Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 04 May 2024 at 19:54
This week's We Are EEAST Briefing was led by Tom Abell, Chief Executive Officer.
Q1 - On Easter Sunday in my locality (SE Essex) there is an incentive payment being offered out for daytime DSA shifts but not for RRV shifts. At present, EVERY day RRV shift in the locality is uncovered and despite offering to cover one (as the shift time suits) if the Incentive payment was payable this has been refused.
Given RRV's do have a high non conveyance rate it seems rather disappointing given the hospital delays these will remain uncovered as staff are unlikely to work overtime and being at a financial disadvantage. Can the Exec team review this please?
Q2 - Would the Trust consider putting out falls RRV’s, even if temporary, to prevent patients being on the floor for 10-12 hours waiting for DSA response?
Q3 - Hello, any update on disturbable element off breaks, i.e., only being disturbed for C1 calls, similar to end of shift policy?
Q4 - Can the incentives be published on NTK like they have been previously?
Additional information - From operational team - not on this occasion as it just Sunday - but LOMs should have the details.
Q5 - Are the CQC aware that the Trust have asked when staff have had communication with CQC to contact management immediately to make them aware? They did seem less than impressed with this.
Q6 - Is there anything ongoing for out of area working? Doing 300+ miles on a night shift, out of area, and being late off is just clearly unsafe.
Q7 - How do the Trust feel it is fair to give up to a £1200 retention payment to call handlers, despite every other area of the trusts having their own pressures and their own issues. Dispatchers are also short staffed and covering more than one desk at times, having the stress of a stack of jobs to juggle, crews to manage.
The Trust are haemorrhaging frontline staff due to the poor working conditions; being late off constantly, disturbed breaks (if a break at all), driving hundreds of miles and being out of area, forced to work with non-clinical drivers. It is no wonder many areas are seeing staff leave in double figures every month - I know of many who plan to leave in the near future too.I understand their band may be 3-4 (and some even 5..) however the Trust have worded this payment as a ‘thank you’, not as an increase whilst looking at the re-banding. Many apprentices are on a percentage of band 3, AFA’s are band 3. Can you please justify to the rest of your staff how you feel this is fair?
Q8 - Any news on the staff responder scheme in the light of continued REAP4/Surge Black?
Additional information - From Marcus Bailey - A paper is being presented at Operational meetings next week for a decision. We will give an update in 2 weeks’ time. Thank you for the question.
Q9 - Is there a reason we're no longer sent surge messages during our shift? This has been raised as a problem before. No idea what surge it is, then we're sent on a cat 2 that's over an hour old already. As in, during the disturbable part of our break.
Q10 - Can we send our combined thoughts and prayers to colleagues in LAS who tragically lost a colleague during a training exercise. One green family.
Q11 - I agree with being careful about speaking to media, however I feel that management need to have led with highlighting our frustrations. We have been a REAP level 4 for months, and little engagement with the public seems to have been seen on all media platforms…I’m witnessing colleagues leaving, breaking physically and mentally…there is very little positivity out there. I see no engagement from hospital to cover cohort teams and as a trust we are employing HCA.
Q12 - Any news or update of the delay for the band 4 not being able to gain band 5 senior tech. I know this has been in talks with Unison but no update.
Q13 - Tom - if the CQC report shows no marked improvement, are you here for the long haul or likely to duck out? Asking for a friend.
Q14 - No incentives are on RRV's though and have previously been told as they are not conveyable resources they don't count. However, slowly TOC/LOM/HALO, PTS, and then all of AOC are included in the incentives, leaving RRV's without attracting incentives.
Q15 - In terms of falls question - I think it has been tested and shown that many non-injury falls are conveyed due to time on floor, especially in Cambridgeshire. JET don’t seem to attend many non-injury falls like they are commissioned to do.
Q16 - Do you have an update on the Trust plans to celebrate Long Service Awards and distribution of Platinum Jubilee Medals in June please? Thank you.
Additional information - A paper has been presented to Executive colleagues and will be agreed next Tuesday.
Q17 - Hello Tom, thank you for your candour. Are you able to share details of action being taken to improve work effective hours? In particular, the high number of colleagues without C1s/blue light skills, and the hours lost to Temporary Redeployment.
Q18 - With the next phase of the CQC inspection concentrating on the well led element of the Trust, do you feel we have done enough to move out of what was called special measures (I can't remember what the new wording is)? If we do, do you think we have a robust plan to move forward without the additional support that the "special measures" brings? or will it in fact be a positive if we don't and maintain that support?
Q19 - Many other staff are on band 3, percentages of band 3 if apprentices - where is their payment? It was also given to band 4/5 call handling roles - it was worded as a “thank you” payment. Where is everyone else’s thank you? Reference to the first question, many other areas and frontline paramedics leaving due to the poor working conditions. How is it fair to leave everyone else out?
Q20 - Going back to the retention payments for call handlers, you mention around mentoring/training with high staff turnover. Front line staff constantly mentor students especially university students with high staff turnover yet receives no retention payment, not really fair and equitable within the Trust.
Q21 - Any load list for LOM vehicles yet? Yes, probably bored of mentioning as much as you probably are of hearing this question. Just highlights how long it takes to get anything done.
Additional information - Operational update: They are finalising the list and photos of the storage - they are waiting for the last bits of kit to do this. We have chased up for an eta for delivery.
Q22 - Do you feel the use of LOMs at level 1 is the best use of them during these real times of staff struggle and staff needing support more than ever - surely LOMs should remain at level 0 to be there for our staff - and if this is a ‘strategic ‘ decision then why can the levels be made dependent on area pressure - if SE Essex is under pressure - a LOM in Bedfordshire would have no impact on that but can be used as level 1 irrelevant of the pressure in their own area! They just become an RRV for EOC use because that’s the decision made on other areas pressures!
Q23 - In times of less pressure...EEAST used to insist any clinician not in a specific patient facing role had to complete 1 shift a week on a DSA - Why is this not happening? Would no doubt create some respect between staff and senior managers?
Q24 - Are apprentices going to get a 20% back pay as they haven’t had 20% abstracted to study - as they should?
Q25 - What was the rationale for significantly increasing the number of execs on rather nice pay packets?
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 18th April 2022