Who are the Council of Governors?
The Trust currently has 26 Council of Governor seats, comprising Public, Staff and Appointed positions. At present, 19 Governors are in post, with 7 vacancies. All vacancies are included in our Governor Elections opening November 2026.
The Trust's next Council of Governors meeting held in Public on 21st May 2026 at 1000 via Microsoft teams/Trust HQ.
Please find public papers here one week prior.
All members of the public and foundation Trust members are welcome to join via MS Teams, please email corporate.governance@swast.nhs.uk should you wish to join the meeting via MS Teams.
If you would like to attend in person, please register your interest via email to corporate.governance@swast.nhs.uk to ensure we have arrangements in place for you.
Trust members are encouraged to actively engage with the Council of Governors. Input helps shape the Trust's direction and ensures that members' voices are heard. Engaging with the Council of Governors provides an opportunity to influence decision-making and stay informed about Trust activities.
Questions can be submitted in advance of scheduled Public Council of Governor meetings by emailing corporate.governance@swast.nhs.uk.
We recommend sending your questions at least three working days before the meeting.
Please find future Council of Governor Meeting dates below, please note these may change but we'll be sure to update the dates here for your information:
Table of council of governors meeting dates 2026/27
| Date | Time | Location |
| 21 May 2026 | 1000 | Trust Headquarters, Exeter |
| 24 September 2026 | 1000 | Trust Headquarters, Exeter |
| 21 January 2027 | 1000 | Trust Headquarters, Exeter |
| 18 March 2027 | 1000 | Trust Headquarters, Exeter |
Download your historic Public Council of Governors Meeting Papers below:
Please find a copy of Public papers which you are able to download below. New papers will be uploaded one week prior to the meeting:
All Public Council of Governors Papers from 2016 on wards are archived, you can access them by following this link - Archived Public Council of Governors Papers
Questions?
If you have any queries please contact the team via email on Governors@swast.nhs.uk
Governor Development Dates
Governors are welcomed to join the team for Governor Development on the following dates, more details will be shared soon:
- 12 March 2026
- 15 July 2026
- 25 February 2027
Governor Elections
The Trust Governor Elections are now closed
Please find the results of the recent Governor election here:
- Staff Governor, A&E South and West Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly - Lucy Smith
- Staff Governor, Volunteers - Barry Catton
In addition we have elected via uncontested election the following:
- Public Governor, Wiltshire and Swindon - George Brown
- Public Governor, Somerset and North Somerset - Gillian Kenistone-Goble
- Public Governor, Devon - Allan Proudfoot
- Staff Governor, Administration and Support Staff - Peter Rowe
Subject to due-diligence checks these Governors will commence their term of office on 1 March 2026.
We have vacant seats in:
- Cornwall
- Somerset and North Somerset
- Wiltshire and Swindon
These seats along with reappointment seats in Public Dorset, and Staff A&E Somerset, North and East Devon and Dorset and Emergency Operations Centre, Exeter and Bristol, will be included in our next Governor Elections commencing towards the end of 2026.
Are you interested in standing in the election?
To stand for election you must be a member of South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust within the constituency and class for which you wish to stand as a candidate. If you do not know which constituency or class you are in, please contact the Corporate Governance Officer at the address below.
If you would like to sign up to become a member of the Trust, Please complete this form Become a Member.
Contact
Corporate Governance Officer: Corporate.Governance@swast.nhs.uk
What is the Council of Governors?
The Council of Governors (CoG) represents the views of local communities, staff and stakeholders and has a duty to hold the Non-Executive Directors individually and collectively to account for the performance of the Board of Directors. This includes ensuring the Board of Directors acts to that the Trust does not breach the conditions of its Foundation Trust licence. It remains the responsibility of the Board of Directors to design and then implement agreed priorities, objectives and the overall strategy of the Trust.
The majority of Governors are elected into their role by the Trust's public and staff membership, the remaining Governors are appointed by partner organisations such as Clinical Commissioning Groups and Local authorities, to ensure that their views are represented.
The Council of Governors has 26 members:
Governors are responsible for representing the interests of the Trust's Members, the public and the staff. Governors must act in the best interests of the Trust's and should adhere to the Trust's Values and Governor Code of Conduct
Governors are responsible for regularly feeding back information about the Trust, its vision and its performance to Trust Members, the public and the stakeholder organisations that either elected or appointed them. The Trust ensures Governors have appropriate support to help them discharge this duty.
Legislation provides governors with statutory responsibilities and more details about their roles can be found here.
The Council of Governors appoint a Remuneration and Nomination Panel to consider reappoints of Non-Executive Directors and/or the Chair, and recruitment process for the Non-Executive Directors and/or the Chair.
The Remuneration and Nomination Panel will make recommendations to the Council of Governors, including recommendations about pay and allowances and, in order to ensure the proper level of remuneration and allowances to be paid to the Chair and the Non-Executive Directors.
The terms of reference for the panel can be found here
What is the Council of Governors role?
The Council of Governors have various statutory roles and responsibilities:
Lead and Deputy Lead Governors
Monitor requested that all NHS Foundation Trusts to nominate a 'Lead Governor' at the Trust's Annual Members Meeting Governors are given the opportunity to nominate themselves forward for the position of Lead or Deputy Lead Governor, there is then a ballot where Governors are elected.
The Council of Governors current Lead Governor is Colin Weston, from the Dorset constituency and Deputy Lead is Steve Manning, from Isles of Scilly constituency. The Council of Governors will nominate and vote for Lead and Deputy Lead Governors at the upcoming Annual Members Meeting on 18 September 2025.
Governor Testimonies
Torquil MacInnes, Public Governor Wiltshire and Swindon, 2014-2022
You get as much out of the job as you put in. If you don't read the papers and keep informed then you risk just being a bystander not knowing what is happening or waste everyone else's time by asking questions that have been covered elsewhere. Also remember that it is not your job to ask the executives what they are doing, that is the job of the non-executive directors. It is your job to ensure the NEDs are doing theirs. Although it is tempting to ask the executives for details of what is going on, you should really ask the NEDs do they think the execs are taking the right steps, what have they done to assure themselves etc. You need to assure yourself that you believe the NEDs are on the case. Don't worry if you don't get your head around the job initially. It takes time.
Our Membership engagement Strategy sets out our commitment for engagement with our Foundation Trust members and the communities we serve. Their involvement is important in helping us to achieve our Trust vision that together, we will deliver the best care when you need us most. By ‘engagement’ we mean who we will communicate with, how we will do so and when.
Implementation of the Membership engagement strategy is overseen by our Council of Governors. We have developed this strategy based on good practice from other Foundation Trusts, national guidance, statutory and regulatory requirements, and feedback from our governors. It supports the delivery of the overall 2023-2028 Trust Strategy.
Our membership engagement strategy can be found here: Membership Engagement Strategy 2024-2027
Council of Governors 2023-24
Council of Governors 2022-23
Council of Governors 2021-22
Council of Governors 2020-21
Council of Governors 2019-20
Council of Governors 2018-19
Council of Governors 2017-18
Council of Governors 2016-17