Minutes of the council of governors meeting public session, Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 5pm to 7pm.
The CAST Theatre Doncaster and via Microsoft Teams.
Present
- Kath Lavery, chair.
- Joy Bullivant, public: Doncaster.
- Arun Chowdary, public: North Lincolnshire.
- Baz Cooper, patient and carer.
- Joan Cox, patient and carer.
- Kym Gleeson, partner: Healthwatch.
- Prachi Goulding, staff: North Lincolnshire Adult Mental Health and Talking Therapies Care Group.
- Hannah Hall, public: Rotherham.
- Pippa Harder, patient and carer.
- Ann Llewellyn, patient and carer.
- Chris Pope, public: North Lincolnshire.
- Emma Price, partner: South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SYICB).
- Richard Rimmington, public: Doncaster.
- Champion Solesi, partner: Young Advisory Group
- Ian Spowart, Patient and carer.
- Victoria Stocks, staff: Doncaster Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Care Group.
- Mohammed Suleman, public: Rotherham.
- Jess Williams, staff: Children’s Care Group.
- David Vickers, public: Rotherham.
- Maureen Young, public: Doncaster.
In-attendance
- Rachael Blake, Non-Executive Director.
- Richard Chillery, Chief Operating Officer.
- Maria Clark, Non-Executive Director.
- Steve Forsyth, Chief Nurse.
- Lea Fountain, NeXT Director.
- Sarah Fulton Tindall, Non-Executive Director.
- Philip Gowland, Director of Corporate Assurance and Board Secretary.
- Dr Judith Graham, Director of Psychological Professionals and Therapies.
- Carlene Holden, Director of People and Organisational Development.
- Kate Jones, Director of Nursing Children’s Care Group.
- Toby Lewis, Chief Executive.
- Jo McDonough, Director of Strategic Development.
- David Vallance, Non-Executive Director.
- Pauline Vickers, Non-Executive Director.
- Susan Black, Corporate Assurance Officer (minutes).
- Public or staff: Enioluwada Oluwajoba, Engagement and Participation Lead.
Welcome
Reference
Council of governors: 01/09/25.
Kath Lavery, Chair, opened the meeting and welcomed all attendees.
Quoracy and apologies for absence
Reference
Council of governors: 02/09/25.
Kath declared that the meeting was quorate.
Apologies were received from Governors, Dr Dean Eggitt, Dr Michael Seneviratne, Lee Golze, Ruth Sanderson, Debra Taylor, Sam O’Brien and Jennie Gaul.
Declarations of interest
Reference
Council of governors: 03/09/25.
No further declarations were made in respect of the agenda items for this meeting.
The council of governor’s received the declarations of interest
Minutes and actions of the previous meeting held on 11 June 2025
Reference
Council of governors: 04/09/25.
The council of governors approved the minutes of the previous meeting as an accurate record with the following amendment.
Minutes
An amendment to the minutes was requested by Toby this was under the Finance and Digital Committee section. The national cash programme should read the national capital programme.
Post meeting note the alteration to the minutes was completed.
Actions
Council of governors 08/06/25: The action log was introduced by Philip Gowland who confirmed that “Coffee and Cake” meetings with Kath Lavery were being arranged. This responded to the action raised by the governors as part of Kath’s appraisal aimed at having more opportunities to meet and talk to Kath Lavery. The first meeting would be held 14 October 2025 at St Cath’s, Philip Gowland encouraged the governors to respond to the invitation, so further meetings could be arranged. Joan Cox mentioned that 10 replies had been received and asked that all governors respond.
Council of governors 05/03/25b: community framework action would remain open.
Council of governors 04/09/2024: Steve presented slides on the action for Martha’s law and gave the following update:
All acute trusts, including Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, are required to implement a 24-hour a day, 7- days a week hotline under Martha’s Law, the line would allow staff and families to escalate concerns about patients. This initiative was distinct from the Mental Health Act’s second opinion assessment and was intended to provide a direct escalation route for health concerns.
