Healthcare professionals standing in front of York Hospital.

Membership Matters

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

September 2025

A message from our Chair

I am delighted that our Council of Governors approved the appointment of Rukmal Abeyeskera as a Non-Executive Director. Rukmal has been nominated by the University of York to fill the vacancy created by Dr. Matt Morgan stepping down at the end of July. She is, of course, well known to us in her role as Lead Governor of our Council of Governors. It is likely that Rukmal will formally commence her term of office at the end of October, once a new Lead Governor has been elected. In the meantime, I have invited Rukmal to attend all Board events and meetings.

The Council of Governors also approved the recommendation made by the appointment panel for Clare Smith to become our next Chief Executive. She will take up the post on 24 November, two days before our November Board meeting. In the meantime, she is spending some time in the Trust to have as many introductory conversations as possible over the next couple of months.

All four of our Member/Governor Constituency meetings have been held. Although the number of Members attending is low, those that do attend seem to find the meeting worthwhile and give positive feedback. The timing and venues of this year’s meetings have worked well and will be repeated next year.

Recently, the Department of Health has published ‘league tables’ of different types of trusts, and we are ranked 118 out of 134 acute trusts. This is based on more than 20 different criteria. The main issues impacting our ranking are to do with the volume of patients needing our services being greater than our capacity to respond to their needs in a timely way. Even though our costs are in the lowest quartile, we are still required to save £50 million and, because of this, the Trust cannot afford to increase capacity in any significant way. Therefore, the only way forward is for us to become more efficient by having better processes that eliminate waste and reduce non-value-adding work.

For example, if we could reduce our average length of stay of inpatients by just one day, it would make a tremendous difference. I see the pressure that so many colleagues experience at work – I certainly do not believe the answer is colleagues having to work harder. Instead, we need improve the way we do things. I absolutely believe that it is the colleagues who work in every team, service, and department that know what improvements can and should be made to improve the way things are done (if they need to be done at all) to save time and improve quality at the same time.

Despite our league table position, please be assured that we do have fabulous staff providing a great service to patients. The key issue to resolve is the length of time many patients have to wait to be seen or have a diagnostic test.

Thank you very much for your interest and support.

Martin Barkley

Chair

Annual General Meeting and Annual Members Meeting

Trust members and the public are invited to find out more about your local hospitals by attending the Annual Members’ Meeting (AMM), incorporating the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The online meeting takes place on Thursday 2 October 2025, 5.30 – 6.30pm.

The AGM/AMM is open to all Trust members, staff, and the public. The event offers everyone the opportunity to share their views with us and participate in learning more about the activities of the Trust.

You can join the meeting from anywhere, on any device - PC, smartphone, or tablet. You may need to download the Microsoft Teams app. You can join the AGM/AMM on Microsoft Teams using this link.

Please share your questions with the Trust Board ahead of the meeting. You can also ask questions live during the AGM/AMM in the Q&A section of the agenda. If you would like to submit a question in advance, please email [email protected].

If you’re unable to join us during the session, you will be able to watch a recording, which will be shared on the Trust website Annual Reporting page. Copies of our Annual Report and accounts are also available on the Trust website.

A proud unveiling for our refurbished Women's Unit

York Hospital’s Women’s Unit has been redesigned to transform the experience of women receiving care during the most challenging times in their lives.

After an eight-month renovation and significant investment, the unit now brings together Gynaecology and the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit into one modern, welcoming space, offering privacy, dignity, and comfort for our patients.

The space includes private changing rooms and counselling areas, a new recovery bay, improved accessibility for all patients, a calming patient-first environment, and an improved layout for more efficient care.

York Hospital joins groundbreaking national cancer vaccine trial

Patients at York Hospital with advanced head and neck cancer now have the opportunity to take part in a pioneering mRNA cancer vaccine trial.

The investigational vaccine – AHEAD-MERIT (BNT113-01) – is designed to help the immune system recognise and destroy cancer cells linked to human papillomavirus (HPV).

Led locally by Mr Richard Taylor, Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, this milestone means some York patients can join a wider national programme that could transform treatment for head and neck cancers.

Every year, more than 11,000 people in England are diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Despite advances in treatment, outcomes for advanced disease remain poor, making new approaches like this so important.

Chris Curtis, a patient who was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2011 said: “With this cancer, you live in fear every day, so anything that could help control the disease or give people peace of mind is groundbreaking. It'll allow people to get on with their lives and move forward.”

Eligible patients at York Hospital will be identified by our Head and Neck Team and referred to St James’ University Hospital, Leeds, to take part in the trial.

Get involved

Public Council of Governors meetings

These meetings are held throughout the year and give you the chance to see first-hand the workings of the Council of Governors speaking up and representing the views of their constituents.

The Council of Governors acts as the voice of the community, ensuring local people have a say in the running of their hospital. Governors are either elected by member of the Trust or appointed by appropriate stakeholder partners, which includes nominated representatives from the Local Authority, University, and other partner organisations.

You can read all about your local governors on our website. If you would like to contact any of the governors, email [email protected], including the name of the governor you wish to contact.

The next meeting takes place on Wednesday 10 December 2025. See all governor meeting times on our website.

Public Board of Directors meetings

These are held every other month and give you the opportunity to observe the Board of Directors on how decisions are made and what the challenges are of managing a NHS Trust.

Upcoming dates:

Wednesday 22 October 2025, 9am
Wednesday 26 November 2025, 9.30am
Wednesday 28 January 2026, 9am

More details on Board of Directors Meetings can be found here.

Star Award finalists

All our staff and volunteers deserve recognition - but there are many that go above and beyond the call of duty to make the Trust a better service - with hard work, exciting new ideas and simply by putting patients first. Click here to read why they were nominated and learn how they made a difference. If you would like to nominate someone for a Star Award complete the online form.

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