Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 26 April 2024 at 13:48
This week's We Are EEAST Briefing and Exec Q&A comes from our CEO, Tom Abell.
Q1 - We have many staff in my area that are unsafe to drive the fiats. Despite alterations and assessments due to being too tall or too short. They have been left feeling isolated and made to feel like a nuisance by local managers. Are we able to give those members of staff some support and reassurance? Through an issue that is no fault of their own, they are victimised and feel bullied into driving a vehicle they feel unsafe to drive. Also, they have been told my management, that they will have to spend the rest of their career sitting in the back of the ambulance or attended continuously what are your feelings on this?
Q2 - How much longer can we cope with this level of demand before we are at breaking point?
Q3 - Any update to remaining at REAP 4? How long can we remain working like this?
Q4 - Last week Tom Davies refused to answer why control staff got paid £250 for one hour’s work. Whilst we appreciate the lack of call handlers etc at the moment, it is absolutely ridiculous to pay that amount of money. Can you justify why it was this amount and not a more sensible figure??
Q5 - Hi I have not received my AFC O/T payment despite qualifying for it. I meet the requirements and was expecting to be paid. Why is there a lack of concise communication and will those who did not get paid be told why, also will there be further pay runs in September and October to pay those remaining? Thanks.
Q6 - Do you have an answer with regards as to whether SAPs are being forced over to section 2 from annex 5 when they qualify as paramedics? EMAS are not doing this as this is a forced change of contract. We hope EEAST follow the same, but we’ve waited for an answer for months now and it was stated last week that we’d have an answer this week please?
Q7 - Dr Tom was asked last week about SAP's qualifying and if they will remain on annex 5 as promised. He said he would aim to get something on NTK within the next week. Many of us are due to qualify soon and still have no idea if we are being forced to go onto section 2.
Q8 - I have seen the article today on NTK about covid vaccine boosters, when will these be available?
Q9 - Who makes up the panel for spending the charity funds? Sadly, the badges have not been received well by all and the welfare bags/boxes also not a great use of funds....is there a staff user group involved...if not, why not?
Additional information - The following response is from Kevin Smith about who made the decision about badges and boxes:
“Goodie Boxes” – this was a decision by the Executive Team to support all staff and say thank you during a particular period of increased pressure.
Badges & Thank You Cards – this gesture was agreed by the Board & actioned through the Trust’s Charitable Committee. The Committee asked a Charity Working Group to recommend the design of the badge & cards – this Group was made up of a number of staff of a range of grades & from various parts of the Trust.
Q10 - Why do we have an 0345 number for calling IT about issues. Many workers do not have Trust mobiles which then incurs a cost.
Q11 - Are there any opportunities for current support staff (ie admin) to undertake call handler training so we are able to support in periods of extreme pressure please?
Q12 - The Flowers payments - by design those who pick up additional shifts on a lower pay band have to have a bank contract. Surely this should still be deemed overtime as it is in addition to their full time substantive role?
Q13 - A colleague has asked me to find out whether they will still be paid the monies owed if they left the trust last month, and whether this will be done automatically or if they have to contact payroll. They no longer have access to their EEAST emails or ESR since leaving EEAST.
Q14 - AFC flowers. Why were staff not informed on why they were not paid this month especially those on standard EMT contracts. I haven’t received mine despite working for the trust for 7 years and doing 600 hours o.t in 2019/20/21 very dissatisfied with clear timely payment. Will I be paid this month? Thanks.
Q15 - The one-hour AOC £250 incentive the other week - surely the exec would gain more respect if they held their hands up and admitted there was an error with the comms? How do you feel that staff were on a higher hourly wage than you as the CEO?
Q16 - Do you not believe that 12-hour shifts are the major reason there are so many problems with staff sickness and absence; the trust is now too busy to allow 12 hour shifts and if the shift over-runs due to late jobs the shift can turn into a length of up to 15 hours.
Q17 - There still seems a lot of staff not complying with PPE guidelines, this not protecting themselves or others, what is the ongoing position on this please??
Q18 - Recently spent some time in the back of a brand-new St John’s Emergency DSA - it was far superior in every way to the current Fiat fleet and is within the 3.5 tonne restriction. Considering frontline staff expressed many concerns regarding the Fiat design in the trial phase and were totally ignored, is the fleet purchase team willing to look at alternative options for the future? Surely those who use the equipment on a daily basis should be the ones to decide whether or not it is suitable for their work.
Q19 - The trust is paying loads of money on estates transformation. No one is listening regarding works being carried out at Kempston ambulance station. There is no benefit of spending c. £170k to advance the make ready agenda at this site. Why are all these consultants not able to understand that the station is not fit for full make ready???
Q20 - Will there be investment in administrative roles across support services as well as ops? My team (who are already at capacity) are now supporting other teams as they are struggling to cope with their workload as they have very little admin support.
Additional information - We continue to work with local Operations and my MRS teams to develop and communicate a local, interim solution that will enable Kempston to function with the benefits of Make Ready Services whilst a longer term, substantive estate solution is provided elsewhere along the lines of the BSE Hub designed by a multi-disciplinary Trust team.
