The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have concluded the public consultation on the governance arrangements for the proposed merged organisation.

The feedback provided was reviewed and considered by the Governors and Directors of both Trusts.

A copy of the feedback was provided to all those who responded and is available to view at www.rbch.nhs.uk/healthyfuture.

The name “Bournemouth and Poole NHS Foundation Trust” has been chosen for the new organisation.

The public membership constituencies for the new organisation are:

• Bournemouth

• Poole

• Dorset (including local authority areas for Christchurch, East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset and Weymouth and Portland)

• Hampshire and Wiltshire

The following classes make up the staff constituency of the new organisation:

• Medical Staff

• Clinical Staff

• All Other Staff The Council of Governors will be made up of 31 Governors - 20 Public Governors, six each from the Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset constituencies and two from the Hampshire and Wiltshire constituency.

There will also be five Staff Governors and six Appointed Governors representing local stakeholder organisations.

The minimum age to be a member of the new organisation will be 12 and the minimum age to vote and to be a Governor will be 16.

The proposals on the size and composition of the Board of Directors, the Constitution and elections for the new organisation have been adopted without alteration.

With the governance arrangements decided the Trusts can now start recruiting prospective public members for the new organisation - we would really like existing members of both Trusts and other people living locally to become members of the new trust.

Remember as a member of a foundation trust you will receive:

• A quarterly newsletter

• Invitations to health talks and other events in the area where you live

• An invitation to the Annual Members’ Meeting As a member you will also be eligible to stand for election to become a public Governor and the elections for public Governors of the proposed merged Trust are scheduled to take place before next spring.