Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 26 April 2024 at 23:48
I’d like to start off by extending a thank you to Kevin for his exec message last week; we hope to have some more guest messages from both in and outside the organisation over the coming months so please keep your eyes peeled.
As many of us were, I was terribly saddened to hear the news last week that our colleague Sarah-Jane Cunningham had passed away. So many people have spoken to me about SJ, and the thing that has really shone though is the sense of kindness and compassion she brought to everything she did. SJ had a big impact on the people she met - colleagues speak of her with genuine fondness and without question she will be very sorely missed.
Some of you may have already seen this story in the Eastern Daily Press, but I’d like to highlight the incredible efforts of Student Paramedic Lucy Hammond and Paramedic Dave Killingback for rescuing a man who was drowning off Cromer beach a few weeks ago. Without hesitation Lucy ran into the sea and dragged the gentleman to the shore, and the pair, who were both off-duty at the time, provided life-support until on-duty colleagues arrived. Lucy and David – you both went above and beyond, and your selfless actions really do embody everything that is good about the paramedic profession. Well done.
I am pleased to see that applications have opened for our new specialist practitioner (urgent care) role this week. It’s a role that many of you have talked to me about and asked for and I’m pleased that, after much work and effort by the training team, we can now offer this opportunity to you. This is another important step in providing a clear clinical career pathway for staff. Similar to the previous emergency care practitioner (ECP), it really looks at how we can see and treat/refer more patients without the need for conveyance to an emergency department. So, having specialist colleagues who can treat people in their own homes and link in with other health and social care teams so that person gets the right care pathway for their needs. How many times have you had to take someone into hospital, when actually specialist primary care in their home would have been more appropriate, as well as more comfortable for them? You can read more about the role and what it entails here, but this is a fantastic opportunity that’s open Trust-wide – so please apply if you meet the criteria. If you’d like an informal discussion about the role, please contact paul.lewis@eastamb.nhs.uk
This week I’ve visited Mildenhall, Diss, Stowmarket and Braintree stations, and as always got some good insight from those of you I got to speak to; in Diss I talked with Ali about her experience as a relatively new member of staff at EEAST, joining as an ECA and now a newly qualified technician; colleagues in Stowmarket were keen to understand where we might be heading in the future, so we discussed things like future staffing models, specialist practitioners, clinical hubs and the need for us having more people. I also spoke to John in Stowmarket and Jon in Braintree, who told me about their frustrations at being a qualified and experienced ECP who feels underutilised (hopefully my last paragraph shows our commitment to changing that). We also talked about the challenges that could arise when ECPs, senior paramedics and specialist practitioners would be all aligned to Band 6.
I also had a chance to speak with some health care referral team (HCRT) colleagues, Robert in Longwater and Peter in Waveney, who told me about their experience of how HCRT is currently being utilised - and in some cases significantly underutilised. We talked about the future of HCRT and how it will be absorbed into our proposed intermediate care model, and about the challenges that they and some other colleagues have experienced when trying to secure answers or clarity on questions about accessing our new intermediate and associate ambulance practitioner (IAP and AAP) career pathways. On a positive note, my recruitment colleagues assure me that these issues will be addressed in the very near future. Kevin Brown, our recently appointed Director of Service Delivery will also be looking at how we use HCRT with a view to addressing the issues which I have now heard from multiple colleagues, in multiple locations. They can’t all be wrong!
I want to finish this week by encouraging everyone to support a very worthy cause called the Finnbar 500. Next month, a group of cyclists are undertaking a 500 mile journey from Cork in Ireland to Norwich to raise money for the grandson of one of our colleagues, Robert Cork. Many colleagues have already supported fundraising events for this seriously ill little man, and it would be great if anyone can support the cycle, particularly in its final stages as it travels through the region. On behalf of everyone at the Trust I send our best wishes to Robert and his family at this very difficult time – we are all very much behind you. If you want to know more about the Finnbar 500 challenge and how you can support, take a look at their Facebook page.
Have a good week,
Robert
Published 4th August, 2016