Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 19 April 2024 at 09:51
As part of a national NHS plan involving all ambulance trusts, we are introducing body worn cameras for frontline staff to assess the impact on reducing violent assaults and threats.
The 12-month pilot, which was announced by NHS England today, will begin in Waveney in Norfolk later this month before being rolled out at 19 other ambulance stations across the region.
The cameras are very easy to use and staff at the selected stations will be given a short but comprehensive training session before the cameras are deployed.
Jason Gillingham, Directorate Head for Compliance, Standards and Assurance who has been leading on the project, said: “EEAST takes a zero tolerance to violence against our staff and the introduction of the cameras will help make them feel safer.
“Nobody should feel threatened or unsafe as they go about their jobs helping their community and the presence of the cameras we feel will drive down the number of assaults our staff suffer.
“These assaults can have a long-lasting impact on our staff and it’s vital that we look after our staff.”
The following stations have been selected as part of the pilot and we will keep you informed of the roll-out.
How does the system work?
At the start of the shift, the staff member swipes their identity card to get a camera from the dock allocated to them and any footage that is recorded during the shift is assigned to them until the camera is returned to the charging dock.
Any footage that is recorded can only be accessed from a Videomanager digital evidence software which is accessible by only a small number of authorised users in the Trust.
The Videomanager system has been evaluated for use by a Caldicott Guardian – the designated senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people’s health and care information.
Published 2nd June 2021