Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 19 May 2024 at 02:35
Starting on Monday, we’ll be holding our annual Thank You Week, which is an opportunity for us all to take a moment to appreciate those colleagues who really make a difference to our working day. Whether it’s a crewmate who always asks how you are, or someone from another organisation whose help and advice has made your job that little bit easier, please do take the opportunity to say thanks and show your appreciation.
Throughout the five days, the communications team will be sharing messages of thanks on Need to Know and our social media channels, so if you’re saying thank you to a colleague then don’t forget to use #ThanksTeamEEAST, which means they can share your post too. You can also send some words, or a video to the Internal Communications team.
With this in mind, I’d like to kick things off with a thank you message we received from a patient for our PTS colleagues.
She said the crew picked her up to take her to Chesterton Medical Centre and she was extremely pleased as nothing was too much trouble and they had a nice conversation with her, which ‘made her day.’
For the crew, I’m sure this was one of many jobs that day, but for this patient those few minutes made a huge difference, so much in fact that she took the trouble to write and thank us. When things are busy, you don’t always get the time to reflect on your day or notice the impact you have on other people which is why I’d like to thank all of you for the job you do. It’s not always easy, but it is incredibly important, and it is appreciated by many people right across the east of England.
Permanent Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers (HALO)
I’m delighted that, after much discussion with our partners across the NHS, we have been able to make our HALO roles permanent and will shortly begin the process of recruiting to the positions on a permanent basis.
Having permanent colleagues working so closely with the trusts will be a huge benefit to us and our patients, and it’s great that we were able to put this in place before the coming winter. Not only are the HALO roles a vitally important part of the patient care we are able to provide but they are a key building block in terms of winter resilience, reducing handover delays and improving patient safety.
Expanding our team
We’ve recently published an advert for pre-hospital practitioners to support the transition of experienced healthcare professionals with a NMC or HCPC registration with the appropriate background such as working in emergency departments, critical care and primary care. This is part of our longer term plans to diversify and strengthen our team and the service we provide to our communities.
If you know of anyone who may be interested the advert is currently open until 26 June, and can be accessed on NHS jobs here.
Dealing with filming
Last week, there was a video circulating in the media which had been filmed in an A&E department. At the time, we shared some guidance with you around what to do if you find yourself being filmed by members of the public whilst carrying out your job.
You should report any filming of this nature to your line manager or EEAST lead via Datix and alert the communications team. Experiencing filming in this way can be unsettling and worrying, if you have concerns please remember there is always wellbeing support available should you need it.
Live COVID update meeting
On Monday (20th June) at midday, the COVID team will be holding a live all-staff Q&A on Teams to go through the latest update on COVID-19.
The guidance has recently changed and although it has been communicated to management teams, the session is aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the changes and what they mean for all colleagues.
The link to the Teams Live event can be found here and a recording will be published on Need to Know for anyone unable to attend. You can find further details of the changes on Need to Know and the COVID-19 pages are in process of being updated.
Manager’s passport
A quick update for anyone in a managerial role, as we now have five new mandatory training modules within the Managers Passport Training. The five modules are available as virtual, recorded versions, which you can access directly from your Evolve Dashboard. At present, these are one off sessions and must be completed by the end of July. Full details and further links to the training are available here.
Staying Fit for the Future
The latest Fit for the Future blog post is out now and explains the work we’ve been doing with over 500 of our partner organisations to build on and improve the way we work together. A survey carried out at the beginning of the year highlighted that the relationships we have are valued and there is a great respect for our teams and the care we provide across the region.
The responses did reflect concerns around the ongoing pressures we face and the impact that has on response times, as well as how local areas could work more closely with their own local systems, whilst still being part of the wider Trust.
You can read more about the findings and how we will be using them to improve the service we provide here.
Thank you for all your hard work. Please look after yourself and stay hydrated in this hot weather.
Melissa Dowdeswell
Director of Nursing, Safety and Quality
Published 15th June 2022