Update from Anthony Marsh - 23rd October 2014

This week, we have passed the 500 mark for applications to the senior paramedic and senior EMT role, which I am immensely pleased about. It is brilliant to see so many of you taking up this opportunity and taking on these extra responsibilities; I congratulate you all. For a long time EEAST has stood still in terms of progression for frontline staff, but my priority will always be to support you as much as possible. We published some additional Q&As last week, that might be of use, and you can find all of the original information here.

An added bonus of these new opportunities here is the amount of external attention these roles are receiving and we have had 57 applications for direct entry paramedics and technicians since they were announced. Recruiting fully-qualified staff who can immediately join the frontline will relieve some of the pressure we have to improve performance and deliver better care to patients by ensuring we no longer have crews without either a qualified technician or paramedic on board.

I am sure you have seen the media coverage about the serious incident at Ely station and Tracy Nicholls, Interim Director of Quality, has clarified the Trust’s procedures to follow when with deceased patients in a separate article, which I urge you to read. The full investigation into the incident will be completed quickly and thoroughly and we will share the results.

To end, I would like to reiterate my thanks for your exemplary way of working during the industrial action, which concluded on Friday, after the ‘action short of a strike’ phase. We maintained a safe service throughout the week and I appreciate your excellent commitment to care of our patients, as always. Thank you.

Published 23rd October 2014