Thursday 19th May - Leadership message from Tom Abell, Chief Executive

I am sure you will all be aware that earlier this week we took action in relation to allegations of misconduct involving some team members sending inappropriate messages on social media. Please rest assured that this is being taken extremely seriously and we are in the process of conducting an investigation into the actions of everyone involved.  

I know we all share a sense of dismay about what has happened, and the impact this will have on our service. I want to thank all of you who’ve taken the time to write to me, and the wider team, with your thoughts and solidarity.

Rather than reiterate the messages from Tuesday, which you can read in full here, I thought it might be helpful to reflect on what this means and how we move forward.

Before my all staff briefing on Tuesday, I had the privilege of being invited to open the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia conference that we held jointly with Essex Fire and Essex Police. In my opening, I reflected that it is always tempting to feel that the progress being made in society or in our culture is irreversible – but we know from the example of this incident, and others, that progress is hard won and easily lost. We make progress by working together, by learning from our mistakes and by being persistent and relentless.

So, that’s what we have to do. Now is a time for us to stand up and be counted, to commit ourselves anew to continuing the hard work of improving our organisation and the service we provide to our communities, making this a trust we can all be proud of. That’s certainly what I intend to do and I hope you’ll join me.

Thank you for your time, and there’s an important note on pay on the Jubilee bank holiday below.

Stay safe,
Tom

Jubilee bank holiday pay

We have decided to treat the additional Jubilee bank holiday on Friday 3^rd June under the usual NHS terms and conditions, rather than following the NHS Guidance which recommended paying staff plain time rates. For those of you who are scheduled to work this means enhanced rates of pay and those of you not scheduled to work will receive additional annual leave entitlements. Taking this decision aligns us with the other Ambulance Service Trusts and has the support of UNISON.

 

19th May 2022