Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 02 May 2024 at 18:14
This week's We Are EEAST Briefing and Executive Q&A was led by our Chief Executive, Tom Abell.
Introduction from Tom
Starts @ 00:10
Ends @ 09:48
Questions
Q1 – Liz Truss called EEAST ‘appalling’ this week on national television during a hustings event. This has had a negative effect on staff morale. What representation has the Trust made to support us at such a challenging time? I feel that nothing short of an apology will suffice.
Starts @ 09:57
Ends @ 12:13
Q2 - Recently Tom stated that we were about to launch a men’s focus group in the Trust, still no such action has occurred and I believe men, especially middle aged men, are currently actively being discriminated against, yet the mental health of this group, and the recent suicides have certainly justified it. It is unfair, stop this disparity now… please…
Starts @ 12:16
Ends @ 13:23
Additonal information -
Liz Cunnell - Thank you for your question the Mens Well Being Group is planned for Launch in November.
Julie Hollings - Please note that it will be a Men's Wellbeing Network, with an emphasis on health and wellbeing
Q3 - The impact on staff and the leadership team of staff who identify as not able to work on a Fiat (driving/attending) is becoming a significant challenge to operations daily and patient facing hours. Can we have an update on the task and finish groups progress?
Starts @ 13:25
Ends @ 15:15
Q4 - Please can we get clarity around face masks in buildings and vehicles please. Last week’s update of the documents on Need to Know talks of the use of masks in clinical settings only, but in July mandatory restrictions were re-introduced. Was this changed when the updated guidance came out last week? Or should this still be in place as it has been assumed by many that these restrictions have now been lifted?
Starts @ 15:18
Ends @ 16:43
Q5 – Good afternoon. May I ask please why some of us are given sudden notice to be put on Section 2, when the NHS terms and conditions state that staff 'are able to choose' whether to stay on Annex 5 or move to Section 2? Should we not be given the option in line with the T&C guidelines? Thanks.
Starts @ 16:45
Ends @ 17:48
Q6 - Given the availability of electric cars on Tusker as salary sacrifice for new vehicles, is there any thoughts for putting electric vehicle chargers into all stations, including satellite stations shared with fire, for staff to charge their vehicles while at work?
Starts @ 17:50
Ends @ 18:44
Q7 - Please may we have an update on what is being done about the problem of owed hours. Many still being told they owe an extortionate amount of time, and we still cannot track it.
Starts @ 18:46
Ends @ 20:24
Q8 - Overtime incentives - why are LOM and HALO shifts still excluded from the overtime incentives. All other roles within Ops (AOC staff - clinical and non-clinical, staff working on DSA's) are included, yet LOM and HALO shifts are never included.
Starts @ 20:26
Ends @ 21:45
Q9 - With the Government dropping the COVID Risk level from 3 down to 2, are the Trust urgently looking at our requirements for mask wearing etc?
Starts @ 21:46
Ends @ 23:21
Q10 – Afternoon, great to be part of the hugely positive stepwise shift to targeted recruitment towards experienced clinicians (both PHPs and AHPs). But conscious of the longer-term time to actually FEEL tangible change regarding culture, unrelenting service pressures, and any work-life balances; do we (EEAST) have a good enough immediate “incentive” (whatever that may look like ie: financial, rotational models, flexi-working, CPD opportunities etc) to attract this tranche of potential workforce? Particularly compared to our competing neighbouring organisations that don’t have our challenges.
Starts @ 23:23
Ends @ 25:15
Q11 - Can we point out to our dear friend Liz Truss that our performance is somewhat impacted by the lack of investment in social care by successive governments and that road staff are regularly working 14-hour shifts with no break?
Starts @ 25:17
Ends @ 27:22
Q12 - A locally based PAS provider is offering up to £60K for paramedics, who will then be effectively re employed by EEAST in the same area at a hugely inflated rate. What is being done to address this and to encourage qualified staff to remain within EEAST?
