Our membership

As an NHS Foundation Trust, Moorfields Eye Hospital is a membership organisation, accountable to our members. Membership if free and it gives you a way to have a say in how we develop our services and patient care. Anyone who is over the age of 16 and is either a patient, a member of staff, or who lives in one of our public constituencies can become a member of our foundation trust. Our members, and the governors who represent them, help us to stay in touch with the communities we serve, provide valuable feedback on our services and can get involved in a range of other events and activities.

It's your hospital: become a member

Joining Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust gives you the opportunity to support and get involved in the work of a world-famous eye hospital. All members can have a say in how the trust develops, giving the community and our patients the opportunity to shape the future of the services we provide at Moorfields.

As a member, you will receive*:

• Information about Moorfields, the latest developments in treatment, research and general hospital news
• Invitations to participate in service or site-specific workshops 
• Invitations to events such as our annual general meeting, social events, fundraising activities and events focusing on topical eye health issues. 

As a member you can:

• Give us your views on our services
• Vote for or stand as a governor in future elections
• Influence decisions and have your voice heard through your elected governor
• Attend special events and focus groups

*We provide information in various different ways but we encourage members to provide email addresses so that we can communicate in a way that is more cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

Who can join?

It is important to us to have as many members as possible so that we reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and meet the needs of our patients and staff. We are very keen to encourage people who do not traditionally get involved to join Moorfields and have their say.

You can become a member if you are either:

• A resident aged 16 or over in Greater London, Bedfordshire, Essex or Hertfordshire
• A patient aged 16 or over who has received treatment at any one of our sites, wherever you live
• The carer aged 16 or over of a current patient. Both carer and patient can become members
• Staff – all staff automatically become members when they join Moorfields, although they can opt out if they wish.

Types of membership:

There are two types of membership: public and patient.

Public members live in the areas where Moorfields provides services. Constituences are:

• South West London
• South East London
• North East London & Essex
• North Central London
• North West London
• Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire

If you do not live in one of these areas but are a patient, you can become a patient member. Both public and patient members have the same opportunity to have a say in the care and services provided by the trust. You can become a public or patient member provided you are over 16 years of age. 

How do I join?

You can apply to be a member by emailing us at moorfields.foundation@nhs.net

How we collect and use your information:

We are committed to protecting your privacy. Please read this Privacy Notice to find out how we use your information and what your rights are in relation to trust membership.  

The membership council is chaired by the trust chair, Laura Wade-Gery.

It meets four times a year.

To request papers from earlier membership council meetings, or for further information about attending membership council meetings, please contact moorfields.foundation@nhs.net or you can call the membership team on 0207 566 2490.

Privacy Notice for foundation trust membership

How we collect and use your information

At Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (‘Moorfields’, ‘Trust’, ‘us’ or ‘we’), we are committed to protecting your privacy. Please read this Privacy Notice to find out how we use your information and what your rights are in relation to Trust membership. This notice applies to personal data provided to us, both by individuals themselves or by third parties. We process your personal information lawfully, fairly and transparently, and only where we have a lawful basis to do.

What we do

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is the leading provider of eye health services in the UK and a world-class centre of excellence for ophthalmic research and education. We have a reputation, developed over two centuries, for providing the highest quality of ophthalmic care. Our 2,300 staff are committed to sustaining and building on our pioneering legacy and ensuring we remain at the cuttingedge of developments in ophthalmology.

How we use your information

NHS Foundation Trusts are established in law with a bespoke form of public ownership as independent Public Benefit Corporations. It would not be appropriate to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your information as Trust membership is an inherent part of the legal requirements for Foundation Trusts. As Moorfields is a foundation trust, it needs to maintain a Trust membership scheme. This is a statutoryrequirement under the NHS Act 2006. Membership enables all our members to have a say in how the Trust develops, giving the community and our patients the opportunity to share the future of services we provide at Moorfields.

Members are also invited to vote in elections for governors to sit on the membership council and represent their interests although this is voluntary. For this reason, instead of consent, we rely on specific provisions under the law, such as ‘in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’, under a ‘legal obligation,’ or as ‘a task carried out in the public interest’.

This means we use your personal information which includes, name, address and email information to provide you with your membership related information without needing your consent. The Trust is also required to make sure its membership is representative of the population and for this reason we collect demographic data. However, you are not obliged to provide demographic information. You also have the right to object to our use of your information. We will consider your objection but if we comply with your wishes we will explain how this could have an impact on our ability to provide you with membership information. We are legally obliged under the NHS Act 2006 to keep information on current Trust membership, including members’ details and therefore the right to be forgotten does not apply; however, should you no longer wish to be a Trust Member you can apply to the Trust for erasure of your information.

How long we keep your information for 

Your information will be retained whilst you remain a member of the Trust. Your information will be destroyed should you no longer wish to be a Trust member.

Your rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection legislation in relation to your personal information. These rights include:

• Requesting access to your personal information. – You are able to apply for a copy of personal information held about you free of charge. This process is called a subject access request
• Requesting correction of your personal information – This would apply if factual information held such as name, address or health information was incorrect.
• Requesting erasure of your personal information – The right will apply if the information is no longer needed.
• Objecting to processing of your personal information – You can object to us processing your information if there is no overriding legal reason for us to continue to do so.
• Requesting restriction of processing your personal information – You can request to restrict processing of some of the information held about you such as how you wish to be contacted and for what purposes. Where this is the case we will discuss with you how the restriction this may have an impact on your membership as appropriate.
• Requesting transfer of your personal information – This right would generally not apply for membership related information as this information is specific to Moorfields
• Right to withdraw consent – You can opt-out of activities where the basis of us using your information is consent such as marketing or research.

If you wish to exercise your rights in relation to the above please contact the Trust’s Data Protection Officer, contact details are provided below.

• Brief guide for governors.
• Moorfields constitution.