Toby confirmed that the trust planned to implement the hotline by 1 January, with preparations underway to ensure readiness. The rollout will include both physical and community health services, and the trust will learn from other mental health trusts that have already piloted similar systems.
The slides would be circulated following the meeting.
Post meeting note the presentation on Martha’s law was circulated to the governors.
The council of governors reviewed the action log, updates were noted and the proposal to close actions agreed.
Trust performance: committee reports from committee chairs and governor members
Reference
Council of governors: 05/09/25.
Governors attend as members of four of the committees. This aligns to promise five. The chairs of the committees were asked to give an overview of activities:
Finance Digital and Estates (FDE) Committee
Pauline reported that the Finance Digital and Estates Committee had reviewed the current risks and highlighted the uncertainty regarding the receipt of a £2,400,000 million deficit support, which was now dependent on system-wide performance rather than the trust’s own performance. This increases the importance of achieving savings and a balanced plan for the next year.
The committee was considering savings of £7,000,000 to £10,000,000 for the medium-term plan, reviewing and challenging options to ensure financial sustainability. The need to avoid reliance on deficit support in future years was emphasised.
On Digital the committee were reviewing pilots and plans in place for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) Ian suggested that the committee ask governors for their input and a meeting has been arranged in early October with Richard Banks to progress this.
A number of governors expressed their interest in becoming involved in the meeting including Jo, Hannah, Pippa. An evening meeting on AI was also suggested. Toby confirmed that the trust should embrace the opportunities AI brings and mentioned that the public sector had been progressing the use of AI for some years and there would be learnings from their practices.
Ian thanked Izaaz, who was leaving the trust, for making the Finance Digital and Estates Committee meeting understandable.
Public Health, Patient Involvement and Partnerships (PHPIP) Committee.
David Vallance announced that the trust had secured a commercial partnership with Clerkenwell, a leading specialist in mental health clinical trials, to establish the first NHS-embedded site for brain and mental health research. This is expected to bring significant benefits and opportunities for local research.
The trust had also successfully bid to host the region’s ethnic minority research and inclusion network, aiming to increase participation from diverse backgrounds in research activities.
Jo advised that Heather from grounded research had held an evening meeting with the governors which was highly informative and gave an insight to the work undertaken and the current achievements and to how governors could become involved.
Toby acknowledged that research activities were progressing well and mentioned the need to integrate research and innovation efforts within the whole organisation. There were plans to revisit this topic at future meetings.
People and Organisational Development Committee
Rachael thanked Ian and Richard for their involvement in the committee. She explained that the committees responsibility were around the people and teams plan.
The committee celebrated the successful use of the apprenticeship levy to upskill the current workforce, providing development opportunities and supporting the trust’s role as an anchor organisation.
Ian highlighted ongoing monitoring of workplace race relations and staff incidents, noting progress but emphasising the need for continued vigilance to address negative experiences among staff and patients.
Kath acknowledged the work still needed in this area.
Quality Committee (QC)
Maria summarised key findings from quality committee reports.
The committee found no patterns in patient harm data and reported zero agency use. There were no registered nurse gaps in the reviewed period, indicating positive trends in staffing and safety.
The committee had observed an increase in the number of complaints.
Toby stated that an increase in complaints was noted and was viewed positively as it provided more opportunities for service improvement. The trust aimed to reduce repeat complaints and improve response rates.
Steve announced a webinar with Care Opinion in October to share experiences and changes made in response to patient feedback, encouraging governors to participate.
Trust People Council (TPC)
Kath reaffirmed the trust’s commitment to being an anti-racist organisation, emphasising the need for active discussion, support for affected staff, and the importance of not tolerating abuse from patients or staff.
Richard Chillery acknowledged that some staff were hesitant to report incidents due to concerns about the external environment and potential backlash, feeling more cautious about speaking out. The support given to staff last year was mentioned by Jude who also highlighted that it was not only staff being impacted by the current environment. Patients were also affected and appointments cancelled as a result, so it was very important the trust addresses this.
Carlene had reached out and held meetings with individuals and network chairs. Support for internationally educated colleagues was highlighted as ways to better understand and address the realities faced by staff, with the upcoming leaders’ conference set to reflect on these issues.
