Chief Executive Officer Overview
This year has been one of progress and challenge for us all at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), as always throughout this time the dedication and exceptional efforts of our incredible people has shone through. Our people are the beating heart of our service, and their commitment to saving lives and providing compassionate care is truly extraordinary.
We have continued throughout this year to focus on our culture and to resolve long standing concerns our colleagues and stakeholders have had about how the service works. One of our significant accomplishments has been the resolution of over 91% of our long-standing legacy employee relations cases. This demonstrates our commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive working environment, where everyone feels valued and respected. We have also witnessed a reduction in instances of bullying and harassment, with a 71% drop in the number of reported incidents of sexual harassment. Such progress is a testament to our ongoing efforts to create a culture of civility and respect, as evidenced by three-quarters of our team completing values training.
We have remained steadfast in taking firm and proportionate action when individuals fail to meet our expected standards of behaviour and uphold our values. This commitment ensures that our service remains focused on, and is able to, provide the highest quality of care to those in need.
The recognition we have received from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), highlighting a “marked improvement” in several areas of concern raised in previous reports, reflects our collective determination to tackle the issues we face. Whilst we acknowledge these positive strides, we recognise that there is still much work to be done as we strive to be better.
Alongside our work to improve our culture, we have faced some of the most unprecedented demands on emergency care services that have ever been seen, these have meant that patients have waited longer than any of us would expect and has also placed severe strain on our people, dealing with both the volume of need within the community and the real impact that issues such as handover delays at hospital have had over the course of this year.
We responded in a variety of ways to this challenge over the course of the past year, including:
- The implementation of new end-of-shift protocols and hospital cohorting arrangements. These initiatives aim to facilitate timely departures from hospitals, allowing our dedicated colleagues to return home on time more frequently. Additionally, we recognised the vital role of our hospital ambulance liaison officers (HALOs) and have strengthened this team to provide continued support for our people and foster stronger relationships with our hospitals.
- We have expanded the role of advanced paramedics in our control rooms, bolstering triage capabilities and extending their responsibilities both in control and on the road.
- We have taken steps to refer appropriate calls and patients to partner services, ensuring patients receive the care they need, including referring back to 111 services where appropriate and the introduction of access to silver frailty lines and consultant connect services, providing invaluable support for triage and frontline decision making.
- Our partnerships with fire and rescue services across the region have been further strengthened, facilitating co-response arrangements that enable us to deliver a more coordinated and efficient emergency response.
- We have invested in our community first responder groups, which has included the introduction of new cars and state-of-the-art equipment such as the Raizer chairs. These advancements empower our dedicated responders to provide prompt assistance in critical situations, ensuring that life-saving interventions can be administered swiftly, and patients cared for better.
We have also placed paramount importance on improving the wellbeing of our teams, providing them with over 40 types of additional support for both physical and mental health. We have also removed the cap on mental health and physiotherapy support, ensuring that our colleagues have access to the support they need. The introduction of welfare wagons and trolleys, which will continue to be available, further demonstrates our commitment to supporting our team members in their essential work.
I want to thank each and every member of the East of England Ambulance Service for their remarkable contributions and unwavering dedication. Together, we will rise to the challenges we face, guided by our shared purpose to save lives and serve our community.
As we reflect on the past year’s accomplishments, we must acknowledge that we still have some way to go to deliver on our vision and values. I believe these challenges are surmountable and we should use them to inspire us to continually evolve and improve, whilst keeping a commitment to providing exceptional care at the very heart of what we do.
Tom Abell
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)