At a review meeting between the Trust working group and UNISON just before Christmas, it was agreed the late finishes and meal break trial would be extended further, with a view to determining if it is possible to make these measures business as normal.
The current trial will continue for a further 12 weeks and will include:
The meal break changes will continue and patient facing staff on the road will continue not to be tasked to Green 2, Green 3, Green 4, or any urgent calls during the interruptible part of their meal break. This in effect removes over 50% of calls from that period, ensuring more crews get improved meal breaks.
Other measures such as handover for long distance transfers, swapping of crews on-scene where clinically appropriate, and at acutes will also continue, to help to reduce late finishes.
The trial is currently managed by an interim staff support desk, based in Norwich EOC which currently operates on a regional basis.
The trial staff support desk can be contacted directly in relation to late finishes or welfare issues on 01603 888327. As always, your local managers, HR managers and staff representatives are also available to you.
Published 5th January, 2017