Starts @ 27:24
Ends @ 29:17
Q13 – Hi Tom, could I please ask how the decision was made regarding section 2 and previous SAP cohorts? We were informed we would keep annex 5 at the time by Denise, who I’ve now been informed has left the Trust. The email I received today was very impersonal. The Trust have informed staff with 30 days’ notice that they will have no unsocial hour’s payment in October, which is when all bills are increasing during a cost-of-living crisis. The Trust wonder why staff are leaving, yet they show now appreciation to staff.
Starts @ 29:20
Ends @ 30:35
Q14 - There’s been a few contradictions noted between systems i.e., ESR and GRS not always matching up. Will this be looked at and make sure information on staff marry up between systems?
Starts @ 30:38
Ends @ 31:53
Additional information -
Zoe Collis - There is an ongoing project looking into the two systems and the data quality including the ability to integrate the systems. Once this is complete, we should be in a more stable position to have comparative data.
Q15 – You touched on the use of Advanced Paramedics a few minutes ago. I know there is now critical care paramedics being utilised in Norfolk. I was wondering if there are any plans to roll this out across other counties of the Trust?
Starts @ 31:54
Ends @ 33:23
Additional information -
The current plans regarding Advanced Paramedics in critical care is to create two teams initially. These will be in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire (Dereham/RAF Wyton). These are highly experienced staff who have undertaken higher education, as well as a significant period of supervised practice by a physician within a level three enhanced care team setting.
Acknowledging higher education is only part of the learning process, we do not currently have direct entry to critical care outside of a HEMS secondment. We view the two elements with equal importance in terms of preparing a clinician for autonomous practice as an SP/APCC. If this is something you are interested in pursuing, please contact Rob Riches directly (our clinical lead for trauma and critical care) in the first instance by emailing Rob.Riches@eastamb.nhs.uk.
Our middle to long term plans are that by utilising our currently accredited AP workforce on cars within core service delivery, we will create further entry opportunities into critical and urgent care specialist and advanced practice in the future. Part of the AP role will be to supervise and develop AP trainees, hopefully with financial support from Health Education England to fund concurrent higher education.
In the meantime, we will aim to be running further recruitment to HEMS secondments in the next six months, which Rob or Tim Daniels (Air Ops Manager) would be able to provide further detail about. We really want to be able to create further opportunities for staff with a desire to develop, this is the first step in creating a sustainable structure of advanced practice in EEAST.
Q16 - Congratulations Tom on your first anniversary! My question for you (well Trust wide)! Why does no one within the Trust ever answer their emails????
Starts @ 33:38
Ends @ 34:35
Q17 - Any update when we will receive pay increase and back date amount?
Starts @ 34:37
Ends @ 34:57
Additional information -
Liz Cunnell – This will be received in the September pay packet.
Q18 – Why does EEAST not value the contribution of our RRV and Scheme Car volunteers? With particular reference surrounding incentivised overtime. RRV colleagues are regularly attending double the amount of patients than DSA colleagues, due to ED handover delays. As a general rule RRV colleagues generally, in my area, have an approx 60-75% discharge on scene/own transport/refer to other service patient outcome.
Starts @ 34:59
Ends @ 36:44
Q19 - Given the increasing danger of blackouts this winter, what resilience measures are we putting in place? I would expect EOC to have backup generators but if we lost workshop capability, within a week we would have no service given the VOR rate of the Fiat.
Starts @ 36:46
Ends @ 38:25
Q20 - Why are they asking for HALO positions to only be for Paramedics as you have said previously that you were looking for the position to be filled by EMT’s? No need for any Paramedic skills to attend bed meetings and sort queuing ambulances.
Starts @ 38:27
Ends @ 39:21
Q21 - Re previous question regarding answering emails, why does the Job evaluation email address never reply back?
Starts @ 39:23
Ends @ 39:53
Additional information -
Becky Anstead - Re job evaluation email, send me an email and I can give you the direct person to contact for that role. becky.anstead@eastamb.nhs.uk I work in the Recruitment office.
Q22 - Any further input on EMT’s having further skills such as wound closure?
Starts @ 39:55
Ends @ 40:23
Q23 - All of the recent incentives have included everything apart from LOMs.
Starts @ 40:25
Ends @ 40:48
Q24 - Will it be acknowledged that the new relief policy that came into force in Feb 2022 is not allowing enough shifts to be planned to staff to keep their rolling hours?
