Why become a member?

Becoming a member of our new foundation trust means that you will be able to:

• Demonstrate your support for our hospitals - The Royal London, Barts and The London Chest
• Contribute to the hospitals' future development, including our plans to create on of the UK's first academic health sciences centres, speeding new cures and treatments from the scientist's bench to the patient's bedside.
• Help and advise us on developing our services to best meet the needs of our patients, their families and the local community
• Elect other members to represent you on the new Members' Council, which will work closely with the hospitals' management team to ensure that members' opinions and expertise are heard and accounted for
• Stand for election as a representative governor yourself
• Receive regular information about the hospitals and about healthcare issues in which you or your family have a particular interest. You will receive three issues of our special newsletter, Members' Link a year
• Be invited to special Medicine for Members events where you can find out more about the work of our hospitals and about important health issues; look out for details in the 'events for members' section of this website or in your copy of Members' Link

Will it take up much time?

Membership is free, and how engaged you are as a member is entirely up to you.  You might want simply to receive an occasional newsletter, or receive more regular information about the work of our hospitals or about health issues affecting you or your family.  Or you might want to play a more active role, participating in focus groups or surveys, becoming a volunteer, or standing as a governor on the Members’ Council.  Being a member will not affect your treatment at any of our hospitals.

Who can become a member?

Membership is divided into different categories, known as constituencies, as listed below.  If you are eligible for more than one constituency, you will need to choose which one you want to belong to – you can belong to one constituency only within our foundation trust. 

Public members

Anyone who lives in England or Wales is eligible to be a public member. 

Patients and their carers

Anyone who is currently a patient or cares for a patient at our hospitals, or who has been treated or cared for someone in our hospitals in the last three years, can join our patient and carers constituency.

Staff at our hospitals

Staff employed by Barts and The London will automatically be made members of the staff constituency, unless they specify that they do not want to be a member.  Honorary contract holders and staff who work at our hospitals via an independent contractor are also eligible to join the staff constituency.  If you are in any of these groups, you do not need to complete a membership application form. 

If you are a volunteer at any of our hospitals, you can also opt to join the staff constituency, but you will need to complete a membership application form to do this.

Associate membership

If you are not eligible to join one of the above constituencies, you can still enjoy many of the benefits of membership by signing up as an associate member. Associate members enjoy all the benefits of full membership, including receiving regular information and being invited to attend events and participate in specific activities. They do not have voting rights and cannot stand as governors on the members' council (the organisation that will represent members and work with the hospitals' board of directors to develop strategy and plans). Associate members include:

• Those who live outside England and Wales
• Those who are under 16 years of age 

Are there any restrictions on membership?

• You must be 16 years or over to become a full member, but there is no upper age limit
• No one who has been dismissed from Trust employment or has been involved in an incident of violence or abuse against our staff will be allowed to become a member of the foundation trust
• Members can join one constituency only within our proposed foundation trust

How to join

If you would like to be a member of Barts and The London NHS foundation trust, please fill in our membership application form by click here. 

Membership form 

• Alternatively, let us have your name, address and a contact telephone number and we will send you a hard copy of our application form.  You can contact us in the following ways:
• E-mail ft@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk
• Telephone 0870 707 1598