As a foundation trust we are accountable to the public through our membership, which is made up of local people, including patients and carers, who have an interest in the trust. Our membership also includes colleagues and representatives from partner organisations.

Why become a member?

Members make a real difference to the way services are developed and delivered in Somerset. Members have a direct influence on the services we provide. Learning from your experiences, we can continue to develop our services to best support those who use them.

Membership is free, and anyone can become a member as long as you are over the age of 12 and live in the UK. We want to ensure that our membership is representative of the wide range of people we care for, who work for us, and who live in the communities we serve.

What kind of things can a member be involved in?

Becoming a member doesn’t need to take up lots of your time, you can contribute as much or as little as you wish.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved, whether you have 10 minutes or 3 hours to spare.

In 10 minutes you can:

• Send an email to our governors, share your feedback and ideas on governor@somersetft.nhs.uk. You can choose to meet a governor by emails the governors email address and letting us know which one you would like to meet.
• Help to recruit new members. We would like more young members and their families to join our membership, so please encourage your family and friends. Our membership application form is below.

In 2 hours you can: 

• Attend events. It could be a informative event, an informal ‘constituency’ gathering, a council of governors meeting or the annual members’ meeting.
• Volunteer for us. There are a number of volunteer roles across the trust, playing an important role supporting people who use our services. You can find out more by emailing volunteering@somersetft.nhs.uk.
• Take part in a focus group or survey. We often have opportunities for patients and cares to give us their feedback on a range of key hospital services through a focus group or survey, Members can take part in these sharing their experiences and feedback.

In 3 hours you can…

• Become a Governor. We are looking for committed people with relevant experience who can help fulfil this important role. It is a great opportunity to contribute to the future of the trust. Find out more about the role by contacting the Corporate Services Officer at foundationtrust@somersetft.nhs.uk
• Join us at engagement events. Our members can help to promote membership and speak to those interested at events such as the annual general meeting.

How to become a member

Use our online form, send us an email at members@somersetft.nhs.uk or phone our membership office on 01278 432167 or 01935 384348 for a printed copy of the form.

When you have completed the online form or sent us your completed form by post, we will send you an acknowledgement. We encourage email correspondence if possible as it is both less expensive for you and us and it helps us achieve our environmental objectives.

How we will use your data if you become a member

The data you supply to us as a member will remain confidential and will be managed and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act (2018) on the membership database. The basis for processing your data is that it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that the trust has as a foundation trust.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner to use the information we hold for advertising, marketing and public relations purposes. The information you provide will only be used to contact you about trust membership-related activities, for example contacting you about events and surveys about our services, circulating newsletters and governor election information and voting packs, which are sent by the Electoral Reform Services which manage our governor elections for us.

For further information about the trust’s updated privacy policy, you can access the policy on our website, or you can contact the Corporate Services Officer for a copy of the policy by emailing members@somersetft.nhs.uk

Your data will be held on our members’ database until such a time you advise us that you no longer wish to remain a member. Please contact Vanessa Kelly, Administration Assistant on 01278 432167 or email members@somersetft.nhs.uk if at any time you would like to be removed from the membership list.

Young people’s forum

If  you are aged 16-24 years old, and have been a patient or are interested in a career in the NHS, then why not join our Young people’s forum?

Joining the forum will give you a real say in improving services across the trust, helping us to develop areas such as providing age-appropriate activities and entertainment for our younger patients.

You will learn new skills, have the opportunity to build your confidence, improve your communications skills and meet like-minded people. Most importantly, you will be helping to make sure that Somerset NHS Foundation Trust provides its patients with the best care and experience.

If you would like to find out more about joining the forum, please email members@somersetft.nhs.uk with your name, age, and a few sentences explaining what you feel you could contribute to the forum and what you hope to get out of joining.