THE public governor for the NHS in Allerdale has an aim for 2022 of getting more people's voices heard in the borough.

William Miskelly joined the role in March 2022, when the pandemic first began, and has thrown himself wholeheartedly into the role.

He now wants more people from various backgrounds to have a say in the provision of healthcare services in the area.

Mr Miskelly said: "Since I’ve come into the role, I’ve taken it upon myself to get in touch with people in different ways – through virtual platforms or even just writing to people. In the early days it was just linking with groups to get shopping and prescriptions for people in the neighbourhood.

"By being a governor, I found out more about the need for meet and greet volunteers, so I helped out by doing this on Saturdays and Sundays at CIC. This helped me connect with our communities including the staff and understand their concerns."

"As a public governor I can be approached to ask questions to the Trust, which I get a quick answer to most of the time. I completed my induction to become a Patient Experience Volunteer in December 2021, this is aimed at keeping patients connected to their family and friends as well as supporting the ward staff.

"I am now a Patient Experience Volunteer on Saturdays and Sundays because I just wanted to help the staff out who are working extremely hard under extreme circumstances."

William's main passion is to encourage inclusion in all its forms, he himself grew up in care so understands the difficulties that people face. He was also born with two club feet and had two have operations and therapy to properly treat the condition.

He says that he feels strongly towards helping the NHS as they have helped him a great deal, he now wants other people to get involved.

He added: "We’ve got to speak to each other a bit more. Our Trust serves our community and our community needs to let the Trust know what they want. The more people are involved, the more things can actually change."