MEET YOUR GOVERNOR - IAN RAVEN

Lead Convenor for Unite the Union, and staff side chair of 12 trade union professional councils: Staff Side Governor

I believe if you want to create real change it needs to be done collectively. The Mersey Care board and I don’t always agree, but we’ve found a way, by using humanity in our conversations to create a partnership, so that change works for everyone.

I’ve been involved in the development of our Restorative Just and Learning Culture, where, when an incident happens, we no longer ask ‘who was responsible, we ask ‘what was responsible?

It’s taken time to trickle down and be embedded into policies, but now there’s more understanding of why things go wrong, a realisation that no one comes to work to create harm.

Now I talk to other trusts, organisations and trade unions to share policies, give guidance, and help them understand we’re not taking away the role of trade unions, but there are other methods of finding a resolution for everyone.

I think we’ve proven it’s more than an idea on paper. It never stops – we’ve gone from 4,000 to 11,000 staff across a big geographical footprint and every time we grow we need to educate our new colleagues on what we want in Mersey Care.

I’m also a grandad and an Army veteran – both my sons are now in the Army; my daughter is a frailty nurse, and my wife works at another NHS trust. I sit on the armed forces covenant group, and I’m delighted we have lots of veterans in clinical services. They’re such an important point of contact for ex-forces patients, they can truly empathise. We need to use the transferable skills that military people can offer.

I’m enjoying my governor role. It’s so important to have good governors, to hold the executives to account. I’m finding out more about services from our service user governors. It’s a lot of work along with my other roles, but it’s a chance to take myself out of that trade union environment and listen to what people think of the Trust. It’s rare we get to hear that, and as I’m finding out, there’s plenty of good news.

Real change needs to be done collectively.

To learn more about our Council of Governors, go to merseycare.nhs.uk

COME AND JOIN US

Do you have any views or suggestions for improvement?

Contact your Governor representative: Tel: 0151 471 2303 Email: merseycare.cog@merseycare.nhs.uk or write to: Alison Bacon, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Corporate Affairs, 1st Floor Hollins Park House, Hollins Park, Hollins Lane, Winwick, WA2 8WA

You can view Ian’s Governor profile along with the rest of our Council of Governors at: www.merseycare.nhs.uk/about-us/council-governors

Become a Mersey Care member. Follow the link: https://secure.membra.co.uk/Join/MerseyCare.

You can also call 0151 471 2303.