Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 18 May 2024 at 11:50
C2 segmentation launches
To ensure the best possible care for our patients, it’s important that we identify those calls that really do require an ambulance response, and those for whom alternative care pathways would be more suitable.
Nationally, some of the calls which fall into category 2 have been identified as being lower acuity and more suitable for a hear and treat response rather than a traditional ambulance response.
To address this, there is now a national rollout of C2 segmentation, and we began this process on Wednesday. Segmentation involves splitting the calls into two responses, the first will be those which still need immediate dispatch, and our crews will respond to those in the same way. Other cat 2 calls which are deemed appropriate will be assessed by a clinician, who will ether ensure an ambulance response is necessary or direct the patient to alternative care pathways.
The initiative has already been trialled and rolled out successfully in London and the West Midlands and is something we hope will have a real impact on our call volume here at EEAST as well. You can read more about cat 2 segmentation here.
Intranet project
For the past few months, we have been working towards the launch of our new trust intranet site, which will replace Need to Know and East24. Both of these sites have their limitations in terms of functionality, the ability to retrieve metrics and the scope for flexibility in their layout, which has been a challenge to work with and restrictive in terms of how we communicate with you.
A lot of people are already aware of the project, so I thought it would be useful to give you a quick overview of how we will launch it over the next month or so.
Migrating all our existing content from Need to Know and East24 to the new site, which will be hosted on SharePoint, is a mammoth task and one which I know many of you have already been involved in as content creators for your teams. We have almost finished this process, and the content has been reviewed, rewritten if necessary, and added to the new SharePoint site.
Over the next few weeks, we are in a test phase, and specific groups of colleagues, such as our content creators, have been emailed asking for help with testing the pages and links, spotting any errors, and feeding back to the implementation team. We will also be sharing more details about the new site, including the navigation, the features it offers and some of the key differences you will notice from the way we currently use Need to Know and East24.
There will be user guides and advice available for everyone across the Trust, and those will be shared with you in plenty of time before we go live with the new site in October. During the next month, any articles that are published on Need to Know will also be published on the new SharePoint site, so when we do go live, we can hit the ground running with our news pages already populated.
It really is a hugely exciting project, and one which we have needed for a very long time. I’m really looking forward to us being able to share the new site with you over the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the project, you can contact internalcommunnications@eastamb.nhs.uk.
Update on Time to Lead
Our Time to Lead programme held engagement events with frontline colleagues throughout July over proposals for improvements. Following feedback, an alternative team-leader based structure was approved by the Executive Board and since then, the programme team have been working with senior sector leaders to determine the final structure in their area.
We have now moved to the formal consultation period, which will run until 11th October 2023, and will include one-to-one conversations for colleagues with their line managers, with support from trade union colleagues as needed. We will also hold online engagement sessions over the next few weeks to support colleagues. You can find more information via this link.
Workplace behaviours survey
Thanks to everyone who has already taken the time to complete our Workplace Behaviours Survey. Your responses are crucial to maintaining the momentum we’ve already gathered, in developing a culture that we can all be proud of.
The survey remains open until 29th September and is completely anonymous, so please do share your views and experiences. You can find the survey here.
Planning and resourcing consultation update
The formal consultation period for the Planning and Resourcing programme closed on 8th September.
The team is currently pulling together a summary which will include all the themes, findings and any concerns raised by affected staff members. As well as providing an overview of the feedback it will also outline the confirmed outcomes having taken the views of colleagues and stakeholders into consideration. This summary was approved yesterday at ELT and will be shared more widely in the next couple of weeks.
In preparation for the next phase, a short guide is being produced and will be shared shortly with those colleagues impacted by the process. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email PlanningandResourcing@eastamb.nhs.uk.
Board summary
The eagle eyed amongst you may have already spotted the latest Board summary which is available on Need to Know. Unfortunately, there was a technical hitch with our IT during the meeting itself so we were unable to broadcast it live, but the good news is that it was recorded and is now online for anyone who would like to watch it. You can find the link to the recording and the summary of what was discussed here.
Thank You Thursday
All the thank yous we receive are special, but there’s something quite poignant about this one which is from a fellow colleague whose family needed the support of a team from Chelmsford.
‘I wish to take the opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to everyone involved on this job on behalf of my husband’s family. From call handler, dispatcher, to the ambulance crew who attended on scene. As a fellow colleague, it was a pleasure to be on the receiving end of fantastic work!’
Much thanks to you all.
Emma de Carteret
Director of Corporate Affairs and Performance
Published 21 September 2023