Council of Governors

About the governors

The governors are central to the local accountability of a Foundation Trust and have an important role in ensuring that the Trust board takes account of the views of the members and stakeholders when making major decisions.

Next meeting

The next Council of Governors meeting will be on Thursday 13 March 2025 from 5-6.30pm in Seminar Room 3 of the Education Centre, Hillingdon Hospital, Pield Heath Road, Hillingdon UB8 3NN. 

If you wish to attend via MS Teams please click here.

Agenda for Thursday 13 March 2025. 

Previous Council of Governor meetings

What do they do?

• Appoint, and if appropriate, remove the trust chairman;
• Appoint, and if appropriate, remove the non-executive directors;
• Decide the remuneration and terms and conditions of office of the chairman and the non-executive directors;
• Approve the appointment (by the non-executive directors) of the chief executive;
• Appoint, and if appropriate, remove the Foundation Trust’s external auditor;
• Receive the Foundation Trust’s annual accounts, any report of the auditor on them, and the annual report; and
• Approve ‘significant’ transactions that the Trust is seeking to undertake.

In addition, the board must consult the Council of Governors when it is preparing the Foundation Trust’s annual plan. The board must present its proposals for generating income from non-NHS activities to the governors and the Council of Governors vote each year on whether these activities are at the detriment of the core NHS activities. The Council of Governors must approve increases in such income above a certain level.

The governors have a strategic role and should not get involved in:

• Individual complaints;
• Staff grievances or appeals;
• The day to day running of the Foundation Trust;
• Ensuring that the Trust meets healthcare standards and targets.

Governors should hold the board to account for the performance of the Foundation Trust, but not veto decisions of the board. They must abide by a Governor Code of Conduct. 

Who sits on the Council of Governors?

Public governors

Public Constituency – North

• Mr Ian Bendall (Lead Governor)
• Mr Graham Bartram
• Mr John Philip Clark
• Mr Stuart Hart

Public Constituency – Central

• Mrs Rosemary Jenkins
• Mr Ian Burnell
• Mr John Kenneth Edward Hensley
• Mrs Jeanne Davey

Public Constituency – South

• Mr Peter Edwards
• Mr Graham Tomlin
• Mrs Karina Marqvardt
• Mr Harjinder Singh Hoonjan

Rest of England

• Mrs Karen Johnson

Staff governors

• Mrs Gillian Pearce
• Mrs Alexandra Florence Akutwi
• Mr Yasar Masih
• Mr Mitchum Hassanali
• Mrs Olivia Tanner
• Mr Jeeva Selvaraj
• Mr Alistair Myers

Appointed governors

• Mrs Lynn Hill
• Mrs Mary O'Connor
• Mr Christopher Reed
• Miss Nicole Rennison

How do I contact a governor?

If you would like to contact a governor or would like to find out more about the Foundation Trust then contact the Foundation Trust Office, email: thh-tr.foundation@nhs.net, or write to: Foundation Trust Membership Office, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Pield Heath Road, Uxbridge UB8 3NN.

Can I join the Council of Governors?

Public governors are voluntary, unpaid and elected for three years. To join the Council of Governors, you will first need to become a member of the Foundation Trust. Elections are run independently of the Trust according to rules set out in the Trust’s constitution. THHFT_Constitution_Issue 10 - Final.pdf[pdf] 849KB