Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 06 May 2024 at 15:07
This week's We Are EEAST Briefing and Executive Q&A was led by our CEO, Tom Abell.
Introduction from Tom
Starts @ 00:09
Ends @ 06:57
Questions
Q1 - Another ambulance service has stated that they have been 'heavily pressured' by the government to reduce their REAP level from 4 to 3 - given that, apart from strike days where call loadings are lower, hospital and response delays are the same, so is that what has happened in our Trust also?
Starts @ 07:03
Ends @ 08:17
Q2 - Good afternoon, is the office of the chief execute aware that A-EMT's are being sacked or re-deployed if they are removed off of their pathway by our external provider? This seems unfair if the cause for the failure is not the fault of the apprentice. With the catastrophic problems to do with education partly caused by EEAST, would it not be more prudent to explore the reasons for a significant number of failed apprenticeships? Clearly this shows a lack of support for struggling students and a failure by the employer and educator to act. Equally, there are people working as EMT's and senior EMT's that have no formal qualification to do so. Some of them failed the old student paramedic programme and so were employed as EMT's instead. Moreover, year three university students are employed on a bank contract basis as EMT's without formal recognised qualifications and with significantly less experience than our own staff. I have been told that the old SP program took elements of the IHCD qualification, but A-EMT's could claim the same level of learning has been achieved during their time as an apprentice and that they are being treated unfairly. Nationally there is no requirement for someone to have a qualification to be an EMT. Worryingly the numbers of failures, re-deployments and sackings have come at a time when staff are needed to meet unprecedented demand. With reference to the other failed pathways being employed as EMT's and A- EMT's not being given that opportunity, do the Trust not feel vulnerable to lawsuits and discrimination cases on the basis of unequal opportunity?
Additional information from Chris McGregor - AEMTS who have been unsuccessful in their pathway will be removed but will have an opportunity to engage with the process and develop an action plan to help them complete. Unison are also aware and will be making contact with individuals to discuss options. There is a process to support redeployment. Please contact the apprenticeship email with any questions Apprenticeships@eastamb.nhs.uk. Thank you.
Starts @ 08:19
Ends @ 10:55
Q3 - Whilst working a bank shift at the weekend, I was crewed with a non-clinical driver. We had a good day, except for when I was assessing a patient and she noticed that my crew mate had "nonclinical" written on his epaulettes and for that reason she felt this it was not appropriate for him to be in the same room and asked for him to leave. We had a discussion about this after and could understand why the patient may feel uncomfortable, however there may be times that the NCD may have to help - for instance a time critical presentation. Is it worth training the NCD's to an ECA standard to mitigate this and provide further help and support to the clinicians when needed?
Starts @ 10:57
Ends @ 12:08
Q4 - Delays at hospital and the associated late/missed breaks and end of shift overtime have cost EEAST a vast amount of money. What steps are we taking to recover these costs from the hospitals?
Starts @ 12:22
Ends @ 13:45
Q5 - Although employing other allied healthcare professionals, they still do not have the full flexibility of a paramedic. With that, when will the promised development pathways to advanced practice for all be available for those who have been promised a lot and seen nothing delivered year after year?
Starts @ 13:47
Ends @ 14:53
Q6 - What training do the pre-hospital practitioners get prior to going on the road?
Starts @ 14:55
Ends @ 15:29
Q7 - I work in AOC and have applied for (interviewed and been offered) a secondment outside of AOC but this has been blocked by the Deputy Chief Operating Officer who says that no secondments out of the department are permitted. I'm extremely angry, upset and feeling even more undervalued by a senior manager. How is this in line with the Trust values or supporting staff to develop?
Starts @ 15:32
Ends @ 17:15
Q8 - I believe there was a trial in Norfolk where the hospital arrival time could be moved to a cohorting calling rather than the time disappearing when the patient is taken into cohort. It’s a great piece of work that allows a true reflection of offload delays. When is this being rolled out across the Trust?
Starts @ 17:17
Ends @ 18:40
Q9 - Good afternoon, overtime in MSE has been restricted heavily and it’s becoming almost impossible to book shifts on GRS… yet we see lots of PAS crews working and the crews are even offering us work and trying to recruit us as they apparently have lots of shifts available. This is really not helpful for staff retention and is making it even harder staff who are struggling with cost of living… a lot of staff rely on a couple of shifts OT per month.
