Home Our services About us Work for us Emergency Members Sign up to become a member Contact us Membership enquiries 0300 7900 506 kchft.comms@nhs.net Trust Membership Office The Oast Unit D, Hermitage Court Hermitage Lane Barming Maidstone Kent ME16 9NT Why sign up to be a member? NHS foundation trusts are like co-operatives where local people, patients and staff can become members. They elect a Council of Governors that holds the trust to account. Everyone’s motivation for becoming a member is different. You might just have had a baby and be passionate about helping make sure children’s NHS services are the very best they can be. Maybe your granddad or friend has just recovered in a community hospital after a fall and you’d like to tell us about their experience. You might simply just love your local NHS and want to help us make it the best it can be! Here are five of our top reasons to sign up: You get to have your say on local NHS services. We have more financial freedom to spend money on services you need. You will get NHS discounts in high street stores, restaurants and attractions. You’ll be kept up-to-date with improvements and changes to local NHS services. You can be involved as much or as little as you want in many different ways. Membership is open to anyone aged 14-years-old and over. Members aged 16-years-old and over may vote in governor elections or stand for election as a governor. If you’re aged 14 or 15 you will need your parent or guardian’s consent to become a member. The trust has 13 public constituencies, 12 that mirror our local council boundaries and one constituency for the rest of England. Members of the public will become part of the constituency in which they live. For people who work for Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, there are four constituencies that reflect the way the organisation operates. Employees automatically become members unless they choose to opt out. There is no payment for being a member of a foundation trust. How can I get involved? Getting involved is easy. You can do as little or as much as you like. You will have more of a say in the future of our services, through the Council of Governors, which works closely with the Trust Board. Members can receive our magazine, Community Health, which is published quarterly. There are five ways to be involved; you can: take part in surveys and questionnaires from time to time comment on our information leaflets come to public meetings or events and share your views join panels or working groups stand for election as a governor. We realise not everybody can get out to events or meetings, so we’ll make sure there are other ways for you to have your say. Members can register for NHS discounts, giving you money off in high street stores, restaurants and attractions. Visit health service discounts to find out more. You cannot become a member of the trust if, in the past five years, you have been involved in an act of assault, violence or harassment against any NHS staff or volunteers. You cannot become a member if you have been convicted of offences against children or vulnerable adults. What do our members have to say? We have members of all different ages, from lots of different communities and from a wide variety of backgrounds. Here, you can read their stories. Pat Conneely - July 2019 Peter and Angela Zein - July 2019 Lyn and John Gallimore - August 2019 About us Access to information Being open Ensuring quality Equality and diversity Finance How can you get involved? League of Friends Members Volunteering Your feedback Our aims Our charity Quality improvement Safeguarding Training Who we are Downloads Membership strategy 2018-21 Become a member Complete our online form to become a member. Sign up Patients and public Accessibility Freedom of information Leaflet library Members Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) Privacy Your feedback The trust Board Members Governors Jobs Magazine News Training Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust CQC rating Outstanding 24 July 2019 See full report FacebookTwitterLinkedInYouTubeVimeo © Crown copyright. Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust. All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated. Website developed in partnership with Kayo Digital By clicking “Accept cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Privacy policy Cookies settings Accept cookies