Other institutions had been contacted by Toby to consider a collaborative approach. Should this not be successful then the trust would continue to progress this in response to feedback received.
Kath reaffirmed that the trust was committed to ongoing dialogue through forums such as the trust people council, ensuring that staff have a space to raise concerns and that the organisation continues to learn from feedback and past experiences.
The council of governors accepted and noted the committee papers.
Transitional care
Reference
Council of governors: 06/09/25.
A discussion on improving transitional care for young people moving from children’s to adult services was led by Kate Jones, Director of Nursing, Children’s Care Group who explained that disengagement with services increased at the point of transition.
Kate outlined that the trust was revising policies and piloting transitional roles to ensure smoother transitions for young people turning 18. The approach would be informed by feedback from young people and aimed to make transitions consistent and less disruptive across all care groups.
To support the transition each care group had agreed priorities, the Doncaster mental health and learning disability care group was focusing on care leavers, recognising the additional challenges they face. The physical health and neurodiversity care group was streamlining pathways for autism spectrum disorder(ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments and community nursing, aiming to prevent disruption when funding or service provision changed at age 18. Talking therapies and workforce development had reduced the age criteria to 16, allowing a smoother pathway for young people. Workforce training was being scaled up to equip adult service staff to better understand the needs of young people and care-experienced individuals. Learnings for all care groups would be shared and developed appropriately.
The trust was collaborating with local authorities and other partners to break down barriers between services and were developing measures to track the effectiveness of transitions, including multi-agency contributions and data on handovers from child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) to adult mental health services.
Hannah raised concerns about maintaining waiting list positions during transitions. Kate confirmed that waiting times accrued in children’s services would carry over to adult services, and that children of veterans and looked-after children were prioritised to avoid unnecessary delays.
Highlighting the need for joined up services, Chris explained the difficulties faced when services were not consistent across authorities. Children were falling through gaps in services. Kate agreed that difficulties existed, and these were recognised in the services who were partners for community work streams.
Questions were raised about assessing maturity rather than just age. Kate explained that transition planning would involve meetings with families and adult teams to determine the most appropriate service, with flexibility to keep young people in children’s services if they are close to completing treatment. Kate explained that there were plans to use transition tool and support with a wraparound service with the inclusion of family as appropriate, to identify the best option for that child at the time.
Further discussions followed on difficulties experienced with prescribing when different services were involved and transitions for the older generation. Kate explained that these were taken on a case by case basis however audits showed that prescriptions continued to be provided by the existing service.
Addressing questions raised in the meeting chat from Kym around measures and alignment to the integrated care board neurodiversity offer, Richard Chillery advised that the trust would hold itself to account, performance measures would be in place that aligned to the new policies. Toby advised that the integrated care board offer would be discussed and addressed at the September board meeting.
Toby cautioned that current systems had failed, and cases that had been successful usually had significant time and involvement from all parties involved with the individuals care. Toby acknowledged the progress Kate had made and highlighted the importance of relationships with all parties required to make this process a success. Toby suggested that the governors may want to champion this service improvement in 2026.
David asked about committee accountability and Toby advised that it would be all care groups responsibility, and if required it would be discussed at clinical leadership executive and board.
The council of governors received the presentation for information.
Poverty proofing
Reference
Council of governors: 07/09/25.
Poverty proofing aligns to promise 6 “poverty proof all our services by 2025 to tackle discrimination, including through digital exclusion”.
Having worked on this for over 12 months now Jo explained that the team had been looking at the impact of poverty on our patients health and wellbeing and their ability to access care. Also, staff challenges with poverty.
This had involved working within our services, (74 of the 130 services had been reviewed to date) assessing how they are run and how our current processes impact access to care. Reports had been published online of the findings and were available for governors to view. 190 colleagues had been trained on poverty proofing. The promise would be extended to September 2026.
Findings so far have shown that people are less likely to come forward for health care from deprived areas and that travel costs to attend appointments was a key challenge for patients as was digital exclusion. Other issues were around work commitments and child care arrangements.
