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Become a member of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) is the largest provider of community care across West Sussex, Brighton and Hove and parts of East Sussex, supporting and caring for people of all ages and all stages of life. Being a member of SCFT gives you a voice in shaping the Trust's future and the services we provide. 

You can share with us what is working well and which areas you feel need improving. Membership is open to anyone aged over 12 and above and we welcome both children and adults, with real flexibility in how involved you want to be. 

Benefits of membership

This short video of Benjamin explains the benefits of membership.

Benefits of membership

What do members do?

Members receive a regular newsletter and have the opportunity to be involved with the development and delivery of our Trust services.

We are committed to involving members in a meaningful way and members will be invited to engage with us by:

  • attending Annual Members' Meetings/open days and events
  • communicating with governors
  • participating in surveys, focus groups and interest groups
  • communicating with our membership office
  • completing member satisfaction surveys

As a member, it's up to you to decide how involved you want to be. You can choose to only receive information about the Trust, complete online surveys, take part in focus groups and consultations about subjects that interest you, attend meetings, or stand for election as a governor.

Members can choose their level of involvement

Members can:

  • elect representatives to serve on the council of governors
  • stand for election as a governor
  • attend members' events
  • work with us on patient and public involvement initiatives and submit opinions on any proposed changes to services

How to become a member

If you want a say in the running of the Trust, you can become a member by doing one of the following:

Please complete the form as fully as you can. Membership is free. Anyone aged 12 years or over, who lives in West Sussex, Brighton and Hove and the High Weald Lewes and Havens area of East Sussex, as well as anyone who uses our services, can become a member.

If you are aged between 12 and 15 years old, your parent or guardian will need to sign your form on your behalf. Those under 12 years are not eligible to join.

The Trust would like more children and young people to join as a member, so that they can get involved and have their say. For more information, take a look at our frequently asked questions (FAQs). If you're thinking of becoming a member and want to understand more about how we use personal data, please read our Foundation Trust membership privacy policy.

Have a direct say

As an NHS Foundation Trust, we are accountable to our local communities through our members. Members are at the heart of NHS Foundation Trusts. As members and governors, local people, patients, staff and local partners have a direct say in how we develop our services to meet the evolving needs of the community.

As a member, you can help us raise awareness of the value and range of what we do, make sure we continue to provide effective and relevant services and provide feedback to help us continually improve. You can also encourage other people to join, such as family and friends who live in Sussex.

Hear from our Governors

Video from Stella Benson, Public Governor for Brighton and Hove explaining how she became a member of the Trust, and discusses how being a member benefits the community.

Video transcript

Hello, my name is Stella Benson and I'm a Governor at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.

My role is to represent the views of local people across Sussex to the Trust Board and I'm one of three representatives for the Brighton and Hove area.

The Trust is looking for more people like you to show their support of the Trust and the local NHS by joining as members where you can share your experiences of Trust services to help inform improvements.

You can decide how involved you want to be, you can just receive our newsletter to keep up to date with the latest news across the Trust or you might like to be more involved and provide feedback.

Some of the services that the Trust provides includes community nursing and therapy in people's own home. At our inpatient wards and community hospitals, end of life care and a variety of specialist services for adults, children and young people.

My involvement in the Trust began after I was very ill with sepsis, I lost both of my legs below the knee, and all my fingers.

I became a patient at the Sussex Rehabilitation Centre which looks after amputees and neurological patients and is based on the Brighton General Hospital site.

I joined Coasting Together which is the patient user group and has funded amongst many other things, a fridge for the coffee shop, an iPad for patients and staff within the centre to use.

We also arrange social events for users of the centre.

I started to get to know people in the Trust and began to give short talks at staff induction days about my experience as a patient within the community.

I put myself forward for election as a Governor a couple of years ago as I wanted to be more involved with the local NHS and to give back some of the wonderful care and attention that I'd received.

My main interests in the Trust are disability, inclusivity and education. I'm also very interested in the future development of the Brighton General Hospital site.

If you're interested in becoming a member, no special skills or experience are needed. As long as you are twelve or over and have an interest or a connection to the Trust.

And it's completely free and very easy to join. Simply complete the online form on the web link below or if you have any questions or need any help in joining,

call our friendly membership team on 01273 696 011 extension 1520.

Thank you.

Grainne Saunders, Appointed Governor representing Children and Young People explaining why children should become members, and how they can get involved.

Video transcript

Hello, my name is Grainne Saunders and I'm a Governor at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.

My role as a Governor is to represent the views of children and young people across Sussex.

The Trust is particularly looking for young people to show their support of the Trust and local NHS, by joining up and becoming a member. As a member, you can share your experience and help improve services.

You can decide how involved you want to be.

You can just receive the newsletter, and keep up to date with local NHS work. Or you can decide to get more involved, and provide your feedback.

I have two children and my youngest uses many services so I know from my own family experience, how important it is to give feedback. And be involved to improve services.

The Trust provides more than 70 services across Sussex and of the Children and Young People services you might have heard of ChatHealth. ChatHealth is a confidential text messaging service, that provides information to young people supporting them through a number of sensitive issues including anxiety and health related matters.

The Trust also provides wheelchair and special seating services for children, as well as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy services for children.

To become a member of the Trust, you don't need any special skills or special experience. As long as you are over twelve years old, and have an interest in or a connection to the Trust because you use one of it's services.

It's completely free to join and very easy.

You could fill in the online form by clicking the web link below. Or if you have any questions and need a bit more help, you can phone the friendly membership team on 01273 696 011 extension 1520 and they'll be really happy to help you.

Thank you.

Jessica Poulton, Staff Governor representing Allied Health Professionals and Therapists explaining her role and how you can become a staff governor.

Video transcript

Hello, my name is Jessica Poulton and I'm one of five Staff Governors at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.

My role as Staff Governor is to represent the views of all staff to the Council of Governors - and to the board. Your views count - they can make a real difference to improve staff experience - and inform other improvements at the Trust.

Details of all of our Staff Governors and how you can get in touch, are available on The Pulse.

All substantive staff automatically become members, if you are a bank or an agency worker, we encourage you to join as a public member via the web address below.

As a member, you decide how involved you want to be, this might be keeping up to date with the latest developments of the Trust via our newsletter.

Or providing feedback on the issues that matter to you, such as the health and wellbeing of your colleagues.

You can vote in Staff Governor elections, or you might like to stand as a Staff Governor yourself.

The Trust are looking for more local people to show their support for their local NHS services by joining as public members.

Please do encourage your friends, family and those who you care for to join. It's free and easy to do, either online or via a paper membership form.

If you have any questions or you need any help with joining, please contact our friendly membership team on 01273696011, extension, 1520.

Thank you for listening, we look forward to hearing from you.

Get in touch with your local governor

The Council of Governors has a responsibility to represent the views of our members and the public, and to hold the Board of Directors to account for the performance of the Board.

If you would like to contact your local governor, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or you can provide feedback about your local NHS via this online form.

Contact our Membership Team

Phone: 01273 696 011 ext. 3115

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Page last reviewed: 25 March 2024
Next review due: 25 September 2024