Mansfield Council leaders outline 'invaluable' benefit of seat on hospital trust board

It follows concerns from an opposition member that the representative cannot relay information from meetings back to councillors due to confidentiality.

The Labour-led council sends councillors to sit on several boards of ‘outside bodies’ in the district, which are usually key local organisations and charities.

SFH, which runs Mansfield Community and Sutton’s King’s Mill hospitals, invites a member of the authority to sit on its non-executive council of governors, alongside representatives from Ashfield, Nottinghamshire and Newark & Sherwood councils.

Its role is to discuss policies and plans of the trust, advise the board of directors on the views of the public and hold directors to account.

Mansfield Council has appointed Coun Angie Jackson, joint-portfolio holder for wellbeing, health and safer communities, as its new representative on the board.

However, Coun Martin Wright, Mansfield Independent member for Holly, asked what the benefit of the role is.

He said: “Why do we go along with this? I know it’s of great interest and we’d all like to know what’s happening at SFH, but the rules are such that our member cannot take things away from the meeting and it’s all confidential.

“What does the council get out of being represented on this body?”

In response, Adam Hill, council chief executive, said: “It’s important the council has representation because a lot of our population go there.

“It’s not just what we take away from it, it’s what we can put in and the strategic influence we can have going forward into the trust.

“It helps shape how we can deliver services for our community and ensures we have a voice around the table.

“Linking into the work the hospital is doing, it’s the influencing role you have as members.”

Coun Craig Whitby, deputy mayor, said: “This is a trust I’ve sat on for the last four years and I found it incredibly rewarding. It was good to get involved with the decision-making process of that body.

“There are confidential things in there but it’s a transparent process, we’re there to hold the non-executive directors to account and also to shape the strategy of the trust itself.”