We have recognized to all colleagues that the need to install a basic MRS as an interim fix will demand some site-related adjustments for all parties but, after basic site assessment and additional parking concessions, it can really be done and, the benefits are worth bringing in early. We are keen to explain the new way of MRS working, agree interim compromises and any MRS process adjustments that will need to manage the impact of satellite stations ( as we are doing elsewhere to enable the wider estate investment programme to rollout). As we have demonstrated in other more constrained sites like King Lynn, the interim solution can work and the Trust’s ambition to introduce standardised vehicle cleaning and preparation to eliminate unwarranted variation/improve clinical quality/promote Unit Hou efficiencies can be enjoyed in advance of a large capital scheme that can follow on.
There are, of course, hearts and minds to win over by explaining what MRS can do for crews/patients and expectations to manage insofar as this work at Kempston, as many other locations, is our ‘launch pad’ for MRS from which a new centralised estate can follow.
In the absence of a named contact to work with( unless you have one) we will continue to work with the local Operations management team, clinicians and our MRS staff to ensure we develop a common understanding of what we are doing, why/when/where/How, setting out the route map for change. We have recently issued our second Trust wide Estate/MRS update that will hopefully complement our local work at Kempston with a broader programme vision.
Q21 - Last week Dr Tom was challenged about the various bonus payments and that the only operational group excluded from this payment are the LOM's and the challenge was if a LOM was available for OT and the LOM shift was vacant but chose to cover a road shift in preference was this not a bad use of a LOM could we please reconsider adding the LOM to the eligible for bonus list.
Q22 - Had an email today from our local AGM informing us of booster vaccine dates. I am unfortunately unable to make any of these dates due to being at work on each day. I've been informed that we cannot be stood down and must be off shift to get the vaccine. 119 do not recognise healthcare workers and states employers will provide the booster vaccines. How are we going to get the booster vaccine if we are working the days the trust is offering them?
Q23 - It appears trust leavers, who left EOEAT any time after April, will not be contacted in order to receive the backdated pay award which is owed to them, and it will be left to individuals to claim it off their own accord. What are your views on this and why was this decision made?
Q24 - With the increased number of Covid incidents crews are attending, why are we not sending crews the information on the MDT so crews can make a dynamic risk assessment to what level of PPE is appropriate for that particular incident.
Additional information - It is the understanding of the EOC that operational staff should be wearing level 2 PPE when attending patients and should upgrade to level 3 if APGs are going to be used.
Any detail that is obtained regards to a person’s Covid status should be passed. However the nature of the questions that were asked during the height of Covid have changed and nationally Trusts are no longer ‘Covid screening’ all calls as we did during the height of the crisis.
In regards to dynamic risk assessments. I would presume that operational staff will continue to estimate a high risk of covid and therefore ensure they comply with the instruction to wear level 2 PPE at all times. So I’m not sure that a dynamic risk assessment is required in regards to covid status of a patient and the wearing of PPE. A risk assessment would not negate the use the Level 2 PPE as it s a standing instruction to wear it.
Q25 - Do you have any updates on the way the trust plans to use their advanced paramedic staff, especially with winter coming up. Most are currently on DSA’s this has been raised over several weeks, but no information fed back as to plans involving this staff group.
Q26 - The additional 100 call handling staff you say we're looking to recruit equates to around a 50% increase in current staffing numbers. At the moment, turnover is so high among new hires that we're losing staff from call handling faster than we get them in. How do you plan to address this retention issue, so the recruitment efforts aren't in vain?
Q27 - How come the welfare boxes have not been sent to support services? None of my team/offices have received. This is really demoralising considering the sheer volume of work we are doing.
Q28 - How long will the non-clinical drivers be seconded to the Trust? We appreciate their support and they're great, but many staff report increased stress and workload of working long term with non-clinical colleagues.
Q29 - A number of HR people are off sick, is there any support for the existing lean workforce team to cope with the work pressure.
Q30 - Last week Dr Tom was asked about the surge plans and said he would ensure they are publicly available for transparency, so staff are aware what steps are taken and when - has this been done, and if so, where?
Q31 - The Business Travel Policy was published in April. Have the Trust decided on the vehicle that Business Only and Business Plus users will be using, as I imagine the current vehicles, being 3 years over their current lease agreement, are going to attract additional costs?
Q32 - Following on from Rebecca's question, is there scope for support staff with C1 licenses to assist with PTS/driving ambulances. Support staff could also help with welfare trucks and cleaning/prepping vehicles.
Q33 - With all these questions you're coming back to, wouldn't it be better to post responses on NTK rather than going back to people directly? It'll also be a good "you asked, we answered" type thing? List the questions and then the answers out in an article before the next session so everyone knows what the responses are?
Q34 - Is there a way for those who claim incidental TOIL instead of overtime to benefit from this payment?
Q35 - If the Trust don't meet the EHRC conditions of dealing with discrimination etc, how much is the penalty?
Q36 - Why was a question regarding LOMs working overtime and the incentive met with such a negative response last week and then escalated immediately? Is this not a Q&A session with freedom to speak?
Q37 - It was asked numerous times why are we being given thin aprons that blow up in your face? Marcus informed us that we would get thicker aprons - this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Some trusts use apron material gowns with sleeves - would these not be better to protect staff? Especially coming into colder weather where staff will be wearing jackets due to the weather.
Q38 - So can old staff that have left claim the money they’d be owed?
Q39 - Support services are mostly working remotely so difficult to get a box.
Published 27th September 2021