Appointed governors

Each of our appointed governors seeks to represent the views from their appointing organisations, which include:

• Gloucestershire County Council
• Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group
• Healthwatch
• Gloucestershire Age UK

Gloucestershire County Council: Matt Babbage (appointed 2019)

Matt has been a governor since 2019, appointed by Gloucestershire County Council. He is the county councillor for Battledown and Charlton Kings division in Cheltenham and a borough councillor, sitting on committees for audit and governance, treasury and budget scrutiny.

Matt works as a finance business partner in the energy sector, having previously worked in a range of risk, governance and development roles.

Born in Gloucestershire, Matt lives in Cheltenham with his young family. He is also the trustee of two local charities.

Healthwatch Gloucestershire: Maggie Powell (appointed September 2019)

Maggie Powell moved from London to the Forest of Dean in 1982, and then to Cheltenham in 2007.

Now retired, she spent her working in life in the public sector: as a probation officer, in higher education and in local services. In the latter part of her working life, Maggie was particularly involved with the interface between health and social care.

Maggie has been a Trustee of various local charities, including 15 years spent with Gloucestershire Young Carers. She is currently helping support refugees arriving in Cheltenham.

Maggie first became involved with Healthwatch Gloucestershire in 2014. As their appointed governor, she will seek to ensure that the views and concerns of hospital users, and their families and carers, are heard by the Trust.

Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group: Vacant

Gloucestershire Age UK: Helen Bown

Helen has lived and worked in Gloucestershire since 1981 and held a number of roles within health and social care, initially as a qualified Occupational Therapist, and latterly with a wider remit for joint commissioning services for older people. During this time Helen led the strategic planning for services for people living with dementia and their carers. Prior to formal retirement, Helen spent time working with Barnwood Trust supporting work to expand the opportunities for people living with disabilities and those with mental health challenges.

Working across both the County Council and NHS has given Helen a good overview of health and social care policy and strategy, and plenty of experience of change management.

Helen has been a Trustee of Gloucestershire Age UK since 2019.