As you know, next week we are undergoing a rigorous inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). You can read more about this on the Exec update we issued this week and the CQC Visits: Guide for Staff (which is also available on Need to Know and East24).

There’s just a few days left to have your say on the Resuscitation Council’s Emergency Care and Treatment Plan (ECTP) consultation.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance is inviting colleagues here at EEAST to attend its monthly clinical governance day.

The seventh national ambulance Remembrance service will take place on Thursday, 18th September at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire (DE13 7AR).

Temple at War is a military and vintage show taking place at Cressing Temple Barns on 14th and 15th of May.

An opportunity to be seconded to the Clinical Quality team has become available.

Our latest issue of Clinical Quality Matters, our clinical e-magazine, is out now! This issue looks at long-term and rare conditions.

Twenty lucky winners have been announced this week from our 2015 national staff survey prize draw – congratulations!

Dr Tom Davis has been appointed as the Trust’s new Deputy Medical Director, and will join us on 29th February.

Since Robert Morton joined us as Chief Executive he has been hosting a number of engagement forums with staff, clinicians, managers and volunteers to get their views about EEAST. And our next one is scheduled for Thursday, 10th March.

As previously published in Need to Know, sepsis is a life-threatening condition triggered by an infection.

This week’s HR e-zine, with the latest job vacancies and transfer opportunities, is now available to view online.

Following the successful roll out of the new Cleric CAD to Bedford and Norwich EOCs, we’re due to complete the final roll-out to Chelmsford next week.

Tasha Clarke, a paramedic from Clacton, has publicly shaved her head in a pledge which has seen £10,000 raised for a colleague’s wife, following her diagnosis of a rare form of breast cancer.

I know all our thoughts will be with our 999 colleagues in Brussels this week, and those affected by the tragic incidents. It really is emergency care at its most challenging, and can appreciate only too well what difficulties the teams over there will have faced in the last 72-hours.

We’re saying well done to the north east Herts team this month, who are celebrating a massive reduction in complaints over the last year.

Our 2015 NHS staff survey results have been published today (23rd February)!

Cardiac arrests are stressful events for all concerned and if a ROSC is achieved there is cause to celebrate - but in many ways this is only the first step in achieving a positive outcome.

In 2013, the Trust, with all other NHS ambulance services, took part in an exercise to find a common ambulance uniform that all ambulance staff nationally would wear.

The NHS in England this week (15th February) committed to the biggest transformation of mental health care across the NHS in a generation...

A recent court case, not in our region, found the driver of an ambulance guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after they neglected to properly secure a patient to the trolley-cot in their ambulance

I want to start this week by paying my respects to our much revered colleague Gary Smithen, who sadly passed away at the weekend

Find out the latest exciting opportunities within EEAST.

This week, we have been promoting respiratory care as part of our winter wise campaign.

On Wednesday (17th February) morning the new Cleric CAD system successfully went live in Norwich EOC.

As published on last week’s Need to know, there is a national shortage of Atropine minijets 1mg/10ml.

We’re asking colleagues to be extra vigilant with the storage and security of nitrous oxide cylinders this week, after reports that thieves in Essex have been targeting hospitals to steal the gas containers.

One of our key commitments and responsibilities to our patients and staff is to ensure their safety at all times whilst in our care and to protect them from harm.

"I want to start this week’s message by thanking everyone who came to our colleague Gary’s funeral on Friday (11th March). So many of you came to pay your respects and it showed in very real terms, how respected Gary was by many of his colleagues. "

Last December saw a 40% rise in clinical waste output from the Trust – rising to over 7,000kg!

A public health emergency of international concern has been declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) following the recent cluster of Zika virus infections in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

You, our staff, have been commended as 'completely professional', 'the safest in the country', and 'amazing' in our latest patient satisfaction latest survey.

With 38,000 runners, the London marathon is considered to be one of the world’s biggest and best running events.

The Trust recognises that there are many staff and behavioural related issues throughout the region that currently need addressing.

Mental health charity MIND has announced new dates for a resilience training course in Essex, which is now open to applications from EEAST staff and volunteers.

This week’s HR e-zine, with the latest job vacancies and transfer opportunities, is now available to view online.

The new Cleric CAD is due to be implemented in Norwich EOC in the early hours of Wednesday morning (17th February).

Last week saw 53 paramedics across Peterborough, west Suffolk and north Essex go live for EEAST’s latest clinical research study!

Following on from the Trust’s stroke week, guidance on stroke care has been released by the clinical team.

Two staff members from EEAST have won nationally recognised awards at the Ambulance Leadership Forum (ALF) Awards.

Since Robert Morton joined us as Chief Executive he has been hosting a number of engagement forums with staff, clinicians, managers and volunteers to get their views about EEAST.

Guidance about the importance of patient care records has been released by the Trust.

"I hope that most of you will have seen the update sent out to colleagues yesterday about the relentless increase in demand that we’ve been experiencing." Your weekly update from CEO Robert Morton.

A community first responder group in Norfolk is calling on your help for a fundraising appeal.

It may be a bit early for spring cleaning, but all entries within the Trust directory are currently being reviewed, to make sure the most up-to-date information is listed.

The health and care professions council (HCPC), the body that regulates and registers paramedics, last week launched revised standards of conduct, performance and ethics that paramedics are expected to adhere to.

The following policies and procedures have been reviewed and updated this month (January).

More than 180 paramedic science students attended a recruitment event which has been hailed as "extremely useful".

A Norfolk man has been reunited with the ambulance staff who helped save his life.

Our EOCs are nearly always the first point of contact and sometimes the first point of care for our 999 patients.

From Monday 8th February, the way that documents are created (merged) within the Datix system will improve for users.

A range of clinical courses will be available to staff next month (March).

Last year the Board recognised that we need to challenge and change our culture and the first part of this was launching a new set of vision, values and expected behaviours

Please be aware that there is a national shortage of Atropine minijets 1mg/10ml.

We’ve talked for a long time at EEAST about the tremendous pressure that we’re under as a service. In fact, that pressure has been so consistent that it’s feels like it has become the norm rather than the exception for all of us.

“When we are so busy and under constant pressure with ever increasing demand for our services, it is often easy to forget the progress we have made. And we have made some real and significant progress over the last five months and I wanted to just take some time to reflect.”

This week’s HR e-zine, with the latest job vacancies and transfer opportunities, is now available to view online.

A new development pathway for our clinical care staff has been shared this week that will provide clear progression opportunities internally here at EEAST.

Talent management, leadership programmes and an exciting new clinical career pathway were all tabled at last week’s Board meeting in Hertfordshire.

More than 100 patients filled in questionnaires, with 95.5% very satisfied, satisfied or fairly satisfied with the service they received from the Trust in October.

Thursday 4th February is ‘Time to Talk’ day, a day dedicated to the awareness of mental health.

Congratulations to Chelmsford EOC Call Handler Emma Farkas for achieving her silver award for consistent call handling excellence.

This week have are promoting stroke care as part of our winter wise campaign.

The PScashback Black Card is an exclusive benefit available to NHS staff, allowing you to get cashback on your everyday purchases.

As we continue over the unpredictable and ever changing winter period, it’s important for you to make sure you’re looking after your health.

Staff in mid and south Essex are being briefed on the latest news about the Essex Success Regime, one of three programmes in the country which are part of the NHS Five Year Forward View.