Governor (NHS)
The Health Foundation
The Health Foundation is an independent charitable foundation committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK. Through giving grants to those working at the front line, to carrying out research and policy analysis, the Foundation shines a light on how to make successful change happen that is improving health and health care for the UK population. The Health Foundation believes that every person in the UK should have the opportunity for a healthy life and access to the same standard of health care, irrespective of their background. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on our national health and care services. It has also further highlighted the impact health inequalities in the UK – as the pandemic has affected some groups of people much more than others.
The Role
The board of governors is responsible for shaping the work of the charity, for the benefit of the public. The postholder in this role would be expected to contribute to the strategic direction of the charity and the candidate would need to demonstrate empathy with the charity’s mission.
Governors, in their role as trustees of the Foundation, have and must accept ultimate responsibility for the affairs of the Foundation, ensuring that it is well-run, efficient, operating in accordance with all relevant laws and regulations, financially stable and sustainable and delivering the charitable outcomes for the benefit of the public for which it has been set up. They have a number of duties which they must exercise.
We are now seeking to appoint a governor who can add to the Board’s expertise particularly in the first area ‘radical innovation and improvement in health and care’.
Clearly there are huge challenges for health care and social care systems across the world, with demand outstripping supply, including chronic labour shortages. To sustain a health system committed to equal access for equal need, like the NHS, smart and faster improvements need to take place in particular at the point of care.
To be sustainable these improvements also need to be labour-saving. How better management, development, testing use and spread of new technologies and data can be employed alongside developing the roles of staff, formal and informal care givers and patients will all be critical for the future.
We are looking for a governor who has significant experience and interest in these areas to boost our work.
We have a long history in developing the use of quality improvement techniques inside the health care system. In line with our new strategy are now focusing increasingly also on innovation, technology and data to help improve quality and efficiency.
