Membership Newsletter - June 2026
1. A note from our Chair, Helen
Dear Members
I hope you have been keeping well since our last newsletter.
Over recent weeks, I have continued to see first-hand the dedication and innovation of our colleagues across the Trust, as well as the valuable contribution of our governors and members. In particular, I would like to recognise the wide range of engagement activity taking place, including visits with unpaid carers across our services. These visits are providing important feedback to help us further strengthen the support we offer to carers and their families.
Our Council of Governors met on Thursday 21 May 2026, where we discussed a range of important topics including the experience of unpaid carers, progress against quality priorities, the Trust’s financial planning, and our strategic plans for the year ahead. We also heard feedback from our governors on their engagement activities, including visits and work with local MPs.
I am also pleased to share that our recent governor elections have now concluded – you can read more about the outcomes within this newsletter.
I’m pleased to share in this edition some of the many ways our governors and members have been involved, as well as updates from our publicly elected governors and information on current election activity.
If you are a member and wish to get involved in any membership activities please get in contact with us via membership@cht.nhs.uk.
With best wishes,
Helen
Chair
2. Results of the Governor Elections 2026
In addition to the local council elections held in May, we undertook our own elections to four upcoming governor vacancies.
Our governors are community representatives who helps make sure the Trust is doing a good job and is accountable to you, the people we serve.
Governors are a link between the Trust and patients, staff, and the public, bringing views and feedback into the Trust and helping to make sure the Trust is well run.
Governors hold the Non-Executive Directors to account, contribute to key decisions (like appointing the Chair and NEDs), and help ensure the Trust stays focused on providing safe, high-quality care.
Over the next year our governors will be key to helping us shape new arrangements for engaging with our communities going forwards in line with changes to legislation via the Health Bill.
We were really pleased with the outcome of these governor elections, which saw three of our four public member vacancies filled.
It’s great that two of our existing governors, Lorraine Wolfenden for Skircoat and Lower Calder Valley and Pam Robinson for Lindley and the Valleys have been reappointed for a second term, providing valuable continuity.
We’re also delighted to welcome from July a new governor, Rachel Anger, representing East Halifax and Bradford, bringing fresh perspective to the Council.
At our May Council of Governors meeting we wished our outgoing governor, Tony Wilkinson, farewell as his tenure ends in July and thanked him for his contribution over the past three years.
3. Update from Lorraine Wolfenden, our lead governor
Hello, my name is Lorraine Wolfenden and I am a publicly elected Governor for Skircoat and Lower Calder. I have held this position for three years and have recently been re-elected in the 2026 governor elections, which I am delighted about. I am also currently the Lead Governor for the Trust.
I have been involved in a number of activities and would like to share some of these with you:
- Young Governors review Trust services to help us ensure they meet the needs of childern and young people:
We have 3 Associate Youth Governors, who are young people, some of who have been patients here at CHFT. Our Associate Youth Governors continue to offer their support, giving feedback on services from a young person’s perspective and making suggestions of how things can be improved. On Friday 5th June along with Helen Finelli, Children and Young People’s Governance Lead they are visiting orthopaedic outpatients at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, to see if they think it meets the needs of children and young people who visit the department
Helen Finelli, Children And Young People Governance Lead shared her feedback:
I met with the Youth Governors on Friday last week to carry out a 15-steps visit to the Orthopaedic Outpatient department at HRI. Both the Youth Governors and I were warmly welcomed by all the team members. The Youth Governors particularly liked the display on the wall which incorporates the drawings which had been completed by children attending the clinic and also the display on the window in the plaster room.
Following the visit Izzy and Chase provided some feedback which I will share with the outpatient department and we discussed other things which they would like to be involved with. One of the things was involvement in interviews - I will speak to the Matrons and Managers of the paediatric teams to see if any interviews are planned that they can be involved in.
- Governor Engagement with Local MPs
As part of ongoing work to strengthen engagement and representation, Lead Governor Lorraine Wolfenden and Public Elected Governor Robert Markless have been working collaboratively to engage with local Members of Parliament.
This has included developing and sharing correspondence across local constituencies, as well as direct engagement with a number of MPs, including meetings to discuss key topics relating to health services and governance. These discussions have provided valuable opportunities to both highlight areas of good practice and explore wider national policy developments.
The engagement has supported a constructive dialogue around the importance of maintaining a strong and independent patient voice, as well as recognising the vital role of the Council of Governors in enabling direct engagement between the Trust and the communities it serves.
The Chair formally recognised and thanked Lorraine and Robert for their commitment and the positive contribution this work has made.
4. Unpaid Carers Visits during March 2026
During March 2026, extensive engagement had taken place across the Trust, with over 30 clinical areas visited across acute hospital sites and community services. This work was supported by the Executive Team, Chair of the Trust, Governors, Non-Executive Directors and system partners.
Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting loved ones and are recognised at CHFT as essential partners in care. Feedback from recent engagement has highlighted the compassion and dedication of staff, alongside opportunities to further strengthen communication, involvement and support. The Trust remains committed to improving identification, promoting carers’ wellbeing, and ensuring carers of all ages are supported and involved throughout the care journey.
Listening to carers’ experiences is key to improvement. Recent engagement across the Trust has enabled carers to share both positive feedback and areas where we can continue to develop.
CHFT continues to take action to strengthen support for carers, including improved identification, better information and signposting, and embedding carers more fully in care pathways.
Jo Hilton, Chief Nurse and Executive Lead for Unpaid Carers, alongside Vicki Drummond, Senior Nurse, presented an overview of the support available for unpaid carers at CHFT and the outcome of the visits during March 2026 at the Council of Governors meeting on 21 May 2026.
Sheila Taylor, a public elected governor representating Huddersfield Central shared her reflections:
"Again, I had the privilege of joining a team on a visit to HRI to specifically speak with unpaid carers, and what a privilege it was.
Chatting to them, gave you an insight into their role, and what we as support are doing for them. They had nothing but positive praise for the staff at HRI.
One particular chat, was with a young trainee nurse, who had had the role of being an unpaid carer before starting her training. What an inspiring young lady she was.
I love sessions like this, where we as users of CHFT can chat to other uses on the same level and get an insight in what we have got right and what we could improve."
4. Observe and Act Programme
The Observe and Act Programme is a patient experience improvement approach used in NHS organisations to review services from the perspective of patients and carers.
Tony Thomas, one of our public members, recently took part in an Observe and Act visit and has shared his experience:
“I live in Huddersfield and retired several years ago. I led a busy life during my working career and have always been involved in some sort of charity activities. I am a member of the Trust and a volunteer, having also been a patient at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary over the years.
I have undertaken a number of roles, and I am writing today about my involvement in reviewing patient experience through the Observe and Act programme.
This is a way of looking at patient care from a non-clinical perspective, focusing on the day-to-day experiences of patients and their carers.
As part of the Observe and Act programme, two individuals connect with the Trust – such as members, governors or Non-Executive Directors – visit a ward or department at short notice alongside a matron. The aim is to review the care and quality through the eyes of patients and carers, with a focus on dignity, equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibilityn to make sure the patients experience whilst under treatment is of a high standard.
My most recent visit was to Ward 21 at HRI, a surgical ward, on 11 May 2026. During the visit, we spoke with both patients and staff and observed the ward environment, assessing key areas such as cleanliness, communication, patient care, food and drink, and safety.
At the end of the visit, we shared our feedback directly with ward staff, reflecting on what we had observed.”
