Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 11 May 2024 at 03:32
I’d like to start this message with some positive news about our current operational position. In recent weeks, we have managed to reduce our overall waiting times for patients who call 999, which just a couple of months ago seemed like an impossible task. Not only that, but thanks to programmes such as ‘access to the stack’ and ‘hear and treat’ we’re now managing to divert callers who don’t really need a 999 response to more appropriate care without the need for an ambulance attendance. This means the effort we’re all making to try and alleviate some of the pressure we’ve been experiencing is beginning to pay off. I know it’s still very busy, we cannot become complacent as there are still many improvements required, but I think we can all take heart from the fact these are steps in the right direction. This concerted effort has also enabled us to move from REAP 4 down to REAP 3 for the first time since July 2021.
As part of our continual improvement journey, we have also developed an organisational improvement plan, this is based on the needs of the individual sectors and over the next few weeks we look forward to being able to share this with you all and for everyone to be involved.
Our Pre-Hospital Practitioners
One of the ways we have been bolstering our operational response is with the introduction of Pre-Hospital Practitioners (PHPs), and I’m delighted to say this is an initiative which is making a real difference. Our first 14 PHPs are all experienced Allied Health professionals from a nursing background, who joined us at the end of 2022 as a career change. Having completed training to make the shift from in- hospital to pre-hospital working, the PHPs began working on double staffed ambulances and moved to new placements within the Trust this week. I would just like to thank all of them for choosing a new career path with us and thank you to everyone involved supporting their induction and training.
New Trust Pharmacist
I would also like to use this opportunity to welcome our new Trust Pharmacist, Andy Cooke, who has joined us from NHS Community Healthcare in Hertfordshire.
Andy brings a wealth of experience to the organisation, having previously been Chief Pharmacist and Head of NHS Continuing Healthcare for Bedfordshire CCG. Outside the NHS, he has been Practice and Policy lead for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, a post graduate Tutor for Manchester University and a Medicines and Prescribing Associate for NICE, as well as a Director for a large Pharmaceutical Company. Andy’s role will be crucial for us as we move into prescribing a wider variety of more complex medicines for our patients.
Keeping our patients safe
In an Executive Message before Christmas, I spoke about the national change to the way we review serious incidents across the NHS in order to learn and improve. The introduction of the Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework (PSIRF) will move us away from focusing on causes and individual involvement to a system-based approach, centred on compassion, patient involvement and open conversation.
Rather than trying to identify errors made by an individual, PSIRF focuses on changes we can make to our wider systems to prevent recurrences. We will use DATIX to identify themes for concern with the greatest potential for patient safety improvement, and these will then be investigated as opposed to only launching investigations into single, serious incidents.
Over the coming weeks we will be sharing more information with you about how PSIRF will roll-out at EEAST. On a day to day basis there will be little visible change, incidents will still be reported in the same way, but there will be some changes for managers who will require some further training in order to support the new process. This training will be rolled out over the coming months, and we will publicise where and when it can be accessed as soon as we have further details. PSIRF will become business as usual for us, and all NHS Trusts, this September.
LGBT and Disability/Neurodiversity surveys now open
Our LGBT+ and Disability and Neurodiversity surveys have now gone live and if you identify with one of these groups then I would urge you to take a few minutes to respond and share your thoughts and experiences with us.
As we’ve previously said, these surveys are the result of feedback which highlighted some of the historical difficulties experienced by colleagues working at the Trust who have declared that they are neurodiverse, disabled, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. We hope that these surveys will provide us with a clearer insight into the current situation and identify areas for action going forward to ensure that all of us are able to be ourselves at work.
Both surveys are completely confidential. They are being conducted by an external company and will remain open for the next couple of weeks.
Industrial action
On Monday we saw another ambulance strike taking place, and although we had no action here at EEAST, we still had to dedicate time and resource to contingency planning and preparing to support with call handling in other areas. Once again, thanks to everyone involved in the preparation and planning for this.
Thank you Thursday
The Mayor of Castle Point Borough Council, Cllr Martin Tucker and Mayoress Dawn Tucker, visited Southend Ambulance station recently with a patient and his wife. The patient, Mr Gadd, suffered a cardiac arrest back in March 2021 and he and his wife, Gaynor, wished to thank the staff who saved his life that day. They were Kerry Watson, Jack Broomfield and Luke Goodall, well done to everyone involved.
Thank you and take care,
Melissa Dowdeswell
Interim Chief Operating Office and Director of Nursing, Safety and Quality
IMPORTANT TRUST NEWS FOR CASCADE
Completion of self-assessments on Inphase compliance software
In line with the Trust’s associated CQC management policy, it is essential that Specialists and Heads of complete a quarterly self-assessment against their relevant prompts within the Inphase software. The completion rate for Q3 at this level was 14.81% for EUC and 10.49% for PTS – it should be noted that this is the completion rate for Specialists and Heads of and not operational teams who all complete their relevant updates.
As well as providing the Trust with an ongoing overview of compliance at any time against the Health & Social Care Act, these reviews and associated evidence are also required to:
Currently, for triangulating and collating evidence, Specialists and Heads of are having to be contacted to provide the evidence required.
As we move to a new Continuous Improvement Assurance Framework, these self-assessments will help to triangulate evidence from other data flows such as the IPR, clinical audit, IPC and medicines audit.
Still time to have your say
There is still time to share your thoughts in the National Quarterly Pulse Survey.
You should have received an email from Picker containing your unique link to the survey. If you haven’t received the link, you can find out more about the survey and complete it here. It will only take a couple of minutes. The survey is open for a few more days, until Tuesday 31st January.
Your responses are completely anonymous so we cannot identify anyone from the answers they give. This quarterly survey runs alongside the annual NHS Staff Survey giving you a regular opportunity to provide feedback which we can then use to plan and shape the direction of the organisation for the future.
FTSU Ambassadors – your help wanted
Are you passionate about creating a culture of openness and honesty at EEAST?
Do you believe you have the skills and experience to support staff who want to raise a concern?
Do you demonstrate the Trust values and behaviours?
Do you have excellent communication skills and can show empathy and compassion for others?
If you answered yes to these questions, then please consider applying for a role as one of our Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Ambassadors. The role is open to everyone, from all service areas and bandings, regardless of whether you are an employee, volunteer or student. You can find out more and apply here.
Published 26th January 2023