Some also revealed how many members had left last year, including Liverpool Women's Hospital (816) and Countess of Chester (429), although many were elderly people who had passed away.
Even Liverpool Women's Hospital – which, with 8,442 public members, had the highest total in Merseyside – admitted in its annual report that the figure was “disappointing”.
In a speech to Monitor, the regulator for foundation trusts, Mr Milburn admitted that – five years after the first trusts were created – the membership figures presented a “mixed story”. He said: “While some trusts have a membership of tens of thousands, others have barely a few thousand. Some approach the task of public engagement with relish. Others with weary resignation. Some view their governors as an annoying nuisance. Others see them as a vital necessity.”
Mr Milburn said some trusts had “grasped the nettle of community engagement”, but few were linking with the public to improve public health, adding: “It is here that I believe you need to up your game.”
But Aintree Hospitals hit back, insisting it worked hard to involve members, by staging Focus On events, so they could learn about its “fascinating world-class work”.
And it said it was consulting closely with local people to ensure its £50m building projects fitted in with the community’s needs. A spokesman said: “We welcome the continued increase in our membership to more than 10,000 people across a range of backgrounds, including patients, staff and the public.”
There are now 115 foundation hospitals, which enjoy greater control over spending. Alder Hey trust and Warrington and Halton Hospitals gained the status late last year.
