The Foundation Trust Membership Community

City Hospitals Sunderland became an NHS Foundation Trust on 1st July 2004. We believe this is really good news for the people of Sunderland and the other local communities we serve. While we remain fully and firmly within the NHS, we have new freedoms and opportunities. One of the most exciting of these opportunities is to involve local people in our activities.

We now have a Foundation Community - a group made up from members of the public, our patients and staff. This means for the first time local residents, our patients and our staff can become much more closely involved in the running of their hospital services.

Who can be a Foundation Community member?

Anyone can be a member if they are over 16 and:

• are a patient at the hospital; or
• are living in the area covered by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority (from the Scottish border down to North Yorkshire and across to the Cumbrian border in the West); or
• are a member of City Hospitals Sunderland staff.

Members in each of these groups (public, staff or patient) can vote to elect representatives (Governors) from within their group to sit on our Board of Governors. This Board will help us to shape our plans for the future and how the Trust is run.

Why should I become a member?

The Government set up NHS Foundation Trusts to enable hospitals with good track records to have more freedom from central control and to develop their plans for local services with local people. As a member, you will have a direct influence on how local NHS services are developed for the benefit of you and your family.

What will being a member mean?

Membership is free and after joining it is entirely up to you how involved you become. We will send you newsletters outlining any developments of our services and facilities. This may be as much involvement as you want, or you may wish to play a more active role by coming to our Board of Governors meetings in public, by voting in elections for our Governors or even standing for election yourself - but all of this is up to you!

Eventually members will also be able to elect representatives on to the proposed Sunderland Health and Social Care Council, which will provide a community voice to help shape plans for all health and social care services provided in Sunderland.

What next?

We want as many members as possible in our Foundation Community to make it truly representative of the people we serve. If you are interested in becoming a member, please take the time to complete the electronic form or contact us at the address below.