Additional information from operations - The plan is to ensure that overtime is used towards the shifts that we need. There is still the same amount of overtime available, we have identified the shifts that will have the most impact to cover. Please link in with your sector planning manager or Lisa Faultly who can explain in more detail the way we are trying to improve cover overnight in MSE. Also no increase in PAS levels 19 per day remains that same.
Starts @ 18:42
Ends @ 20:27
Q10 - For the non-operational staff at EEAST, would it be considered to have basic first aid training? As soon as I mention working for an ambulance trust, strangers expect some medical knowledge and it would actually be nice to have.
Starts @ 20:28
Ends @ 21:05
Q11 - Has there been consideration around investing more funds into community education (i.e., ability to provide the most basic defib training for people that would be scared to use them). I looked at local types of calls for where I live and I think if more is invested, then there would inevitably be less need for lower grade 999 calls as people could manage them themselves! So many little things we could do - managing cuts, burns, choking etc etc. There are so many charities that work in the EEAST region... why aren't we doing more... I would love to chat more...
Starts @ 21:07
Ends @ 22:39
Q12 - Has EEAST thought of making first aid training and training on public defibrillators part of the mandatory training? Working for EEAST it is often thought that even though clinical all members of staff would have some kind of basic first aid knowledge and be confident in using basic first aid equipment. This would help the public whilst trying to get through to which ever service is relevant if they came across a situation they could help, people always feel more confident if they are taught and refreshed regularly. Just a thought.
Starts @ 22:44
Ends @ 23:12
Q13 - Another vacancy has been advertised, for a Band 8 Management role on EOC. This is on top of numerous Band 8 positions recently advertised and filled. Are we not in danger of being accused of having a top-heavy management structure and how are these bandings being justified, especially when the JDs are saying "indicative"?
Starts @ 23:13
Ends @ 25:04
Q14 - How is the Staff Responder scheme going? Any statistics that can be shared? When will it be rolled out fully across the Trust’s footprint?
Starts @ 25:06
Ends @ 25:42
Q15 – The Patient Safety Team analyse ALL incidents that are reported, and be able to make change (i.e., the cannulation pouches). Please keep reporting concerns as it really enables us to help improve things for you and the patients. Would be good to have more of a budget to be able to complete more pro-active work. We look forward to you spending time with our team soon.
Starts @ 25:44
Ends @ 27:03
Q16 - What is the banding review process in EEAST?
Additional information - Job Evaluation link AFC
Starts @ 27:05
Ends @ 28:21
Q17 - Hi Thanks for staying with us as our chief, anyway... As we have been told masks now non mandatory does that mean we are not allowed to wear them in non-clinical situations??
Starts @ 28:22
Ends @ 29:12
Q18 - Yes you did advertise vacancies for Advanced and Specialist Paramedics, however, this was for those who ALREADY hold those qualifications - There are still NO open pathways for existing paramedics to advance into - unless they leave and join a GP surgery and get funded for prescriber courses or Physician Associate qualifications which are widely offered sweeteners!
Starts @ 29:14
Ends @ 30:19
Q19 - Hi Tom. Thanks for answering my question re the AOC secondment and it being blocked/stopped. The feedback I had was basically "that's how it is" but you are seemingly very aware of the situation - thank you for what seems some very honest feedback from you it is much appreciated. I'm sure I will hear more soon.
Starts @ 30:21
Ends @ 31:09
Q20 - The Government were considering bringing in minimum service levels for strike days, are we meeting our minimum service levels on non-strike days, is there any way to see what our current minimum service levels and if we are having enough resources on duty each day in each sector.
Starts @ 31:12
Ends @ 33:34
Q21 - For awareness, relating to earlier question, NTK article about PHP outlines their induction and support programme. Local managers and leads have also been updated. If the individual is unable to get information they need please contact training.managers@eastamb.nhs.uk.
Additional information - Pre-hospital practitioners Need to Know article
Starts @ 33:37
Ends @ 34:05
Q22 - Can we get a break down/infographic of how many people are in what pay bands, split it into clinical responding staff, office based clinical staff nonclinical staff etc - there seems to be a lot of band 8+s in offices doing a 9-5, whilst those who are working the road, seeing traumatic sights, getting assaulted etc are getting band 3 - 5 at a push. I'm sure some of us would like to see the breakdown of where our money is spent when it comes to paying our staff.
