Late finishes update

Over the last few months, we have been working closely with UNISON to develop proposals to help reduce late finishes. We recognise the impact late finishes have on our staff and this one of our top priorities to address. 

Over the next week we will be finalising details of the pilot we will be putting in place – a pilot that will run across the Trust starting this May that will be continuously strengthened until the issue is resolved. The first phase of the pilot will enable crews to changeover at station and on scene where appropriate and extend the existing end of shift arrangement whereby crews in their last hour will not be sent to any green calls. 

Tackling late finishes is not easy and there is no one solution which will solve the problem. We also need to balance staff welfare and maintaining our response to those patients who need us urgently. Therefore we are introducing incremental changes, and this is the first step in that process. We will build on this over the coming months and it is important that each step is evaluated to ensure it is having the desired effect for both staff and patients. 

Anthony Marsh, Chief Executive, said: “We recognise the impact late finishes have on staff and are absolutely committed to tackling this and making this a better place to work. We are going to gradually increase the measures to reduce late finishes. At the same time as more staff are recruited and join the frontline, this will further ease the pressure on existing staff and allow us to go further to put more supportive measures in place. Our aim is to be the leading ambulance service in tackling and reducing late finishes. However we need to do this carefully to ensure that patient safety is not compromised, that we are still able to respond to life threatening patients and that any actions we do put in place do not negatively impact on other members of staff.”

Published 21st May 2015