East of England Ambulance Trust ambulances work out out of the Norwich office in Hellesdon. PHOTO BY SIMON FINLAY

Ambulance Watch: Chairman pledges to make trust ‘the best’

Adam Gretton, Health correspondent Saturday, March 23, 2013
12:00 PM

The chairman of the East of England Ambulance Service yesterday pledged to make the trust the best in the country, despite a critical report from the health regulator.

Norfolk and Suffolk MPs had called on members of the board to consider their positions this week after the Care Quality Commission told the NHS trust to improve after an unannounced inspection.

But chairman Maria Ball came out fighting last night by pledging to turn things around and revealed that Andrew Morgan had accepted a 12 month contract to continue as interim chief executive.

In an email sent to all East of England Ambulance Service staff, Ms Ball said that the trust had also been offered help from Will Hancock, chief executive of the South Central Ambulance Service, in addition to the review being carried out by Anthony Marsh, CEO of the West Midlands Ambulance Service.

In a joint statement with Mr Morgan, the pair said they were listening to staff, putting more resources on the road and the service needed to change over the next 12 months.

“We have both been very honest with everyone we have spoken to that this won’t be finished in a day, but it has already started. We both feel that complete transformation is likely to take a couple of years, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be waiting that long to see positive changes,” they said.

Ms Ball has been the chairman of the East of England Ambulance Service since 2006, but declined to speak to the EDP this week following the publication of a critical CQC report saying that performance had deteriorated over the last 12 months and had failed in the care and welfare of people that use its services because of slow responses.

The email from the chairman and chief executive to staff added: “You will also see a more direct approach from the board and the trust as a whole in publicly expressing the unacceptable issue of worsening delays at hospital across our region.”

“It is a journey ahead of us, not a sprint. You will see some immediate changes and some will take longer, but it should start to feel different quickly. We are aiming to be the best ambulance trust again – it may take a few years but we are determined, and we can’t do it without all of you. We are very sorry it has been such a difficult time for you all.”

Mr Morgan will set out plans next week on how he intends to address poor performance in 2013/14 after it emerged that response times across the NHS trust fell further last month. Officials are proposing to cut £10.8m out of its budget over the coming year as part of moves to make £50m of efficiency savings over the next four years.

In a draft annual plan for the next financial year, Mr Morgan said the key priorities for 2013/14 were to improve performance, improve clinical quality, with particular focus on stroke care, as well as boosting public confidence. A report to the East of England Ambulance Service board says the trust is looking to make a capital investment of £7m over the course of the year.

The ambulance service is meant to attend 75pc of the most life-threatening 999 calls (A8) within eight minutes. However, the trust has failed to hit that target since October.

The service has been unable to meet the A8 target for the last 11 months in Norfolk and Suffolk with crews only able to reach 62.2pc of A8 calls in eight minutes during February and 67pc in Suffolk last month.

8 comments

Let's blame the hospitals for our failings !! Easy get out. Maybe in part of the service this is an issue but not everywhere. Since the old areas were joined there's been systematic failing of senior management to listen to staff or respond to our demands. The demands on the service constantly increasing, however reducing the number of QUALIFIED STAFFED AMBULANCES and increasing the number of Response Cars is not the answer. Cars are sitting with ill patients for hours waiting for backup. The recent roster redesign to match current demand has again seen a reduction in frontline ambulances but a drastic increase in the use of private ambulances. The public need to realise these private ambulances are NOT the same as a service ambulance, the training and skill levels of these ambulances are significantly less. Yes, they maybe suitable to convey some patients but ill patients need a suitably qualified crew. These ambulances are sent, on blue lights, to 999 calls to respond to the same skill level as a community responder, who are volunteers. We're spending well into 6 figures per month employing these private companies but at the same time reducing service ambulances. How does that make sense ? ? The board need to man up and accept they've made some very poor decisions. There is almost no management confidence amongst staff and morale is at its lowest for years. Lets hope Anthony will come back, highlight the problems and recommend major changes. This needs to encompass the senior managers who are driving this service into the ground. There's a highly skilled and dedicated work force out there that want to provide a top class service again. Lets see some P45's delivered.

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stretcher

Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Those hypocritical MPs are at it again, keeping the false proaganda ball rolling. Because their government is the source of the problem, I am calling for them to consider their positions. Will the EDP suppot my campaign?

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Police Commissioner ???

Sunday, March 24, 2013
Time to get rid of the dead wood and that is starting at the very top they have too many expenses and perks they need to go and more effort given to the front line and get hireing more staff at the front end to man the ambulances.

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Dave

Sunday, March 24, 2013
Maria Ball, please come in. Your time is now up. The fact the chairman won't be interviewed says everything we need to know about where the problems are. This one is not going away. How many more visits, reports and outside helpers will it take? Where does the buck stop?The JPH comparison is spot on. No solution until there is change at the top.

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a fine city

Saturday, March 23, 2013
Listening to the staff? Really?!!!

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H.stevenson

Saturday, March 23, 2013
My granddad who had a fall in mid December, into hospital with a swollen knee, infections from being in there, poor care, had his 90th birthday in there 18th December, stomach bug on his ward which even though he thankfully didn't get that he spent his 90th in isolation without being told by nurses why no one visited him on his 90th, off to rehab at Ogden court weeks later, back to hospital within a day as infection again from catheter and boiler broken at Ogden so no heating anyway, hand't been any heating for nearly a week, took 4 hours for ambulance to get to him, that wasn't a 999 call though, weeks in hospital again, then to rehab at Dereham where he was left to rot, finally got him back home last Thursday, carers never turned up as he got missed of their list even though the care plan was in place, so he was left to rot again, blood in his urine and a doctor doing an 'examination' via the telephone got him an ambulance on 999, and in a reasonable amount of time, back to hospital that night close to midnight, sat or should I say laid in A&E for over 4 hours, the paramedics couldn't leave him until he was seen as they have to stay with the patient until then, got to a bed at 4.30am, so it isn't just the ambulance service, it is the hospital, doctors and nurses with no continuity between shifts, rehab, carers, the whole lot that is a shambles, and an ambulance on that last occassion couldn't attend other 999 calls due to delays in A&E. He's still in there waiting for a care plan, and like my partner and I who had twins in September at the UEA hospital, we were all lucky to make it out of hospital alive, pops should be home at the start of next month, that's the soonest carers can be organised so he's using a hospital bed he doesn't even need and pretty depressed too, nice way to treat someone who fought the nazis for the freedom we enjoy today, wounded, patched up and fought them again, he's had to fight cancer too in these later years, and the help and support for people like him is non existant, he deserves so much better. So yes the ambulance service needs more ambulances but that's just the tip of it all, more ambulances would mean more patients arriving at a hospital that can't cope with the smaller amount that arrive now, so there woud be more ambulances sitting outside A&E than there was recently, the whole lot needs a good old fashined foot up the backsides.

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Jason Bunn

Saturday, March 23, 2013
We have been here before haven`t we. This is another rerun of the JPH saga. Until those at the very top go and are replaced by people able to do the job, nothing will change. I feel sorry for those at the coal face who are being lead by people not up to the job and who are just not up to the job they are being paid to do. As we pay their wages we should have the right to fire them.

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BG

Saturday, March 23, 2013
These platitudinous promises are predictable and don't change the fact that the organisation has failed dreadfully. The top echelons should take responsibility for that and GO. What makes us believe the chairman will do any better in the next two years than she has done since 2006? Spending so much time and energy defending the indefensible and trying to cling on to her position is not acceptable and the government - or, in default, the local MP's - should force a change at the top.

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JCW

Saturday, March 23, 2013