UCLH News Issue 17 Spring 2010 V5 LRes 190410 - University ...

Governors getting involved
Kevin Ryan National
Patient Governor
Ros Waring, membership development manager
who recently took up post, interviewed Kevin Ryan
national patient governor to understand more about
the role of a governor and what motivated him to
stand for election.
Why did you become a governor? I was an outpatient
at the Middlesex Hospital and found out that as a
patient I was able to become a member of the Trust.
I then stood as governor although we were called
council members in 2004. I remember attending a
hustings at Camden Town Hall in Kings Cross; the
only people who came to listen were others standing
for election. I was humbled and pleasantly surprised
to come top of the poll and was elected to serve for 3
years and have since been elected for a further 3
years.
Having been a governor what are your thoughts about
the Trust? I remember being invited on a tour of the
partially completed hospital on Euston Road. I was
struck by the attention to detail for the improved
patient experience in particular the ICT and the
computer terminals for each bed. I attended the
official opening by HM The Queen which marked a
new and exciting chapter for UCLH. I think it is a
testament to the work and commitment of all staff at
the Trust that it provides very high level quality care for
patients and is developing pioneering medical
treatments and medical research.
How does your work and personal experience help
you as a governor? I became a governor as I wanted
to give something back to the hospital. My role as a
secondary school teacher and Curriculum Leader for
Religious Education, Citizenship and Personal Social
Health Economic Education (PHSEE), fitted really
well with being a hospital governor. PSHEE is a
challenging issue in educating young people to make
healthy choices in diet and exercise, as well as
looking at the wider issues of healthy lifestyle. In RE
we cover medical ethics, in citizenship we encourage
students to be proactive and engaged members of the
community and wider society. I hope my role as a
governor will encourage young people to see the
benefit of being a participating citizen.
I have also worked as a volunteer at the Terrence
Higgins Trust, an HIV charity. I then became a trainer
of new inductees and have kept myself up to date on
the issues around this illness and its treatment. I am
also interested in contemporary ethics, for example
palliative care and euthanasia and as a governor this
gives me an understanding of such issues the
hospital might debate.
Would you encourage other patients to get involved
with the Trust? It is valuable to have a mixture of
people as governors, some with knowledge of
health care and some with other backgrounds and
experiences, which is reflected within the
Governing Body comprising staff, patients, public
and stakeholders. I would encourage everyone
associated with the hospital, not just patients but
also people living locally to become members. It is
your hospital and you are part of its future. I like the
synergy; the individual parts on their own may
seem insignificant, but they all form part of a greater
whole, to use a well worn cliché, “Together we are
strong”.
DATES FOR YOUR
DIARY
Governing Body meeting
Tuesday 6 July 2010 at 6pm
Annual Public meeting
Thursday 30 September 2010 at 6pm
Board of Directors meeting
Wednesday 12 May 2010 at 2.00pm
MembersMeet
Tuesday 22 June 2010 at 5.4pm
Venue for the above meetings, unless
otherwise stated, is:
UCLH Education Centre
Seminar Rooms, 1st Floor West,
250 Euston Road, London, NW1 2PG
(Closest tube is Warren Street)
UCLH News Issue 17
Membership office - tel: 0207 380 9290
email: foundation.trust@uclh.nhs.uk
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