Bassetlaw: Concerned resident claims voting rules will make Hospital Trust election a non-event

The man, who asked not to be named, says those in charge will remain in place virtually unchallenged because of voting rules that are too restrictive.

“Only Trust members can vote and this is my issue because only about 2,400 residents out of a Bassetlaw population of 90,000 are Trust members, so some 87,000 potential hospital users have no voice on this issue,” he said.

“The Trust’s position seems to be that anyone who hasn’t joined doesn’t deserve to take part.

“We need to make it more open and I want to see everyone being allowed the chance to vote, not just Trust members.”

Responding to the man’s concerns, Trust chairman Chris Scholey said: “I urge anyone who is passionate about their local hospital to become a Trust member and consider standing as a governor because I am convinced the involvement of local people, patients and staff governors has helped us to improve the services we provide.”

“We have included information about these elections in our members’ newsletter, on our website at www.dbh.nhs.uk and Twitter and Facebook pages.”

“We have also issued press releases to local media and have included posters on notice boards across our sites.”