Starts @ 34:07
Ends @ 36:38
Q23 - Recently the EOC Tactical on Call Commanders have been told not to join the morning Tactical Briefing call. Surely EOC is a critical function yet excluded from the daily briefing, setting out the "battle rhythm" and any anticipated barriers to service delivery on the day.
Additional information from operations - We are reviewing the current on call arrangements but do speak with Melissa Dowdeswell if you or the team are feeling excluded from the critical daily briefings.
Starts @ 36:40
Ends @ 37:23
Q24 - I have recently received emails threatening to report me to management for not completing online mandatory training modules. These emails are being sent at a time when crews are not getting breaks and finishing late. If these are so critical can the emails be sent to the management and rostering services so abstractions can be scheduled to allow these to be completed.
Starts @ 37:25
Ends @ 38:31
Q25 - Most support services teams are struggling with demand vs capacity and are also feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis. Is there any scope for overtime pay for support services teams? Many people are often having to work over hours anyway just to keep on top of work.
Starts @ 38:43
Ends @ 39:30
Q26 - We were advised 2 weeks ago that there would be an update on the outcomes of the banding agreement. I see on NTK that there has been a post about it, but, other than indicating even more delays (In May it will be 11 months since our initial letter about being affected), we still have no information about WHAT the agreement will actually look like in practise. I, along with others, have emailed the banding agreement email several times with some very basic questions about what to expect and what work is actually being done, but we get no response. Why does no one actually give us information about things that directly affect us? We just get very infrequent updates, saying ‘sorry it takes a long time, we need to allocate more time’. This wasn’t an out-of-the-blue agreement, surely some of this should have been considered before the agreement even went through?
Starts @ 39:32
Ends @ 41:45
Q27 - What's going on with tech courses, it’s all well and good attempting to take on qualified staff, but there’s only so many of them in the county - who’s going to travel 50 miles into the depths of EEAST to work when they can work 10 minutes from there house with a Trust which isn't rated so poorly by the CQC. We need to be training our own staff, we need to be giving our staff the opportunity to upskill, we need to sort out our training department after diabolical past two years.
Starts @ 42:01
Ends @ 43:54
Q28 - Can I just second the thank you for staying with us as chief. Stability is important. I've not met you yet, but I know several who have, and they have been very complimentary which is great to hear.
Starts @ 43:56
Ends @ 44:07
Q29 - Recently the Interim Head of EOC role was advertised and interviews held. For at least 10 days now a name has been the subject of "Chinese whispers" to who was successful, yet the Trust has not released any official communication. Why are we are not hearing this from official channels?
Additional information - The successful candidate has been offered the position and is going through the recruitment process, we will make an announcement once this has been completed as per our recruitment policy.
Starts @ 44:10
Ends @ 44:42
Q30 - Early indication of planned pay rise proposal offers to unions from Steve Barclay, seem to be based around increasing the AfC FTE from 37.5 to either 41.5 or 42.5 hours per week - have we any information regarding this as yet?
Starts @ 44:43
Ends @ 46:00
Q31 - Please can all staff challenge people not wearing ID or acting suspiciously if safe to do so. If you have concerns about anyone, please report on Datix or contact Health Safety Security team. We are seeing an increase in people who aren’t who or what they say they are. Thanks.
Starts @ 46:02
Ends @ 46:47
Q32 - With regards to the SP training delays and the current banding investigation, are local delays also being taken into consideration with this (e.g., Not being allocated a preceptor for many months into the NQP period). Thank you.
Starts @ 46:49
Ends @ 47:30
Q33 - Re the above question about ID cards - it's vitally important that our ID cards show the correct job title, yet Estates tell us that we can't have new ID cards for secondments. Surely this defeats the object of carrying the correct identification!
Starts @ 47:32
Ends @ 48:05
Close from Tom
Starts @ 48:14
Ends @ 49:04
You can catch up on previous We Are EEAST Briefings on our Archive page. You can also catch up on Local Manager's Briefings here.
Published 30th January 2023