Council of Governors

The Trust has 28 Governors in total, five of which are Staff Governors, seven of which are Appointed Governors and the remaining 16 are Public Governors.

The Council of Governors provide advice and support, and are able to influence decisions about how we develop services for the people of Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre and North West counties.

You may contact the Governor for your area regarding any issues you would like to discuss by using this online form, or by telephoning the Corporate Governance Team on 01253 951505.

Staff Governors

Staff Governors are members of staff representing different areas of the Trust.

Medical and Dental: Dr Ranjit More

I am a Consultant Cardiologist at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. I qualified from Manchester University in 1989 and completed my cardiology training in London, Brighton and Leicester. In 1987, I was appointed to a Consultant Cardiology post at Portsmouth before moving to the tertiary Cardiac Centre at Blackpool in 2003. I have sat on a number of committees of the Royal College of Physicians, British Cardiovascular Society and the British Society of Echocardiography. My leadership roles have included Clinical Lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria Cardiac Network, Chair of the BSE Accreditation Committee, Cardiovascular co-lead for NW Coast Clinical Research Network and local ex-CD for Cardiology.

The NHS as a whole and the Trust are going through a difficult period where it is important that the emphasis remains on provision of high quality clinical care. It is vital that there is strong representation from the medical and dental staff to provide advice and support to the Trust regarding local and regional service development.

Clinical Support: Jenny Gavin

My health career started in 1986, with Registered Nurse training at Manchester Royal Infirmary and an interest in cardio-thoracic. I had several staff nurse jobs, starting in chest medicine up to my final nursing position in Intensive Care at Wythenshawe Hospital, caring for patients following cardiac surgery and transplants.

In 1995, I had changed both my home location to Lytham and my employment to Trainee Perfusion Scientist at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. I have been employed here as a Perfusionist since qualifying. I have watched the cardiac theatres grow from a small two theatre suite to a purpose built Lancashire Cardiac Centre. Until recently I have also worked as an elected member of the College of Perfusionists.

I have brought up my children in the area and so feel it is home. With our national healthcare economy under such financial pressure, it is even more important that our quality of health care provision continues to be cared for during such difficult times.

Non-Clinical Support: Tina Daniels

I started working with the Trust in 2002 in HR, moving to the role of Equality and Diversity Lead in 2008.

Originally from Liverpool, my adult life has been spent on the Fylde coast. All three of my children were born at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and attended local schools, which meant we had the need to access a number of services provided by the Trust.

I worked in IT until the early 1990s then changed career attaining a BA in Management and Organisations with HRM and MSc in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations at the University of Manchester Business School in 2002.

Blackpool and the Fylde College: Margaret Bamforth

I am the Head of Curriculum for Society, Health and Childhood Studies at Blackpool and The Fylde College.

Having raised my own family locally, alongside a successful career managing children’s centres, I have a passion for family health in our area and developing the extensive health and social care services our communities require.

My position at the college means I play a key role in ensuring that increasingly complex local health and social care needs are understood by the current and future workforce.

Through the introduction of the Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Career Academy, a partnership with Blackpool Council, local NHS trusts and private sector providers, we are ensuring we are doing everything possible to maintain a pipeline of talented workers who will continue to deliver quality care for years to come.

I appreciate and value our health and social care services locally and look forward to being increasingly involved in the strategic development and growth of the health workforce to support our local needs.

Blackpool and the Fylde College: Charlotte Freeman, Young Governor

I am a T-level health student at Blackpool and the Fylde college. I am in my first year and I am aware of how important our health is but young people shy away from their health and I am going to make it my duty to ensure that all young people have a voice in our community.

I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to be able to talk for the young people of Blackpool. I will strive for our voices to be heard and ensure that what we do will help the future generation to grow and achieve all that they can.

From my own experiences, I know how important it is to have things accessible to you to enable your aspects of life. I know young people don’t speak up but this my chance to show them that they can and to ensure that their voices can be heard.

Blackpool: Heather O'Hara

I have lived in Blackpool for over 30 years and seen many changes. I realise that the NHS has suffered badly from Government cuts and feel that the staff have not received enough praise from the public for their efforts during the recent pandemic.

This needs to change and staff should be supported and appreciated for the work they put in. I am enthusiastic about change, but only if it is for the benefit of patients and staff, and I am committed to robustly supporting staff views.

I have spent most of my working life in accountancy and am a qualified Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA). Since retiring I have been keeping myself busy and understand finance in all its forms. As money needs to be used more efficiently, I would oppose any changes which mean that patients and staff suffer in any way. I am passionate about improving the health and care of our patients, across community and acute services, whilst holding our leaders responsible.

