The Trust has 28 Governors in total, five of which are Staff Governors, seven of which are Appointed Governors and the remaining 16 are Public Governors.

The Council of Governors provide advice and support, and are able to influence decisions about how we develop services for the people of Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre and North West counties.

You may contact the Governor for your area regarding any issues you would like to discuss by telephoning the Corporate Governance Team on 01253 951505.

Staff Governors

Staff Governors are members of staff representing different areas of the Trust.

Phil Helm.jpg 

I am a very proud nurse who has worked at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals for 25 years in varying roles.

My journey began at the age of 13 when I commenced work in a residential home washing dishes after school. This ignited my passion for caring and it was clear then what path I was to take.

On leaving school, I began working full time at the residential home before taking a position in a nursing home for further experience. While I enjoyed this greatly, I wanted more - I wanted to train to be a nurse.

I applied to Blackpool Teaching Hospitals as an auxiliary nurse (now a HCA) and was successful. I was a HCA for nine years before being accepted for a nurse secondment.

Since I qualified, I have worked in a number of medical specialities adding value and supporting the services we provide.

My current role is a clinical matron within tertiary services. Throughout my 25 year career, I have always retained my passion for nursing and caring in general.

I appreciate the opportunity, now I am elected onto the Council of Governors, to represent the people of the trust including the patients we serve and the staff we support. I welcome the opportunity to help reshape the future of healthcare within the trust for now and our future. 

Governor Favour Adoghe

Biography to follow

Photo of Jenny GavinMy health career started in 1986, with Registered Nurse training at Manchester Royal Infirmary and an interest in cardio-thoracic.  I had several staff nurse jobs, starting in chest medicine up to my final nursing position in Intensive Care at Wythenshawe Hospital, caring for patients following cardiac surgery and transplants.

In 1995, I had changed both my home location to Lytham and my employment to Trainee Perfusion Scientist at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.  I have been employed here as a Perfusionist since qualifying. I have watched the cardiac theatres grow from a small two theatre suite to a purpose built Lancashire Cardiac Centre. Until recently I have also worked as an elected member of the College of Perfusionists.

I have brought up my children in the area and so feel it is home. With our national healthcare economy under such financial pressure, it is even more important that our quality of health care provision continues to be cared for during such difficult times.

Photo of Tina DanielsI started working with the Trust in 2002 in HR, moving to the role of Equality and Diversity Lead in 2008.

Originally from Liverpool, my adult life has been spent on the Fylde coast.  All three of my children were born at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and attended local schools, which meant we had the need to access a number of services provided by the Trust.

I worked in IT until the early 1990s then changed career attaining a BA in Management and Organisations with HRM and MSc in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations at the University of Manchester Business School in 2002.

Appointed Governors

Appointed Governors are nominated by partner organisations to the Trust.

Pam-Brookes-Governor-e1691752157722-150x150.jpgBiography to follow.

Photo of Margaret BamforthI am the Head of Curriculum for Society, Health and Childhood Studies at Blackpool and The Fylde College.

Having raised my own family locally, alongside a successful career managing children’s centres, I have a passion for family health in our area and developing the extensive health and social care services our communities require.

My position at the college means I play a key role in ensuring that increasingly complex local health and social care needs are understood by the current and future workforce.

Through the introduction of the Fylde Coast Health and Social Care Career Academy, a partnership with Blackpool Council, local NHS trusts and private sector providers, we are ensuring we are doing everything possible to maintain a pipeline of talented workers who will continue to deliver quality care for years to come.

I appreciate and value our health and social care services locally and look forward to being increasingly involved in the strategic development and growth of the health workforce to support our local needs.

Tyler-Warburton-2-e1686819630526-150x150.jpgBiography to follow.

Public Governors

Public Governors are nominated and voted for by our members. They are also members of the Trust.

Heather O'Hara.JPGI have lived in Blackpool for over 30 years and seen many changes.  I realise that the NHS has suffered badly from Government cuts and feel that the staff have not received enough praise from the public for their efforts during the recent pandemic.

