Council of Governors

Montage of 23 people smiling at the camera. They are from all different backgrounds. They are our Council of Governors

The Council of Governors reflects the views of the Foundation Trust’s members, promotes its strategy and holds the Board’s Non-Executive Directors to account. 

Become a member of the Foundation Trust, and help contribute towards the future of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

About the Council of Governors

There are 27 governors who make up our Council of Governors.

18 governors are elected by our Foundation Trust’s public, patient or carer members and five are elected by staff members.

There are also four appointed governors who are nominated by stakeholders such as the local authority, or other organisations.

We see the Council as our critical friend and guardian of our values. Collectively and individually its role is vital as it acts as a link to the hospital community by:

  • involving members directly in our long term vision and planning
  • supervising public involvement, membership recruitment and engagement

The Council also has specific powers and holds the Non-Executive Directors to account for the performance of the Board of Directors. Its duties include:

  • appointing and setting the pay and terms and conditions of appointment of the Trust Chair and Non-Executive Directors
  • ratifying the appointment of the Chief Executive
  • appointing the auditors and receiving the annual report and accounts

Find out out more about each governor, why they stood and what they hope to achieve on their biographies.

Council of Governors' Structure

The Chair of the Council of Governors plays a pivotal role as they are also the chair of the Board of Directors.

To make sure our Council of Governors represents our membership effectively it is divided into a number of groups. These are known as constituencies.

The Council of Governors comprises four main constituencies. For more detail please see the Composition of the Council of Governors page.

Our GOSH Governors

A structure chart for the Council of Governors – the 27 Governors are split into elected governors (Patients, Parent / Carers and Public and appointed (Camden Council, Young People’s Forum and UCL GOS ICH).

The current council structure and GOSH governors.

Description of graphic above:

The elected governors are sub-divided into London, Home Counties and Rest of England and Wales.

The Patient Governors from London are Abbigail Sudharson, Constantinos Panayi and a vacancy, the Patient Governors from the Home Counties are: Josh Hardy and a vacancy, there is a vacancy for the Patient Governor in Rest of England and Wales.

The Parent / Carer Governors from London are Beverly Bittner-Grassby, Kamran Ansari and Stephanie Nash. The Parent / Carer Governors from the Home Counties are Sapna Talreja and Robert Ferguson. Claire Cooper Jones is the Governor from the rest of England and Wales.

The Public Governors from London are Roly Seal, Peace Joseph and Sara Ayerman. The Public Governors from the Home Counties are Eve Brinkley-Whittington and Hannah Hardy. Julian Evans is the Public Governor for the rest of England and Wales.

The Staff Governors are Dilys Addy, Elizabeth Collins, Jacqueline Gordon, Tania Ahmed and Quen Mok.

The appointed Governors from the Young People’s Forum are Rose Dolan and Kamya Mandhar. The appointed Governor from UCL GOS ICH is Jugnoo Rahi.

Council of Governors' Committees

The Council of Governors delegates certain duties to committees, such as:

Membership Engagement, Recruitment and Representation Committee (127.9 KB)

Council of Governors' Nominations and Remuneration Committee Terms of Reference (182.2 KB)