Community members of Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust are being urged to cast their vote, to decide who will represent their views as a public governor at the Trust.

All of the Care Trust’s members have now received details by post and need to vote by 5.00pm on Thursday 22 March, to elect their local representatives across Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven.

Governors play an important role in the organisation’s work, ensuring that local people have a voice on Trust issues.  They also influence key decisions including the appointment of senior level roles like the Trust chair and non-executive directors.

The voting follows the nomination process, when Trust members put themselves forward for election, and it covers contested seats where there is more than one candidate in Bradford West, Bradford East, Shipley, Craven and Keighley.

Staff across the Trust’s clinical teams are also being invited to vote for their preferred clinical staff governor candidates.

All Trust members can vote either by post or on-line.  Once the votes are in and the results have been confirmed, the newly-appointed Governors will start their three-year term of office in May 2018.

The Trust’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Paul Hogg, said: “Nominations have come from a broad range of people who would all bring different skills and experience to the role, and make a valuable contribution to the Trust.  We’d encourage every Trust member to vote for the candidate that they believe will do the best job of representing their local community.”

For more details about the election process, members can contact the Care Trust’s membership office by email ft@bdct.nhs.uk or phone on 01274 363552.