This needs to change and staff should be supported and appreciated for the work they put in.  I am enthusiastic about change, but only if it is for the benefit of patients and staff, and I am committed to robustly supporting staff views.

I have spent most of my working life in accountancy and am a qualified Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA).  Since retiring I have been keeping myself busy and understand finance in all its forms. As money needs to be used more efficiently, I would oppose any changes which mean that patients and staff suffer in any way. I am passionate about improving the health and care of our patients, across community and acute services, whilst holding our leaders responsible.

Photo of Graham CurryThis is my first term as a Governor representing the Blackpool Area. I have worked in the NHS for 42 years. I recently retired from the North West Ambulance Service as the Sector Manager for West Lancashire.

I have a great understanding on how the NHS operates and will endeavour to use that knowledge in obtaining a greater understanding of how I can influence the trust in a positive direction.

I live in Blackpool and have done so for more than 40 years. I know how important our hospital is to our community and I will make sure that the Board stand up to scrutiny and capability and will discharge my duties to the best of my ability.

I am committed to this role and will use all skills and expertise to observe and comment on all relevant issues in this Hospitals Trust to enable them to move to the top of its game.

I will always put the patient’s interest first in all matters and will attempt to represent the views of my local community at all times.

Nigel Patterson.JPGI have lived in Blackpool for over 40 years and enjoyed a successful career in the hospitality and facilities management sectors. I now wish to share my lifetime of Board level experiences to support the Trust face the ongoing challenges it will inevitably face in the future. I will welcome the training I will be offered to fulfil this role and so become an effective participating Governor. I am an active member of a number of organisations locally including the Blackpool Civic Trust, Friends of Stanley Park, a volunteer conductor on the Heritage Trams and a Volunteer Mentor to young people through the Princes Trust. I wish to give more back to the local community by playing an active role in helping the Governors hold the Board of Directors to account for the hospital services they provide to our community. I will proactively support business change and service delivery enhancements, so the Directors are able to provide an ever-improving service to the Fylde community.

Patricia Roche.jpg

I am 60Rick Scott v2.jpg years of age and have lived in Blackpool most of my life. I am passionate about the NHS, after having received lifesaving treatment for pancreatitis and cancer. The constitution of the NHS, based on need, accessibility to all and being properly accountable to the communities it serves, is paramount.

In my role as a local councillor, I have an innate ability to engage with my constituents when raising their concerns, sometimes supporting their feelings of anguish, despair and frustration, by being a good listener thus making observations to enable a good problem solving outcome. I sit on similar committees taking a constructive approach ensuring all parties have the same unbiased hearing to be fair to all. A recent achievement for my ward is two pelican crossings to be placed in positions long overdue to secure the safety of pedestrians. I have experience managing staff as a facilities manager both here and abroad, thus enhancing my enthusiasm to promote good corporate governance. I have academic practical experience and knowledge after achieving the NEBOSH qualifications to add to my engineering qualifications.

I have the energy and determination to engage with the public to want to get an insight of their opinions of the Trust. I have a full understanding, knowledge, experience and skills of what a high standard of service is expected within strict financial constraints. Therefore, I believe I have the experience, expertise and passion to contribute to Blackpool's NHS FT in moving forward as a Governor.

Photo of Lisa RobbinsI have worked in the health and social sector for 20 years, mainly working with vulnerable adults, managing the delivery of care services in Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde.

I am a Registered Manager with the Care Quality Commission and thrive on improving services to gain outstanding outcomes for impact and enhancement of our or residents lives.

I am extremely proud to have been elected as a Public Governor (Blackpool constituency) as my absolute passion lies in how we, as a collaborative team, can improve services and patient care across the board. Particularly focusing on nursing patients living with dementia or cognitive impairment to ensure a high level of understanding, time and patience is afforded to those individuals.

Respect and dignity of every patient should be afforded in any circumstance and I hope to play a small part in this particular complex and challenging area of the Trust.

Photo of Adele DeVitoOriginally from Manchester, I have lived on the Fylde coast since 1967.

I work for the Blackpool Library Service.

