I hold NHS professional values in high esteem and have compassion and determination with courage to suggest, action and fight for positive changes within NHS.
If elected, I will strive to make a difference within standards of care for public, working conditions for staff and bring better transparency in the structure of the organisation.
Having experienced working within NHS and private sector myself, I have first-hand understanding of benefits and drawbacks within both sectors. I will try my best to bring together the best of both within NHS for improvement of the services. I have always worked in line with seven pillars of NHS clinical governance and will continue to hold these objectives of excellence in my role.
Find out more about our Governors (opens in new window)