Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 23 April 2024 at 10:56
I think it’s fair to say that every week in the ambulance service we deal with difficult jobs; whether it’s someone in cardiac arrest, a patient in an RTC or someone who has fallen and can’t be easily moved, our day-to-day work can be a challenge.
But this week we’ve had more than our fair share of challenging jobs; as well as managing V-Festival in Chelmsford over the weekend we also dealt with a major incident on Saturday (16th August) as 35 people were discovered inside a shipping container at Tilbury Docks in Essex. The incident was covered nationally in the media and everyone involved, from EOC and those treating patients through to those logging notes behind the scenes, did an exceptional job. The busy weekend was then followed by some difficult incidents on Monday – with an RTC between a bus and a car in Colchester resulting in five patients needing hospital care, and a gas explosion in Chittering where a male patient suffered a life-threatening chest injury.
Jobs like these show a very serious, but equally incredible, side of the ambulance service; we all know that genuine life-threatening calls make up a relatively small percentage of the cases we attend, but when these patients are in need of our help we always deliver. Sometimes we might not get the result everyone wants, but we give people the best possible chance for survival and recovery.
And it’s vitally important that we give you the right recognition and support for the work you do. I am currently working with our UNISON colleagues to give the most experienced EMTs and paramedics the opportunity to move up into the next pay band. There is a full article on this on Need to Know and I will update you further as soon as I can, but this is about providing opportunity for development and giving well-deserved recognition to our hardworking staff – something that it exceptionally important to me.
Thank you all for everything you do.
Dr Anthony Marsh
Chief Executive Officer