I consider it an honour and a privilege to be a Public Governor for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and hope to discharge my duties well.

I believe the NHS to be the best care provider in the world, offering unconditional care to all at the point of need.

Sophie Mellor.JPGI have lived on the Fylde Coast all my life and now reside in Lytham with my husband and 3 young children who were all born at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. I am passionate about the care the NHS provides, my daughter who was born 6 months ago received life saving treatment in the neonatal unit and later Manchester Children's Hospital - the staff were absolutely amazing who supported me and my family.

For the last 13 years I have owned a local company which supports adults and older people in the community by providing care within their own homes. As part of this role I have extensive experience of working in multi-disciplinary NHS teams and within community NHS services to achieve the best outcome for patients. I have worked with a wide variety of local people requiring care, in particular those living with dementia, long term health conditions and their carers. I also owned and operated the onsite Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Children's Day Nursery up until 2022, so I have a vast understanding of the pressures that staff working within the NHS have and the need for flexibility to allow them a work life balance. As part of the above roles I have been the registered person for both CQC and OFSTED at outstanding rated settings.

I am proud to represent the residents in the Fylde constituency and I am relishing the opportunity to put forward local views to continuously improve and add value to our local NHS services. I believe it is very important to have people like myself as a Governor who are from non-NHS backgrounds and with varied experiences to best feed into the discussions at our Governors meetings, so the views of the local people are fully represented.

Michael Farrell.JPGI am currently a Senior Lecturer in Integrated Clinical Practice at the University of Central Lancashire, leading three programmes within the postgraduate School of Medicine. Prior to entering Higher Education in 2020, I spent over a decade in senior management roles within the NHS, including Medical Education and Quality Manager at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. I bring extensive experience in operational management, student engagement, clinical research, and quality assurance. Born in Blackpool, I am deeply committed to improving healthcare services in the local community.

John Moore.JPGHi. I’m John Moore. I’m a long time Fylde resident, now also a retired Audit Manager and able to focus my time on the things that are important to me. I believe that my experience should let me fill a governor’s role well. My job was to help ensure that organisations ran smoothly and effectively. To do this I needed effective communication with everyone – from new starters to directors. Along the way I gained a good knowledge of what governance is about. I spent some time working with long-term care and health-related services, though most was spent in finance and insurance.

Why do I want to be a governor? Three years ago, my sister died of oesophageal cancer; my two brothers are both in remission from prostate cancer; and throughout a difficult 2020, I relied time and again on Blackpool Victoria’s excellent Ophthalmic, Surgical and Medical Retina staff. Indeed, 2021 has started the same way. It’s clear to me that giving back to the local NHS Trust is a priority.

As an aside, I’m well prepared for voluntary working. I’ve volunteered continuously for the last 20 years, including a few years as the unpaid president of my professional association. I hope to continue my volunteering with the NHS.

John Bamford.jpgI have lived in Poulton for over 50 years. I am windowed with two surviving sons.  My third son died aged 29 following surgery in an NHS hospital, and this prompted me to get involved with the NHS, where for several years I have tried to contribute to improving the quality and safety of patient care.  Before retiring I worked for ICI and then was one of the founding directors of Victrex PLC, a successful local company.  My responsibilities included ensuring the chemical manufacturing processes were carried out safely.  I wrote Vitrex’s safety policy and set up the organisation, arrangement, systems, and resources to implement our policy. I am particularly interested in making sure the culture of an organisation is open and focused on learning and improvement. As a Governor I will try and support staff to deliver the care to the high standard they aspire to.

Howard Ballard.jpgBiography to follow...

 

Christina McKenzie Townsend.JPG All my life I have been working in the NHS in various capacities: as a nurse, a tutor and latterly as the Cancer Services Manager chasing the government's cancer waiting times.

After leaving full-time employment I have continued in health, being a lay member of the Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group representing the parents’ issues, and a governor of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and Lancashire Care Mental Health Trust.  I am also a trustee of a community house and Blackpool Boyes and Girls Club, helping local communities and local people.

Teresa Coram.JPG