RCOT
RCOT
Feature nine elected and majority OT trustees , making a total of 13 council members / trustees .
Cathryn Holding , Council Member , Industrial Relations says : ‘ In order to meet the ambitions of our profession , as well as their expectations of the Charity Commission , we are looking at bringing in four additional posts to our Board of Trustees .
‘ This is to supplement our nine OT members . This is not about taking seats away from OTs , but rather bringing in skills and knowledge and aspects , such as finance and business management , to help us make sure that we are sustainable and make the correct decisions .’
Paul Dunning , Council Member for Wales adds : ‘ In the same way that we as OTs continually strive to develop our services to make sure they meet the needs of our service users and patients , so the same is true for our professional governance at RCOT .
‘ We want to ensure our governance structure is responsive and focused and able to have the greatest impact for our members and the wider profession . As some of the governance structures are now outdated , we want to make some changes , which include bringing additional business expertise and skills onto the Board of Trustees .
‘ With four new roles to support the existing nine elected OT Council members , this is about strengthening the expertise of the Board to ensure that the profession and its members receive the best professional advice , support and development from the Board both now and into the future .’
Improving how we elect and recruit
We plan to create a People and Nominations Committee to improve how we elect and recruit to Council and the Board of Trustees , including the new trustee roles .
Elected Council members will be part of the committee ; they will advise on what business skills are needed and oversee a transparent recruitment process . This would include having an elected council member on the recruitment panel . The committee will also advise on election processes to make sure it reaches all members and attracts a diverse range of candidates . The committee will also oversee scrutiny of the RCOT people strategy .
By strengthening our governance , you can be confident that your membership body is fit for purpose and following good practice . You will have reassurance that we ’ re legally compliant , with a reduced risk of regulatory intervention .
And you can be more confident in the RCOT Board of Trustees because you will know elected OTs will be supported in their decision making by subject matter experts in different business areas , such as marketing and finance .
Visit the governance hub https :// bit . ly / 3JL0MgF .
Talk with council
Council wants to meet with members to talk through the governance review and proposed changes , to hear your views and answer your questions . There are two more drop in sessions over the coming weeks , on 21 May at 12-1pm and 5 June at 7-8pm – so sign up today at https :// bit . ly / 43uXTtz .
Have your voice heard this June
The British Association of Occupational Therapists ( BAOT ) Annual General Meeting and Royal College of Occupational Therapists ( RCOT ) Open Meeting is being held online on Thursday 27 June 2024 from 5.30 – 7.30pm .
At this year ’ s BAOT AGM and RCOT Open Meeting you will be able to :
• Hear the Chair ’ s report of the year , including receiving our annual report and accounts .
• Find out the results of your Council Member elections .
• Learn about the governance review and vote on the new BAOT Articles of Association .
• Ask questions of Council and the Senior Leadership Team .
• Vote on the re-appointment of the auditors .
• Hear from our Council members on their highlights of the year .
• Join in a member-led panel discussion with our Senior Leadership Team to talk about how we are stepping up for occupational therapy and RCOT .
If you ’ d like to find out more about the AGM , including viewing the proposed Articles of Association , you can do so on our website at www . rcot . co . uk / agm2024 and we have in-depth information about why we are proposing these changes on our governance review hub at www . rcot . co . uk / govrev .
Previously you would receive your printed AGM notice and proxy form with your May issue of OTnews . This year we are running both the election and AGM through Civica Election Services ( CES ) and you will receive your notice and proxy form with your election materials .
We are required by law to run our elections via an independent scrutineer ( we use CES ) and run our elections by post and by adding our AGM notice and voting to this service we can significantly improve the assurance provided to members when voting on matters at the AGM .
In future years , to reduce printing , we need your consent to publish the AGM notice and proxy form , along with the more detailed papers via our website . You will be sent a short notification each year that your AGM notice and papers are on the website ( via email if you have consented to email communications on your member account or via post with your election information if you have specified postal communication on your member account ).
Please contact governance @ rcot . co . uk if you wish to continue receiving your notice and proxy form in hard copy . If you have not received your candidate statements and AGM notice by 28 May 2024 please contact governance @ rcot . co . uk . Your voice is important , so please vote in our elections and on our AGM resolutions .
May 2024 OTnews 7