Blackpool: Graham Curry

This is my first term as a Governor representing the Blackpool Area. I have worked in the NHS for 42 years. I recently retired from the North West Ambulance Service as the Sector Manager for West Lancashire.

I have a great understanding on how the NHS operates and will endeavour to use that knowledge in obtaining a greater understanding of how I can influence the trust in a positive direction.

I live in Blackpool and have done so for more than 40 years. I know how important our hospital is to our community and I will make sure that the Board stand up to scrutiny and capability and will discharge my duties to the best of my ability.

I am committed to this role and will use all skills and expertise to observe and comment on all relevant issues in this Hospitals Trust to enable them to move to the top of its game.

I will always put the patient’s interest first in all matters and will attempt to represent the views of my local community at all times.

Blackpool: Nigel Patterson

I have lived in Blackpool for over 40 years and enjoyed a successful career in the hospitality and facilities management sectors. I now wish to share my lifetime of Board level experiences to support the Trust face the ongoing challenges it will inevitably face in the future. I will welcome the training I will be offered to fulfil this role and so become an effective participating Governor. I am an active member of a number of organisations locally including the Blackpool Civic Trust, Friends of Stanley Park, a volunteer conductor on the Heritage Trams and a Volunteer Mentor to young people through the Princes Trust. I wish to give more back to the local community by playing an active role in helping the Governors hold the Board of Directors to account for the hospital services they provide to our community. I will proactively support business change and service delivery enhancements, so the Directors are able to provide an ever-improving service to the Fylde community.

Blackpool: Rick Scott

I am 60 years of age and have lived in Blackpool most of my life. I am passionate about the NHS, after having received lifesaving treatment for pancreatitis and cancer. The constitution of the NHS, based on need, accessibility to all and being properly accountable to the communities it serves, is paramount.

In my role as a local councillor, I have an innate ability to engage with my constituents when raising their concerns, sometimes supporting their feelings of anguish, despair and frustration, by being a good listener thus making observations to enable a good problem solving outcome. I sit on similar committees taking a constructive approach ensuring all parties have the same unbiased hearing to be fair to all. A recent achievement for my ward is two pelican crossings to be placed in positions long overdue to secure the safety of pedestrians. I have experience managing staff as a facilities manager both here and abroad, thus enhancing my enthusiasm to promote good corporate governance. I have academic practical experience and knowledge after achieving the NEBOSH qualifications to add to my engineering qualifications.

I have the energy and determination to engage with the public to want to get an insight of their opinions of the Trust. I have a full understanding, knowledge, experience and skills of what a high standard of service is expected within strict financial constraints. Therefore, I believe I have the experience, expertise and passion to contribute to Blackpool's NHS FT in moving forward as a Governor.

Blackpool: Lisa Robins

I have worked in the health and social sector for 20 years, mainly working with vulnerable adults, managing the delivery of care services in Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde.

I am a Registered Manager with the Care Quality Commission and thrive on improving services to gain outstanding outcomes for impact and enhancement of our or residents lives.

I am extremely proud to have been elected as a Public Governor (Blackpool constituency) as my absolute passion lies in how we, as a collaborative team, can improve services and patient care across the board. Particularly focusing on nursing patients living with dementia or cognitive impairment to ensure a high level of understanding, time and patience is afforded to those individuals.

Respect and dignity of every patient should be afforded in any circumstance and I hope to play a small part in this particular complex and challenging area of the Trust.

Blackpool: Patricia Roche

My background is in psychology, counselling and psychotherapy. I have a Master's Degree in Management. I have been fortunate to be able to use these skills as a Curriculum Manager at Blackpool College and as a psychotherapist in a GP surgery. I have international experience as a visiting professor in the United States. Nearer to home, I have designed and delivered summer schools at the University of Lancaster.

I am committed to using all the above skills and experience in my role as a Public Governor for the Blackpool constituency, particularly with reference to the massive changes taking place in the NHS at present. I believe the NHS to be a pearl beyond price and I will use my role to safeguard it on your behalf to the best of my ability.

Fylde: Cllr Gail Goodman

I am delighted to have been elected as Governor for the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, Council of Governors, representing the Fylde.

My grandparents owned a Dairy Farm in Carleton for many years and I am well aware of the nature of hard work, resilience and fortitude. I have lived in a number of Lancashire towns as a child, owing to my father’s profession, but migrated to the Fylde Coast as the favourite of our household moves!

