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Attending board meetings
Meetings of our trust board are held in public. Board meetings take place every other month on the dates listed further down this page, through a combination of in-person and virtual meetings. Meetings scheduled to be held in-person do not have a remote dial in option.
There are times when the board will need to consider agenda items that are confidential and cannot be discussed in public. In these situations, the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings Act) 1960 permits a board of an NHS trust to pass a board resolution at the meeting to exclude the public and members of the media from the meeting.
If you would like to attend a virtual or in-person meeting please email the group company secretary giving your name, telephone number and contact details, and we will provide further details.
Meetings of the trust board are held in public but are not public meetings. Time is allocated at each meeting to receive questions or comments from the public.
Staff, patients and people who live or work in the local community or who are affected by the work of the Trust, may ask a question on any matter which is within the powers and duties of the Trust.
The chairman reserves the right not to respond to questions or comments which relate to issues which are the subject of current confidential discussions, legal action, or any other matter at their discretion.
Written questions or comments for meetings held in Public
Questions may be submitted in writing to the group company secretary by 10.00 am, four clear working days before the date of the next available meeting. Questions received after this deadline will be submitted to the next available meeting.
All questions received will be logged through the Freedom of Information process and provided with a written response [no later than 20 working days in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act].
A summary of all written questions received will be read out at the meeting by the chairman or other board member to whom it was addressed, and the trust’s response where available.
A record of all written questions asked, and the trust’s response, will be included in the minutes of the meeting for public record.
Verbal questions or comments without notice
The Chairman has discretion to allow verbal questions or comments to be raised without notice having been given.
A member of the public who has submitted a written question may, with the consent of the chairman, ask an additional verbal question on the same subject.
An answer to a verbal question will take the form of either:
- a direct verbal answer; or
- if the information required is not immediately available, a written answer will be sent to the questioner [no later than 20 working days in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act].
A record of all verbal questions asked, and the trust’s response, will be included in the minutes of the meeting for public record.
When raising a verbal question, members of the public are asked to:
- Introduce themselves and declare whether they are attending as a representative of any group.
- Only ask one question in order that as many attendees as possible may have the opportunity to ask a question or make a comment. This may be increased at the discretion of the chairman.
- Note that the time available for questions or comments should not prejudice the proper and timely conduct of the meeting.
Exclusions
Written questions may be rejected, and verbal questions need not be answered when the chairman considers that they:
- are not on any matter that is within the powers and duties of the trust;
- are defamatory, frivolous or offensive;
- are substantially the same as a question that has been put to a meeting of the trust board in the past six months;
- would require the disclosure of confidential or exempt information; or
- relate to individual patient care or an individual staff member.
Upcoming board meetings
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Trust board meeting
Event date and time: 4 June 2025, 9:00am to 11:00am
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Trust board meetings
Event description:
Trust board meeting
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Trust board meeting
Event date and time: 3 September 2025, 9:00am to 11:00am
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Trust board meetings
Event description:
Trust board meeting
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Trust board meeting
Event date and time: 1 October 2025, 9:00am to 11:00am
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Trust board meetings
Event description:
Trust board meeting
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Recent board meeting papers
Board meeting papers archive
Board papers from 2014-2023 can be found in our archived board papers section.
