As part of our series of interviews with the Trust’s governors, we spoke with Sandhya Drew, who represents the rest of England constituency on our council of governors.

Why did you want to become a governor?

I underwent successful brain surgery in January 2016. After that I did some fundraising for St George’s, but I wanted to give back by participating in the life of St George’s.

Tell us about your history with St George’s?

I was actually born in St George’s when it was up at Hyde Park! I was then referred to St George’s in late 2015, I thought for an ear problem but Dr Mark Perera of Audiology saved my life by ordering a scan, which identified a tumour.

I was then operated on by Mr Andrew Martin and his team. I cannot thank St George’s enough and am pleased that the hospital has been recognised recently as a centre of excellence for its brain surgery.

What do you enjoy about being a governor?

I enjoy being part of the governing process of one of London’s great hospitals.

What do you think are some of the challenges of being a public governor representing the rest of England?

The main challenge is that unlike some of the local governors, I don’t have a distinct constituency. I and the other rest of England governors are thinking of ways of reaching out to ex-patients from the rest of England and others who might be interested.

Finally, what are your thoughts on the way staff at the Trust have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic?

It is hard for me to express the astonishment I feel at the dedication and courage of staff at the Trust. They have faced Covid in the line of work, and we have lost staff to Covid. If I can do one thing as governor, it will be to make sure that this courage is recognised with concrete actions in the future.