My initial forays into the workforce involved Banking but, on the birth of my two sons, I moved into Education and after seven years was promoted to Headteacher of a Derbyshire Primary School. I have undertaken work in several schools around the country as now, an Educational Consultant, involving Risk Management, Finance and Budgets, Staff Recruitment and Retention, Staff Training and Pupils and Parents’ Care – all of which I believe will assist my work with the Foundation Trust.

I provide Barbering Services in a Local Care home and undertake voluntary work as a Bereavement Counsellor with Cruse Bereavement Care. Just recently, I trained as a Patient Advocate with St John Ambulance, in order to assist at the local Vaccination Centres.

A period of time as a Councillor with Fylde Borough Council has taught me the value of understanding and managing the complex needs of an Electorate made up of many different residents. I intend to bring this knowledge and those valuable skills into my work with the many patients, visitors and staff members of Blackpool Victoria Hospital, to the very best of my ability.

I shall ensure that I am accountable at all times to those who visit, and experience, the excellent and compassionate care given by all personnel at ‘the Vic’.

Fylde: John Moore

Hi. I’m John Moore. I’m a long time Fylde resident, now also a retired Audit Manager and able to focus my time on the things that are important to me. I believe that my experience should let me fill a governor’s role well. My job was to help ensure that organisations ran smoothly and effectively. To do this I needed effective communication with everyone – from new starters to directors. Along the way I gained a good knowledge of what governance is about. I spent some time working with long-term care and health-related services, though most was spent in finance and insurance.

Why do I want to be a governor? Three years ago, my sister died of oesophageal cancer; my two brothers are both in remission from prostate cancer; and throughout a difficult 2020, I relied time and again on Blackpool Victoria’s excellent Ophthalmic, Surgical and Medical Retina staff. Indeed, 2021 has started the same way. It’s clear to me that giving back to the local NHS Trust is a priority.

As an aside, I’m well prepared for voluntary working. I’ve volunteered continuously for the last 20 years, including a few years as the unpaid president of my professional association. I hope to continue my volunteering with the NHS.

Wyre: Sue Crouch

I have lived on the Fylde coast for many years, working as a teacher and then as a senior officer with Blackpool Children’s Services. My professional experiences gave me a good understanding of our local demographics and their associated challenges and in 2009, I completed a Master’s Degree in Process Consultancy to support me in my role as a leader of service transformation. Since retiring, I have become a Trustee for Fylde Coast Women’s Aid and was first elected as a Trust Governor in 2016.

As a Trust Governor, I am committed to supporting the organisation to further improve the quality of patient care, both through the modernisation of services and by helping to promote evidence-based practice.

Wyre: Ian Owen

I am keen to support quality local public services putting the patient at the heart of everything we do.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (FCPFA), I have a detailed understanding of public sector finance, technology and operations.

I have local experience from 16 years at Blackpool/Preston councils and Norcross together with 20 years at large multi-national companies. My current 'day' job is as a public sector specialist for a large global IT company.

A Wyre resident since the age of four, my aim is to serve the public I represent to the best of my ability.

Wyre: William Jackson

I am first and foremost a son and brother, to my mum and dad and my brother living in the Wyre District area.

I worked for a number of months as a CQC Expert By Experience and I am currently a Healthcare Reviewer for Health Inspectorate Wales, which is an excellent role as you get to see what is good and bad practice within the wider health and social care industry.

I am diagnosed with autism and due to this I am a member of Learning Disability England which is bringing people and organisations together to create a movement for change where people with learning disabilities, families, friends and paid supporters come together on an equal basis. I am also an active member of my local Labour Party.

I became a Governor as I would like to use my skills and experience to support and help Blackpool Teaching Hospitals to prosper and continue in its outstanding provision of NHS health services in the area I live in and love.

And why this hospital? For me personally, it's where I and my whole family have received emergency and planned care throughout many years, for which I am always grateful and in awe of its people, facilities, services and care provided. I want to help to ensure this continues to be available to everyone and help in improving and developing services further.

North West Counties: David Wilton

Our NHS provides us all throughout our lives with dedicated health care irrespective of our personal circumstances. Now in its 75th year and due to COVID, it is under significant pressure and staff are doing their level best to see patients in a timely manner.

I am 75 years old and was elected as a Public Governor for the North West Territories in September 2022 and seek to maintain and improve Health Care Service within the BTH hospitals and associated health centres, and occasionally beyond in specialist centres of excellence. Foundation Trust public governors therefore provide a unique link between the Executive Board of Directors, membership and the general public and provide the Trust with the eyes and ears on the ground and thus a vital link in what is a very complex organisational structure.

Should you require any help and assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.