The trust has partnered with the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to provide on-site benefit advice, a travel fund had been launched to assist with transport costs, and the use of artificial intelligence was being considered to predict and proactively support patients at risk of missing appointments. Food cupboards and interpreter services were also being expanded for colleagues.
Programme evaluation and next steps, it was agreed not to shorten the poverty proofing review process for remaining services, to ensure impact was felt in every area. Ongoing monitoring would focus on reducing “did not attend” rates, governors were invited to participate in service reviews and provide further suggestions.
Ian asked if regular updates on progress could be received and offered to assist were possible.
Maureen wondered if there was support for digital inclusion. Jo McDonough advised that there were schemes to provide refurbished devices and subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, and highlighted the importance of not excluding those unable to use technology, and the need to promote available resources to digitally excluded and non-English-speaking patients. Discussions followed on the promotion of digital availability and interpreter services.
The council of governors were reminded by Carlene that Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust were a real living wage employer, a decision by the trust that was still not supported by the national agenda for change framework. Additional support was available for staff in the form of a grant which was not means tested and shopping vouchers.
Richard Rimmington mentioned that library’s and other community hubs offer internet access which patients could access or be used by the trust for appointments within the community. Prachi suggested appropriate signposting of patients from peer support workers. Jude recognised that a cultural shift was required and the support of our leaders.
To penetrate the communities Toby advised that the cultural shift had to be done at scale. Discussions about poverty needed to be normalised in our day-to-day environment, currently poverty was a difficult conversation to have, and this needed to change as money underlies many difficulties when accessing health care.
Governors were keen to become involved Parachi and Ian confirmed this. Jo McDonough would be advised of governor interest.
The council of governors received and noted the paper for information.
Trust update: regular reports
Reference
Council of governors: 08/09/25.
Chairs report
Meetings with Kath were in the process of being arranged and should any of the governors want to meet on an individual basis then please make this known so that these can be arranged.
David Vickers mentioned that the young person’s meeting was not covered within the report. Toby addressed David’s observation acknowledging Champions involvement in the Brighter Futures meeting. Following the annual members meeting (AMM) further meetings had been held to progress the children’s involvement with the trust, considerations mentioned was a young persons council of governors meeting.
The council of governors received and noted the chairs report, there were no additional comments.
Chief executive’s report
Highlighting the launch of the rehabilitation service in North Lincolnshire and the launch of the cross trust rehabilitation, high dependency unit Toby introduced his report.
Changes made to the older adult service continue to be reported into board, teething difficulties had been experienced and were being monitored.
The trust was required to make £10,000,000 in savings next year, with the financial context shaped by national pay awards not matched by funding allocations and system-wide deficits. Toby emphasised the trust’s commitment to responsible financial management, rejecting the option of running up large deficits and instead focusing on achieving balance through changes across the organisation.
There was no additional money forthcoming from the budget. Toby would be willing to discuss this further with the council of governors following the board meeting which the governors were encouraged to attend. The financial section would be covered between 2pm and 3pm.
The council of governors received and noted the report.
Governor activities
Reference
Council of governors: 09/09/25.
Phillip highlighted the diverse activities and contributions of governors, including recent elections, peer reviews, and engagement with members and volunteers.
The 2025 election process would start on the 12 of September and close on 21 November 2025. There were five governors up for re-election. Phillip encouraged the current governors to stand for re-election and there were a further two patient and carer vacancies.
Governors were advised of the meeting scheduled for October for the reappointment of non-executive director’s (NEDs) and the chair and asked to attend as decisions were required.
The Council of Governors received and noted the report.
Any other business
Reference
Council of governors: 10/09/25.
There was no further business.
Public questions
Reference
Council of governors: 11/09/25.
No public questions had been received.
Date, time, and venue of next meeting
Reference
Council of governors: 12/09/25.
Wednesday 10 December 2025 at 5pm, Rotherham Town Hall.
Page last reviewed: February 10, 2026
Next review due: February 10, 2027
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