What is an NHS Foundation Trust?
Foundation Trusts are a specific type of NHS Trust. Foundation Trusts have a duty to engage with their local communities and encourage local people to become members. They are still a part of the National Health Service but have more autonomy in return for local accountability. Because of this autonomy, ELFT is able to provide better services and is more accountable to local people. We are very keen to enlist your support in helping to continue this important work.
Foundation Trust Membership: Join today!
Being a member of East London NHS Foundation Trust is free and you can decide how involved you would like to be. You may simply want to receive our membership newsletter "Trusttalk", attend our Consultation Events and Annual Members Meeting or you may want to stand for election to the Council of Governors. It's totally up to you!
You can:
Receive our quarterly newsletter "Trusttalk" to learn more about Trust developments and receive membership news
- Elect Governors to represent you on the Council of Governors
- Help us to shape our plans for the future and become more accountable and better at listening to the views of staff, service users, carers and the local communities we serve by attending our Consultation Events
- Join us in tackling the stigma and discrimination that service users face by joining Trust staff at engagement events in the community
- Take an active part in the life of the Trust, by becoming a Trust Volunteer or joining local Trust groups such as your local community care forum or acute care forum
- Provide an important link for us into the wider community
- Stand for election to the Council of Governors.
Who can become a Trust member?
Any member of the public over the age of 12 can become a member provided they live in the area we serve (Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, City of London, Hackney, Luton, Newham and Tower Hamlets) or any other areas in England (Rest of England constituency).
We are committed to encouraging all people who are eligible and have an interest in mental and physical wellbeing to become members of the Trust.
We aim to have an active membership that fully reflects the people and communities we serve. For example, we want to ensure that ethnic minorities and young people are well represented in our membership.
Membership Information and Application Forms
Apply for Trust Membership. If you need more information please contact the Governors and Members Office on 0800 032 7297 or email: elft.membership@nhs.net
Staff Membership
The Trust adopts an 'opt-out' approach to staff membership, whereby all staff on permanent contracts or on fixed-term contracts that run for 12 months or longer automatically become members, unless an individual specifically wishes not to. Staff who are seconded from partner agencies and bank staff in post or on contracts longer than 12 months will be invited to stand for and/or vote in Staff Governor elections.
Staff whose employment ceases with the Trust will no longer be a staff member. However, providing they remain resident within the geographical area served by the Trust, they will automatically become eligible for public constituency membership if not disqualified from membership for any reasons stipulated in the Constitution.