Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 18 May 2024 at 11:49
Congratulations to our paramedic graduates.
It’s been wonderful to celebrate the achievements of our people recently – firstly with the ‘Stars of EEAST’ awards on 5 July – and more recently with the first cohort of EEAST learners qualifying as paramedics through a new apprenticeship degree programme with the University of Cumbria.
The first group of 20, who graduate at the University of Cumbria later this month, each received a certificate to mark completing the Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship Paramedic Programme at a ceremony at The Athenaeum in Bury St Edmunds. A huge well done to everyone. You can read more about their achievements here.
You can also see the fabulous photos and video from ‘Stars of EEAST’ here.
Help us improve Trust recruitment
Our recruitment team have been working collaboratively with colleagues across the Trust in our first workshop on making our recruitment processes quicker and more efficient, which included representatives from recruitment, operations, unions, finance, CI and the exec. This is vital if we are going to recruit the number of new colleagues needed to ensure that we keep our patients safe during the winter. We have already reduced the number of days that vacancies spend in the redeployment pool from 10 to 4 days.
Over coming weeks and months, we’ll be offering the chance to meet with you as part of the Meeting Basic Needs programme to provide in-person support and training for current recruitment processes and episodes. These will be held on the 3rd August in Barton Mills and on the 7th September in Kempston, Bedford, and you will be able to drop in online. Subject matter expert will call back to discuss any issues and to provide further support.
Raising issues informally
How we engage, communicate and behave all play a part in how we create a better working environment for all of us – including how we respond to each other when we are working at strength and equally when we are working under pressure.
There may be times when something or someone is troubling you or having an impact on your work. Where possible, we are keen to support people in taking an informal approach by being honest with colleagues, so that issues can be dealt with quickly before they escalate.
I realise that this may feel daunting but, when the circumstances are right this can lead to a quicker resolution for everyone involved, hopefully reducing any upset and stress. We are producing further guidance that will be made available to everyone to support and signpost for these approaches. In the meantime, please contact your local People Services Team or the Trust’s Mediation Service if you need support: mediationserviceeeast@eastamb.nhs.uk.
Time to Lead update – thank you for your feedback
During July we met with groups of frontline leaders from each sector as part of our pre-consultation process for Time to Lead, looking at the changes that we want to make within our sectors to provide additional resources in order to free up our leaders so that they have more time to spend with people. The pre-consultation process was very helpful and thank you to everyone who participated and gave feedback on the proposed changes. We have taken these suggestions on board and have made changes to the original proposals as a result.
This week Tom Abell, and Emma De Carteret have been meeting with Heads of Operations, and Band 8 and Band 7 leaders to talk through the changes we have made to the overall model. We also recognise that our sectors have different needs and challenges and so want to build in local flexibility.
The proposed structure will be published on East24. In August, we will move into the formal consultation stage so that we can put the changes in place before winter.
Wanted – 30 cultural inclusion agents!
As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we are advertising for 30 people to take on the role of Cultural Inclusion Agents and there are still a few vacancies. This is a voluntary role within the Trust open to all our people (both employees and volunteers). These roles are vital for helping to create an inclusive culture by ensuring that everyone has the same opportunities within our workplace by identifying and challenging any issues of less favourable treatment, discrimination and unconscious or conscious bias for any of our people with protected characteristics, within disciplinary, grievance or interview panels and processes.
You can find out more here:
Feeling the Pulse – have your say!
Lastly, the Pulse survey closes on Monday 31 July. Please take some time to share your feedback as it is really important to help us know where we are making progress and where we still need to focus more attention. We can then prioritise the areas of focus that are important to you.
Thank you Thursday
This week’s shout out goes to a crew in North Beds:
“I have just spoken with the patient who was taken to hospital by the ambulance crew and he would like to express heartfelt thanks to the crew who did an amazing job in his eyes saved his life. He is all better and will get to celebrate his 65th birthday again as it was his birthday on the day.”
Thank you for everything you do, stay safe and be kind.
Marika Stephenson
Executive Director of People Services
Published 27th July 2023