First governors of the Royal United Hospital elected

The first-ever council of governors of the Royal United Hospital has been elected.

The establishment of the new body is part of the hospital's bid to become a foundation trust, and with 11 members of the public on board, aims to ensure local people's views are heard as the RUH enjoys greater independence.

There are also five staff governors, while five stakeholder governors from other local organisations are in the process of being appointed.

Nearly 3,000 people voted in the elections, with the public governors representing the areas which the hospital serves. Elected from Bath are Amanda Buss and Dominic Tristram, with Nick Houlton and Helen Rogers speaking for north east Somerset.

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The five staff governors are Julian Hunt, a consultant nurse; Liz Brown, an Emergency Department doctor; Hassan El-Wakeel, associate specialist surgeon in breast and general surgery; anaesthesia consultant Michael Coupe; and Colin Downie, associate specialist in paediatrics.

RUH chairman Brian Stables said: "We're delighted with the response we had to our first-ever elections, both in terms of the number of people who put themselves forward and the number who grasped the opportunity to have their say and cast their vote for those they want to represent their views.

"The establishment of our first-ever council of governors heralds the start of a new era in the history of the RUH.

"I am looking forward to working with our new governors, who have the privilege of representing our growing membership and will play a pivotal role in the future of our organisation.

"These are genuinely exciting times for us and we now feel we're really on the way to becoming an NHS foundation trust."

Governors act as representative for their areas. They will now start their induction process and will be operating in shadow form until the RUH is authorised as a foundation trust, likely to be in spring.