Latest news with #EEAST
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
UK's oldest responder from Manningtree still saving lives aged 88
An 88-year-old volunteer community first responder (CFR) is still serving her community after more than 23 Moss, who lives near Manningtree in Essex, is believed to be the oldest CFR in the is part of a team at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) in and around her village, including in nearby explained she "loved" helping people and it had been her partner who originally encouraged her to volunteer. "People's faces when you arrive, they are very relieved that someone has turned up and it's just so lovely, you feel so welcome."Every call is a chance to help someone in need, and that is what keeps me going."CFRs are unpaid volunteers who are trained to respond to 999 calls. They can provide immediate treatment until an ambulance Moss was one of the first group of volunteers to join the trust in Suffolk, she explained, with herself and two others still there today. 'Inspiration' EEAST said it estimated that Ms Moss had responded to about 1,000 medical emergencies."I never imagined I would still be volunteering after 23 years, but I love it," she the first five months of 2025, Ms Moss volunteered about 260 hours per month, and was on-call most days to respond to medical emergencies, EEAST retired teacher was awarded a community champion award by Conservative MP for South Suffolk James Cartlidge in urged others to consider volunteering for the service."It's such a wonderful service so you like to give as many hours as you can."Lorna Hayes, head of community response at EEAST, said: "Carol is an inspiration to us all."Her unwavering commitment, compassion and resilience has saved lives and brought comfort to countless families." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
NHS trust takes ambulances off road because they have the wrong wheels
An NHS trust has been forced to pull dozens of ambulances off the road because they were accidentally ordered with the wrong wheels. The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) mistakenly purchased a fleet of 75 new MAN and Ford ambulances fitted with steel rather than alloy wheels. Steel wheels are not suitable for ambulances because when they reach speeds of up to 90 mph it can cause some safety features on the wheels to melt away. NHS chiefs have had to spend £133,500 on retrofitting new wheels, which has forced the vehicles off the road. EEAST has reassured the public that, despite the mishap, it would always have an 'appropriate number' of ambulances to support patients. A spokesman said: 'Many vehicles in our fleet have used steel wheels, and there is no suggestion steel wheels on ambulances cannot withstand 999 response driving conditions. 'We have retrofitted alloy wheels to some of our ambulances as they were not included in the original procurement due to an error. There is no additional cost than if the wheels had been fitted before delivery. 'This work will be done in a phased approach so that we always have the appropriate number of vehicles to serve our patients.' Steel wheels melt safety tabs Trust bosses had identified alloy wheels as being preferable to steel because of a problem with plastic indicator tabs used to tell when wheel nuts are loose. Previously, heat caused by high speeds associated with emergency vehicle driving with steel wheels had caused these plastic indicators to melt. Glenn Carrington, the Unison union's branch chairman at the trust, said: 'This is a costly mistake at a time the trust is supposed to be looking after every penny. 'Overtime is an essential part of the pay check for many staff, so it is a real kick in the teeth to see the trust having to spend over £130,000 fixing this error. 'This is the latest in a long line of fleet blunders, which are costing the trust money and hitting its ability to service the public. The trust urgently needs to get a grip on this fleet crisis.' 'Embarassing and avoidable error' Donna Thomas, the GMB regional organiser, added: 'This embarrassing and avoidable error shows a lack of due diligence and proper processes in EEAST. 'Vehicles were unable to enter frontline service due to management mistakes – yet another delay to frontline response. 'This is a trust which is currently subject to an improvement notice from the CQC [Care Quality Commission], due in part of category two ambulance response times. 'The £133,500 spent on this retrofit should have been used to fund clinical staff on the road. There must be accountability for this error.' The trust insists that the £133,500 cost of retrofitting the vehicles was a planned cost as part of ordering the new vehicles.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Bedford and Chelmsford ambulance 999 call centres to close
Two 999 emergency call centres run by the region's NHS ambulance service are to close, and a new one will East of England Ambulance Trust (EEAST) said its sites in Bedford and Chelmsford would shut but it would invest in a new centre in Essex while retaining its site in Norwich. In September, the trust announced that the Bedford Emergency Operations centre (EOC) was not up to "modern control room standards" and was at risk of closure. The GMB Union said it would put "significant strain" on the service and "leave large numbers of staff out of a job". EEAST said its trustees made the decision at a meeting on Wednesday. "The board agreed in principle to retain the EOC at Norwich, to close the EOCs at Bedford and Chelmsford and to invest in a new operations centre in Essex, subject to a full business case," it said in a statement."This is the best option for our future resilience and for the service for our patients."The trust said it could be up to two years before a new centre was opened, and all existing EOCs would remain operational until added that affected staff would be supported and it would look at "every opportunity for them to continue to work for us, including relocation or retraining".In March, the trust said 99 frontline staff would be added to its centres in Bedford, Chelmsford and Norwich. 'Deeply concerned' A union spokesperson said the decision to close the Bedford site "could place significant strain on ambulance cover across the East of England and leave large numbers of staff out of a job".Staff had been told to "either relocate to the more expensive areas of Chelmsford or Norwich, secure another role within the trust, or find themselves made redundant".Donna Thomas, the GMB's regional organiser, said: "It represents a potential threat to public safety, particularly as the trust is already failing on call wait times."We are deeply concerned about the impact it could have on our members, who will be faced with the difficult choice to relocate, redeploy or find themselves out of work." The trust said it had looked at five options but its decision "offers the most strategically aligned, resilient and future-proofed solution, with long-term benefits across performance, workforce sustainability and operational efficiency".The Essex location has "a better recruitment and retention profile, has a reasonable market profile to find a suitable property, and will impact fewer staff than a new site in Bedfordshire would".It said it hoped its decision would "ensure any savings will be reinvested in front-line services and enable EEAST to provide a better service to our patients". Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, or BBC Suffolk.
