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Hospital election numbers ‘pathetic’

Success in attracting patient and public members varied widely across would-be foundation trusts as elections to their boards of governors got underway.

The members form the pool of voters for the current elections to boards of governors. As healthmatters went to press, the number of patient and public members ranged from a low of 1,500 (out of 8,000) at University College London hospitals, to around 43,000 (out of 50,000) at University Hospital Birmingham (UHB), which automatically ‘opts in’ patients.

Electoral Reform Services (ERS), which is managing the ballots for most prospective foundation trusts, said the bulk of the combined (staff and public) electorates ranged ‘between five and 15 thousand’.

Homerton university hospital in Hackney, East London, told healthmatters its non-staff membership was about 2,500. North Tees and Hartlepool has signed up 2,000 and Countess of Chester hospital has 3,025.

Others have managed to attract higher numbers of patients and the public. The Royal Devon and Exeter and Moorfields in London each have 9,000.

Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge, King’s Healthcare in London, Moorfield’s and the Royal Devon and Exeter have each had over 100 nominations for prospective governors. North Tees and Hartlepool said it had ‘closer to 150’.

Former health secretary Frank Dobson said of the University College Hospital figures: ‘People who get this number voting for them in a general election lose their deposits. If you compare the membership to the number of people who have been treated, let alone those who live locally the figures are quite pathetic.’

He said of the Homerton figure: ‘It’s no good claiming that three thousand is a reasonable electorate. It’s smaller than one electoral ward in Hackney.’

The government had proposed foundation trusts ‘on the basis that there were so many people straining to get out to vote…the public and patients won’t be represented because the numbers are so small’, Mr Dobson added.

A spokeswoman for the Homerton said: ‘We would like more members, but that’s not to say I’m disappointed.’

Independent regulator Bill Moyes is assessing the applications for foundation status from the 24 trusts – 12 in time for an April 1 target date, with the remainder having to wait until July to have their applications approved.

A spokesman for Mr Moyes told healthmatters that ‘if one trust has markedly different numbers we will be looking at why’.

In January some trusts expressed a concern that particularly in the inner cities outside London, small political interest groups could take over the process. ERS said that every trust had governor candidates expressing political affiliations, split across the three main parties.