Queen Victoria Hospital

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Board of directors

Overview

As an NHS foundation trust, QVH has a board of directors and a council of governors. The board of directors is responsible for the strategy and performance of the trust and the council of governors holds the board of directors to account for the trust's performance. The trust chairman leads both boards.

Directors

The board of directors has five non-executive members and four executive members. Their names, roles, portraits and terms of office are set out in the biographies available on the right.

Principles

The board of directors in a unitary board. This means that the non-executive directors and executive directors share the same liabilities. Together, they are responsible for the effective and proactive leadership of the trust.

The QVH board of directors meets monthly. From April 2013 meetings will be held in public during the first and second month of each quarter of the financial year. Members of the council of governors, foundation trust, general public and media are welcome to attend the meetings in public. Meetings are attended by the programme director, head of HR, company secretary and governor representative. The core performance reports submitted to the board of directors each month are also provided to members of the Governor Steering Group – one of two senior sub-committees of the council of governors. The chief executive attends part of the steering group's monthly meetings to respond to queries about the reports and the performance of the trust in general.

Sub-committees

There are four formal sub-committees of the QVH board of directors:

  • Audit Committee, Chaired by Shena Winning, Non-Executive Director
    The Audit Committee meets quarterly to maintain an effective system of governance, risk management and internal control (including financial, clinical, operational and compliance controls and risk management systems). The committee is also responsible for maintaining an appropriate relationship with the trust's auditors.
     
  • Charitable Funds Advisory Committee (CFAC), Chaired by Renny Leach, Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director
    The CFAC meets quarterly to oversee the management, investment and disbursement of the Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) NHS Foundation Trust Charitable Fund within the regulations provided by the Charities Commission and to ensure statutory compliance. It manages the income and expenditure of a suite of general funds and supervises the expenditure and income of a suite of directorate funds.
     
  • Nomination and Remuneration Committee (N&R), Chaired by Peter Griffiths, Chairman 
    The N&R Committee meets at least three times per year to review and make recommendations to the board of directors on the composition, balance, skill mix and succession planning of the board and recommendations on the appointment of executive directors. It is also responsible for setting the overall policy for the remuneration of all trust staff and it specifically authorises the remuneration packages and contractual terms for the chief executive, the executive directors and other senior managers who report directly to the chief executive.
     
  • Quality and Risk Committee (Q&R), Chaired by Jeremy Beech, Non-Executive Director
    The Q&R Committee meets quarterly to assure the board that all reasonable steps are being taken to manage risk and drive continuous improvement in quality and patient safety.

Terms of reference for each sub-committee are available to the right.

Other responsibilities

The board of directors also acts as the corporate trustee of the QVH charitable funds and holds an annual meeting in this capacity each autumn and receives regular reports from the Charitable Funds Advisory Committee.

More information and enquiries

More information about the governance of NHS foundation trusts and boards of directors is available from the website of Monitor, the independent regulator of foundation trusts. In particular, the Monitor Code of Governance sets out the best practice guidance for the governance of foundation trusts. QVH aims to be broadly compliant with the principles set out in the code.

Any queries or requests for information regarding the board of directors should be addressed to the company secretary on 01342 414362 or info@qvh.nhs.uk.