Become a Member
Our membership is made up of patients, families and local residents with an interest in the Trust and the services we provide. It also includes our staff and representatives from partner organisations in the local area.
We're keen that our membership is representative of the wide range of people who we care for, who work for us and who live in the communities we serve.
It's free to become a member and how much you choose to take part is up to you, including any or all of the following:
- Receive emails from us including event invitations for 'Your Health Matters' talks and tours
- Vote for someone to represent you on our Council of Governors
- Attend events, focus groups or governor meetings
- Stand as a governor
If you wish to become a member, please complete the membership application form here – and to help reduce our costs, please indicate that we can email you information rather than post it.
Upcoming Council of Governors Meeting Dates
The Council of Governors meetings are being held via Microsoft Teams and are open for the public to observe. Dates for this year are:
- 13 July 2023 10am - 12.30pm
- 14 September 2023 10am - 12.30pm
- 21 December 2023 10am - 12.30pm
Council of Governors Meeting Papers
| Title | Size | |
|---|---|---|
| folder icon | Council of Governors Meetings - 2023 | |
| folder icon | Council of Governors Meetings - 2022 | |
| folder icon | Council of Governors Meetings - 2021 | |
| folder icon | Council of Governors Meetings - 2020 |
If you'd like to observe a forthcoming virtual Council of Governors meeting, please register your interest at least two working days before each meeting, by emailing membership@nca.nhs.uk. Please provide your name, role and email address, and we'll reply with the protocol document for you to adhere to.
On the day of the meeting, the MS Teams link will be shared via email with those who've registered an interest in attending to observe. As always, there won't be the opportunity for interaction or questions from observers and we ask that the protocol in place is always followed.
If you have any queries regarding the Council of Governors meetings please email the Membership Team: membership@nca.nhs.uk
Voting has now closed and we are pleased to announce Mr Stephen Wall has been succesfully elected as Rochdale Staff Governor.
For more information, please call 01706 517302 or email membership@nca.nhs.uk
Members' Events, Engagement and Annual Meetings
We are now hosting face to face 'Your Health Matters' event. Please check back on this page to see our upcoming events, or join here to become a member and hear about these opportunities first via email.
Annual Members' Meeting
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trusts' AMM was held on Thursday 19th January 2023, 4 pm.
Our Council of Governors (CoG) is made up of 16 public and nine Staff Governors who've been elected by fellow NCA members. We also have six Appointed Governors who represent the local authorities and universities in Greater Manchester
The CoG meet throughout the year to discuss matters including quality of care, finances and engagement. Our Governors seek assurance from the Board and Non-Executive Directors at quarterly meetings.
Governor responsibilities include:
- Being involved in the recruitment and appointment of Non-Executive Directors, including the Chair
- Deciding the remunerations and allowances, and the other terms and conditions of office, of the Non-Executive Directors
- Appointing or removing the External Auditor
- Being presented with the annual accounts, annual report and any report of the financial auditor
- While preparing the annual plan, the directors shall have regard to the view of the Council of Governors
- Holding non-executive directors to account for performance of the board
- Representing the interests of members and the public
If you have any queries about the role of our Council of Governors, please contact the membership team on membership@nca.nhs.uk or you may wish to read our news on Governor Elections below.
Meet the Governors
If you wish to contact your governor to discuss your feedback, please email the membership team on membership@nca.nhs.uk
To view the Council of Governors document - click here
The NCA Council of Governors was established in January 2022 following a successful election campaign and comprises 19 Public Governors, nine Staff Governors and six appointed Governors. All NCA staff automatically become a member, unless they opt out, and are therefore eligible to stand as a Staff Governor.
The following people were elected as Staff Governors:
Salford:
- Hilary Richardson
- Catherine Collins
- Vacant seat
Oldham:
- Gemma Lievesley
- Mike Meiarasu
Rochdale:
- Craig Wood
- Stephen Wall - newly elected
Bury:
- Laurence Bond
- Sarah Docker
Governors' Responsibilities
Governor responsibilities include representing the interests of members (staff and public) and the wider public, contributing to the Trust’s future plans, holding Non-Executive Directors to account for the performance of the Board, and appointing the Chairman and Non-Executive Directors.
Staff governors should be able to commit to attend 10 to 12 meetings a year across the NCA's hospital sites, including 4 x Council of Governor meetings, 4 x Subgroups and 2 x Joint Group Council of Governors/Group Committees in Common meetings. In addition, they'd also be expected to attend training and development sessions over the course of the year.
The Role of Staff Governor
This role is essential to ensure that Trust strategy and direction is shaped by its staff. Staff Governors also ensure the views of our staff are represented.
It's important that those considering standing for Staff Governor vacancies discuss this with their Line Managers in the first instance and that support is granted before a nomination is submitted.
Time Allocation
To carry out this role effectively, Staff Governors will be required to contribute at least four hours per month to undertake their Governor duties.
On occasion, this time commitment might be increased to undertake specific governor duties. One example of this may be if the Staff Governor is a member of the NRTO Committee where there may be an increase in the number of meetings where attendance is required.
Dates for both the Council of Governors, Sub-Group meetings and Governor Training are circulated 12 months in advance and should therefore be shared between Staff Governors and Line Managers providing as much notice as possible.
Guidance for Line Managers
Line Managers should make every reasonable effort to meet requests for Staff Governors to undertake their role. It's noted that, due to department requirements, this may not always be possible. In this event, clear reasons should be given.
The Trust recognises that it can be challenging for staff to be released from their duties. In order to support Staff Governors and their managers to make suitable arrangements, dates of meetings are made available at the beginning of each year.
To access the Governor Portal, please use the link below and enter the password you've been provided with.
Governor Portal
If you've forgotten the password, please contact us at membership@nca.nhs.uk