Foundation Trust members have elected a Council of Governors. The Council is made up of 21 public governors (six in North of Tyne, five in South of Tyne, five in Durham and five in Teesside), four staff governors, plus nine appointed governors.
Meet some of our governors:
Simon Walford
“When I was a boy in the 1950’s ambulances were very simple vehicles principally designed to carry casualties to hospitals as quickly as possible but without offering much treatment on the way. By the time I started work as a doctor, things were changing as the skills of pre-hospital care, especially for cardiac and trauma patients, were rapidly advancing. Ambulances as we see them now only started to be produced in the 1970’s and only for the last 20 years have paramedic specialists been formally registered. I was always interested in the development of emergency care whilst working as a hospital consultant physician and, later as a medical director. So, when I retired and moved back to the North East and my curiosity was piqued by the NEAS team at the Glendale Show, I signed up to be a member of NEAS Foundation Trust. I thought it would be fun and interesting to understand their work and support them in the community. I have not been disappointed and when encouraged to consider standing for election as a governor I put my name in the hat.
"Governors are a bit nearer the action and see more of the detail of how the service is run through the ups and downs of the NHS at work. The responsibilities are important but very limited. The Directors of the Trust are in charge, but the Governors appoint the Non-Executive Directors and watch them at work to see that they do what they promised to do when appointed. We can go to Board meetings. We have visits to working parts of the service and can ask questions and feedback views from the community to the Chair and Chief Executive at our regular meetings. We are an important way for the local communities who elected us to speak directly to the people who carry the can for how NEAS is working. Because we appoint them, we command their respect and, in my experience, we are always listened to very carefully and never ignored.
"I am a pensioner now and what happens to my elderly friends when medical emergencies happen is something I hear about. But we need people from all backgrounds and age groups because medical misfortune can happen to anyone. Being interested in what NEAS can do for people like you is probably the only real motivation and skill you need to join us. Do you care about the emergency services? Do you want NEAS to be as good as it can be? If you answer Yes, we would like you to think about becoming a governor.”
Ian Ellison
Ian Ellison became a governor five years ago and thought it would be a great opportunity to find out more about the ambulance service and the way they serve the community.
Ian said: “I have always had an interest in health care, particularly in my local area. I had a career spanning over thirty years in the Ambulance Service in various operational and management roles. Following a period of retirement, I felt I still had the skills and knowledge (and time) to help the Service in a voluntary capacity, which I believe I have been able to do. I have also volunteered for many years with the Scouts as a District Commissioner, which assists in my role as a Governor by being out in the community listening and talking to people about their experiences with the Service provided by NEAS.
"As a Governor I feel I can help the service move forward in a positive way. It is great to hear of all the good work the staff do to ensure patients get the best possible service and care, and I feel I can, in a small way, contribute to that care by being part of a very caring team of professionals. As previously mentioned, Governors get involved in most aspects of the Service and being a practical type of person, I like to know what goes on and being a Governor does just that!
"We are also involved in Senior Management appointments and also get to interact with Non-Executive Directors regarding their roles and responsibilities. Although a formal role, it is managed in a relaxed way, allowing us to contribute to most aspects of Service development and have an input to many mandatory reports. We also assist, where necessary, to audit and validate Service procedures by visiting Operational locations which gives us the opportunity to see first-hand how the Service operates at ‘the grass roots’.
"There are no formal qualifications or skills, however, in my opinion you need to be a good listener, have time to read and digest Health and Service documents and reports and comment on their content. To be independent by way of listening to residents’ issues and able to inform the Service of any major issues where changes could be considered.
"I’ve found over the five years the scope of a Governor is broad, from attending and contributing to Governor meetings to visiting Operational locations. here is no set time commitment, and very much depends on your availability and what time you can give to the role. I would say an average month is only a few hours - attending Governor and Board meetings and reading Health and Trust documents, which gives you a real perspective of the complexity of our current day Ambulance Service."
Public: Teesside
- David Brindle
- Craig Jacques
- Olalekan Odedeyi
- Patricia Scott
- James Ruddock
Public: Durham
- Stephehn Dunn
- Andrew Eales
Public: South of Tyne
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Victoria Bullerwell
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Dovid Katz
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Liz Highmore
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Michael McNulty
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Peter Orr
Public: North of Tyne
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Ian Ellison
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Alan Malthouse
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Anthony Laker
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Mark Glencorse
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Simon Walford
Staff class: Emergency operations centre
- Frazer Gregory
Staff class: Support services
- Jonathan Knox
Staff class: Unscheduled care
- Andy Martin-Harper
Find out more about the council of governors on our website: Council of Governors :: North East Ambulance Service (neas.nhs.uk