Eleven people newly elected to our Council of Governors

Following elections for five public governor vacancies and six staff vacancies, 11 people have been elected to our Council of Governors.

From the public elections, we welcome Sharon Phillips, who was elected for Dartford, Adrian Winbow for Sevenoaks and Iris White for Thanet. Sharon, Adrian and Iris were elected by members within their respective constituencies.

Elected uncontested were Jane Frith for Tunbridge Wells and Julie Hammond for the rest of England vacancy.

Our new public governors are set to embark on a three-year term with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT), supporting local people to have a greater voice in how we deliver and shape community services.

Staff governor elections also took place, with Janet Allen and Maria-Loukia Bratsou re-elected to the council. We welcome Thom Fentem-Brittain, Paul Whyte, Jo Treharne and Ngozi Muoneke as new staff governors to our council.

The three staff governors with the highest number of votes have been elected for a three-year term and the second three, have been elected for a two-year term. Our staff governors will be at the heart of our new Staff Council, which has been created to support colleagues to feel heard, share ideas and identify trends that impact the way we are delivering our We care strategic ambitions.

Elections for all 11 vacancies took place during four weeks, with 30 candidates standing for a role.

KCHFT Chair John Goulston said: “After a successful election, we welcome our new governors, who bring with them a wealth of experience and enthusiasm. We look forward to working together and encourage them to challenge how we do things on behalf of their community to help make their local NHS services the best they can be.

“I’d like to thank the governors who are leaving us, Gill Harris for Sevenoaks, Elaine Ashford for Dartford and Kim Lloyd, William Anderson and Jan Harris as staff governors.”

You can read the voting report for our 2024 governor elections.