BBC News
27-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
App on trial in Essex is first in UK for cardiac arrest witnesses
The first app of its kind in the UK has been launched to support people who have witnessed an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).The RescQ app is designed to help family, friends or bystanders cope with the emotional distress of seeing a medical is being piloted in Essex for one year before being rolled out across Norfolk and Hertfordshire. "There are currently limited resources in the UK to support those who witness an OHCA, a group we call 'forgotten patients'," said Dr Uzma Sajjad, cardiology research fellow at the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre, which is leading the trial. "This new app aims to bridge that gap by providing essential information and support by signposting to a dedicated website," she added. The website has videos featuring the real-life experiences of OHCA witnesses, as well as insights from psychologists and medical aims to tell people what to expect after seeing after such an event and give guidance on coping strategies. If more support is needed, an OHCA witness can ask to see a trained patient liaison Di Fede, sector clinical lead at EEAST, said: "Being able to offer this level of support to the people who are often forgotten about is so important."The app's partners include the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, East Anglian Air Ambulance and Sudden Cardiac Arrest land crews will use it to document incident details, including the number of witnesses present. In the first week of the trial in Essex, 18 OHCA's were reported and support was offered to 22 Mid and South Essex NHS Trust said each year in the county there are about 3,500 project cost £75,000 was funded by the NHS East of England Cardiac Network. It will run until early 2026. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Paramedic 'preyed' on 'vulnerable' young colleagues
WARNING: This story contains language that some readers may find offensive or upsetting. A "predatory" paramedic who told a junior colleague she was uptight and needed sex has been struck off. Graham Scott, while working for the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), acted "sexually" towards three "vulnerable" female colleagues – two of whom were in their early 20s at the time. The Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) said he had left them feeling "physically scared", "uncomfortable" and "nauseated", and they dreaded going into work. Mr Scott, who also put his hands around one of the women's thighs and asked another to have a shower with him, described the investigation as a "witch hunt". "All this over what used to be called a joke," the former medical professional told the HCPTS, before admitting he had "no interest" in the outcome of the hearing. An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "The allegations raised against Mr Scott were shocking. He was immediately suspended after complaints and dismissed from the trust in July 2021 after an investigation." Mr Scott worked out of the Beccles Ambulance Station at the time of the incidents, which occurred between 2018 and 2020, before being dismissed by the EEAST in July 2021. The first incident happened at Waveney Ambulance Station and involved colleague A, to whom Mr Scott said: "You're a bit uptight. What you need is a good fuck. Anybody at work you fancy?" He also said: "It would do you some good. I'll give you my number if you like. Just message me whenever you want." When colleague A joked that "no one would want to have sex" with her, Mr Scott turned around, extended his hand and said: "My name is Graham Scott, nice to meet you." He later sent her a Facebook friend request before telling her she could message him whenever she wanted "a little something". Just over a month later, he told colleague B: "I can scrub your back for you. We can both get in the shower together." This made her feel "very anxious and uncomfortable" and as if there was a "physical threat" to her. On another occasion, he commented that the pair were returning to an empty ambulance station and they could "make mad passionate love". Mr Scott, who in 2018 had suggested to colleague B they could be friends with benefits, also asked her on more than one occasion: "When are we going to have an affair?" And, in October 2022, while in the kitchen area of Waveney Ambulance Station and in front of other staff members, he touched the thigh of colleague C, before "encircling" it. The HCPTS ruled Mr Scott's actions had been "sexually motivated", "seriously offensive", and "degrading", and removed him from the register. "He has suggested these comments were in some way in the nature of a joke or banter," the panel added. "It is unclear to the HCPC which parts are to be considered a joke, and in what era it was ever thought these sorts of comments were appropriate. "All three colleagues were vulnerable, and [Mr Scott] preyed upon their vulnerability." An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "There is no place in the ambulance service for any form of sexual harassment. We take allegations of sexual harassment and assault against our staff extremely seriously, and encourage anyone who experiences this to report it. "We have worked to encourage safe reporting of any unwanted sexual behaviour and introduced more senior involvement to manage investigations into allegations. "But we need to do more to develop allyship among staff, to ensure that all colleagues identify and call out this kind of behaviour, so that it is not only victims who are expected to step forward but all colleagues at all levels." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Paramedic laughed about patient 'moaning in pain' 'Creepy' doctor struck off for 'serious' misconduct Nurse who put patients at risk could be struck off The Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service East of England Ambulance Service Trust
