Communities’ leadership executive

This initiative is all about improving how Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) govern and hold themselves accountable while prioritising community involvement and working closely with voluntary, community, and faith sector (VCFS) organisations to drive meaningful change in healthcare services. By focusing on accountability and community involvement, it will help to ensure that trust services are responsive to local needs, ultimately leading to better healthcare for everyone.

This executive meeting isn’t just a formality; it’s a powerful tool for accountability. It will allow the trust to monitor how well they are doing and identify areas where they can improve. By bringing together diverse viewpoints, the trust aim to challenge the way things are done and push for changes that promote equity and quality in our healthcare services.

Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust right now

Since 2023, the trust has taken a series of steps to be present in, and open itself up to, community leadership. Its elected governors serve within board committees, as well as on the council of governors. Community representatives contribute to the clinical leadership executive and all of its sub-groups. The trust has patient representatives on its interview panels at a senior level. These steps are parts of the wider promise 5 programme to open up the trust to feedback; alongside work to hugely expand peer support, prioritise the needs of carers, expand volunteering, and use tools like Care Opinion to let feedback from patients shape management action. Community leaders have also been key participants in the trust’s leadership development programme since 2024.

Creating the communities’ leadership executive follows from that initial work. It is timed to harness enthusiasm and trust that the organization in the leadership of key clinical services, and the wider organization, is open to change. The expectation is that the CoLE will:

• help shape agendas for the wider leadership, building on the views of patients, carers and communities
• influence delivery of the 28 promises (clinical and organisational strategy 2023 to 2028) and frame the successor strategy from 2028 and 2029
• ensure that work with communities is authentic and built on changing how the trust works to accommodate diversity and competing perspectives

The role and functions

Community feedback and advice

Providing insights and recommendations to the clinical leadership executive (CoLE) based on community needs and feedback. The clinical leadership executive will collect input from community members about their experiences with health services, pinpointing gaps and areas needing attention. This will build on data from complaints, patient feedback, incidents, and outcome information.

Decision-making and accountability

Reviewing key decisions made by or proposed to the clinical leadership executive and its sub-groups, ensuring that they reflect the interests and concerns of the communities served. The clinical leadership executive will be able to require executive and other leaders to attend to answer questions in the discharge of their duties, ensuring transparency and responsiveness to community voices.

Providing strategic input

It will help guide Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust’s strategic direction by offering a community perspective on priorities and initiatives, and clinical leadership executive will will examine new policies and service changes proposed by the NHS trust to ensure they align with what the community may need in medium term.

Facilitating communication and developing partnerships

The clinical leadership executive will act as a link between Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust and the wider community, sharing updates and important information about health services: in particular it will be responsible for ensuring that the voice of voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations is strong within the trust and that the trust continues to invest in the third sector.

Building capacity, insisting on co-production

It will support local organisations and residents in becoming more engaged with healthcare issues, promoting health literacy and awareness. It will involve community members in co-production efforts, where locals help design and evaluate health services to ensure they meet real needs.

The membership of the communities’ leadership executive

The communities’ leadership executive will consist of 15 members, with five seats allocated for each of the key areas served by the trust: Rotherham, Doncaster, and North Lincolnshire. This targeted distribution is designed to ensure equitable representation across all communities, reflecting the diverse needs and voices of the populations we serve. By having dedicated seats for each area, the trust aim to foster inclusivity, promote wider perspectives, and ensure that all community members have a meaningful opportunity to contribute to decision-making processes that impact their health services.

Page last reviewed: July 03, 2026
Next review due: July 03, 2027