Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 19 May 2024 at 04:29
Tomorrow (Friday 8th July), is the first ever International Paramedics Day, recognising and celebrating the work carried out by paramedics and first responders around the world. The day has been created by the College of Paramedics in recognition of the vital role of paramedics.
This year’s theme is #ProudToBeAParamedic and we’ve asked some of our own colleagues to share their thoughts on what makes them proud. You can see the video on Need to Know. To all of you who respond to our patients, we’re proud to work alongside you, and on behalf of ourselves, our families and friends, we’re all very glad that you’re there when we need you.
Suffolk and North East Essex Expo
On July 1st, the new Integrated Care Systems (ICS) went live around the country. On the day, I joined Suffolk & North East Essex (SNEE) ICS, who marked the occasion with a special Expo in Newmarket.
The event featured health care providers and stakeholders from all over the SNEE area. At the EEAST stand, our team were talking to guests about careers in the ambulance service and also showcasing our new Zero-Emissions electric rapid response vehicles. The cars are part of a national two-year pilot programme and it’s great to see them finally out on the road. Members of the local media were also there, and it was great to be able to show them round the new vehicles and talk about EEAST’s role as a healthcare service within the new ICS arrangement.
We also had a great presence from our Community First Responders, who were talking about the care they provide in local communities and demonstrating some of the equipment they are using, including the recently introduced Raizer Chairs to help patients who suffer a fall.
Out on the road to reduce delays
This week, doctors, nurses and other health and social care professionals are joining some of our crews for ride outs in Mid and South East Essex. We have invited the teams along so that they can better understand the issues behind delays for patients and help identify new ways to resolve them. They will see how potential barriers at each part of the patient journey - from the emergency call, to getting into A&E and through to diagnosis and treatment – contribute to delays.
Thank you to all of our ambulance crews, hospital liaison officers in emergency departments, and dispatch and clinical teams at Chelmsford AOC who are teaming up with the senior nurses, A& E consultants, and directors of nursing during the week.
Telling us what you think
Listening to your concerns is crucial for making sure that we’re taking the organisation in the right direction. We have just published the results of both the Pulse survey and the recent harassment survey. And you can read more about them here.
Some 1,400 of you responded to our harassment survey. I am pleased to say that in the February survey we saw an improvement with a 77% reduction in the number of people currently experiencing sexual harassment and a 41% reduction in those reporting that they have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months. These results are in line with the national NHS staff survey, published at the end of March, where fewer people said that they are experiencing bullying and felt more able to speak up
One case of inappropriate behaviour is still one case too many and it is all of our responsibility to stop this behaviour. We will be continuing to publish monthly updates on our work in this important area.
The quarterly People Pulse survey gives us an indication of how supported you feel. We had over 800 responses in April. The results showed slight increases in those of you who feel you have the support you need for your health and wellbeing, and fewer of you feeling anxious. You also feel better informed about any changes taking place within the Trust and we hope the Fit for the Future podcasts and blogs are helping with this.
Your responses did show that workloads and operational pressures are still a concern, and we are already looking at ways to better manage demand now, in preparation for the coming winter. You asked for better support from your leaders and we are working on a programme for all our leaders so that you feel better supported by them.
You are keen to see senior managers visibly listening to colleagues more. The local Q and As in each sector or directorate give you a chance to put questions directly to managers. We are also encouraging all our senior managers to get out and about, so I hope you will see more of them within your work areas. Equally, if there is an event or activity going on in your local area or department which you would like a member of the senior team to attend please do let us know so we can arrange this.
The next National Quarterly Pulse survey opened this week and runs until the end of July. I would urge you to complete it and share your thoughts. I hope you can see that we do value your feedback and we are using this information as a basis for moving things forward. The survey is anonymous and you can access it here.
Safeguarding pathway changes
Thanks to your feedback and suggestions we have reviewed the existing SPOC pathways for safeguarding and are implementing changes to them from this week.
You can find more information about the changes here. The main things to note are that the focus is very much on patient consent (so please have those conversations with patients and families early). The process now involves fewer questions that are more streamlined to speed up the process and there is one GP referral pathway for all mental health, medical and medication issues.
Thank you for all that you continue to do.
Tom Abell
Chief Executive
7th July 2022