Starts @ 40:51
Ends @ 41:29
Q25 - Norfolk and Waveney had no LOM cover last weekend yet no incentive was offered.
Starts @ 41:31
Ends @ 42:12
Q26 - Has the Trust looked into extra staff protection i.e., stab vest due to the current major rise in knife crime and stabbing. Also, what is happening with regard to body cams?
Starts @ 42:13
Ends @ 43:19
Q27 - When will the job spec/workload of the LOM/AGM/GM and sector head be reviewed? Their current workload is unrealistic and unsustainable. No 8-5 staff should still be answering emails after 2300 just to keep on top of things.
Starts @ 43:22
Ends @ 44:21
Additional information -
Liz Cunnell - Cathy O'Driscoll Cathy.O'Driscoll@eastamb.nhs.uk.
Q28 - Can the Trust support staff doing external courses? Especially leading to advanced skill sets which will benefit the Trust as a whole.
Starts @ 44:22
Ends @ 45:12
Q29 - Whilst I completely understand that the focus is always going to be on front line staffing, please could you clarify whether we will be getting additional staff in the admin roles? I am currently working in Rostering Services where we have been inundated with work, largely to do with the absence of 2 key members of staff.
These staff have been replaced with staff on secondments, but the role is fairly complex and does need a lot of training and with all secondments you can’t fill the post until it is vacant, so at a time when we needed them most we ended up losing another person to train the 2 new people. Covid obviously brought in a lot of additional work as well.
Currently we are looking at nearly a month to answer emails due to the backlog which then has a massive impact on the local planning teams and AOC's who we deal with most. Currently not the nicest area to work in when constantly getting chased for things and lots of complaints about our department, but also there is no opportunity to improve/do online learning just due to the amount of work.
Staff moral - not good. We do need additional staff permanently and what we don’t need is short term AWD to plug gaps just due to the amount of learning and training needed to become useful.
Starts @ 45:14
Ends @ 47:03
Q30 - Advanced Practitioner in primary care/hospital is band 8a/b, why did the Trust advertise the advanced post at b7? What has the uptake been?
Starts @ 47:05
Ends @ 47:07
Q31 - It is no longer fair that qualified clinician turns up to a rostered shift, working a 5.5 day rolling rota, with no chance of booking any overtime, to then sit beside a non-clinical driver earning far more per hour and getting a hefty incentive. Enough is enough, more staff are citing this as a reason for leaving now with local exit interviews and it is causing untold stress and anxiety. Either pay both staff the incentive or stop this practice. Now.
Starts @ 48:09
Ends @ 49:17
Q32 - If you want to attract new staff, offer competitive pay, opportunities to progress clinically and have an excellent education plan. But most people come to work primarily for the pay!
Starts @ 49:20
Ends @ 50:43
Q33 - F1 question (as we haven't had one in ages) .... Max Verstappen is having an incredible season this year. How do you think he will get on with the Dutch Grand Prix?
Starts @ 50:44
Ends @ 50:59
Q34 - Staff outside ops are being encourage/pushed to work from home. Will EEAST provide any support with the increase in utility bills?
Starts @ 51:01
Ends @ 51:39
Q35 - Why have video chats, including this, been blocked on iPads without then using your own data hotspot please?
Starts @ 51:41
Ends @ 52:06
Q36 - Is anything being done about the grievance over SAP pay? Many have been paid incorrectly and are not even on band 5 having registered as a paramedic. HR are not responding to Unison.
Starts @ 52:09
Ends @ 52:43
Q37 - Following on from some earlier questions, is anything going to be done about the difference in pay for roles within EEAST compared to other NHS Trusts? The same roles in EEAST are regularly lower than they are in other areas of the NHS.
Starts @ 52:45
Ends @ 53:15
Q38 - Is there any update on us getting Penthrox or any other new drugs?
Starts @ 53:20
Ends @ 54:01
Q39 - How many pieces are in a Jenga?
Starts @ 54:03
Ends @ 54:15
Close from Tom
Starts @ 54:20
Ends @ 54:46
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 5th September 2022