staff ambassadors - West Midlands Ambulance Service

This Month…..
August 2013
STAFF AMBASSADORS
LAUNCH
WMAS Equality and Diversity Ambassadors
- Page 2

Staff Numbers
Increase

Mid Staffs
Changes

New Aircrew for
MAA

Tweeting
Success

Cardiac Survival
Figures increase
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News…….
Increases in Staff Numbers Continue
The number of staff within the Trust is being increased significantly this
year. The Trust is continuing to move towards its aim of having a 70%
paramedic skill mix which will ensure all patients are dealt with by a
paramedic in the Emergency Operations Centre, on a rapid response
vehicle or an ambulance. The extra staff will also mean that the Trust
no longer requires support from St John Ambulance who will finish on 1 st
October 2013. Trust Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, said: “As a
significant number of new staff will be operational over the next few
weeks, I am sure you will join me in ensuring that we help them all to fit
into the organisation. In addition to the new staff, many more staff are
continuing to develop themselves. I was delight to hear that all 16
technician to paramedic students from the September 2012 intake on
the Coventry University course have passed and the results ratified.
Congratulations to each of them. This year has been one of real
challenges for everyone, but I am confident that these additional staff
and the up-skilling of existing staff will ensure the Trust continues to
move forward.”
Launch of Staff Equality Ambassadors
The Trust has unveiled its Staff Equality
Ambassadors at a launch organised in
Brierley Hill. WMAS remains committed
to developing an organisation free of all
forms of discrimination be it gender or
racial, while actively promoting equality of
opportunity and celebrating diversity and
inclusion. The support of over twenty staff
ambassadors will further enhance the
Trust’s equality and diversity ambitions.
Speaking about the scheme, WMAS
Chairman, Sir Graham Meldrum, said, “The Ambassadors represent a
significant step forward in providing a focus through which the Trust can
actively promote and develop an understanding of equality, diversity and
multiculturalism, both within and outside our organisation.” The event
was attended by Dr Habib Naqvi, Senior Equality Manager, NHS
England and Yvonne Coghill Inclusion Lead NHS Leadership Academy,
pictured above with Sir Graham.
Stations For Sale
A number of former ambulance stations have been advertised ‘For Sale’
The traditional ambulance stations are to be replaced by a new network
of Community Ambulance Stations as part of the ‘Make Ready’
programme. Redditch, Kidderminster, Henrietta Street in Birmingham
and Warwick have all been featured in the local media and property
press.
Cardiac Arrest Figures
New figures presented to the Trust Board
show that the care provided by ambulance
staff to cardiac arrest patients has led to
some very encouraging results. The figures
for May show that crews managed to get a
return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at
hospital in just under 58% of cases where
the cardiac arrest was witnessed and CPR
was undertaken by the crew in attendance.
Better still, the number of patients who
survived to discharge in that group reached
just over 30%, one of the highest figures
achieved in recent months.
Medical
Director, Dr Andy Carson, said: “These
figures are really good news for patients
and their families. The fact that we were
able to record such high scores is down to
some excellent work by staff. “
Continued Success of the
Trauma Network
Since the Regional Trauma Network went
live in the West Midlands at the end of
March 2012, many patients have benefitted
from this system. The partnership between
WMAS staff, trauma doctors, voluntary
medic schemes, Midlands Air Ambulance,
as well as the Emergency Operations
Centre air, trauma and incident command
desks and secondary care colleagues has
greatly improved outcomes and recovery for
trauma patients. A recent review by the
National Clinical Director for Trauma said
that everyone involved should be
congratulated on developing a superb
system for managing major trauma and
stating ‘the organisation of pre-hospital care
with the West Midlands Ambulance Service
is exemplar’. Medical Director, Dr Andy
Carson, said: “Whilst we should all be
proud of what we have achieved we must
remain vigilant that we ensure each patient
gets taken to the appropriate hospital for
their condition. ”
News…….
More Resources into Providing Ambulances
The Trust Board has heard how the Service is maximising the number of
ambulance hours. The Patient Quality Report highlighted that the length
of time it takes to back up rapid response vehicles remained fairly stable
through the summer months. Director of Service Delivery, Barry
Thurston, said: “We will continue to ensure all Community Paramedic
schemes are maintained. The figures presented to the Board show that
there is some variation, though that is largely down to the geography of
the areas. Mr Thurston further added: “The summer has been
challenging and I would like to thank staff for their considerable efforts to
keep operating at a high level despite the extreme temperatures that we
have experienced.”
Staff Conversations Report
WMAS organised five Staff Conversations that took place earlier this
year. In total, almost 80 staff took part in the five events. Participants
discussed their experience of the current culture in WMAS in relation to
three areas of the Johnson and Scholes Cultural Web model – “Stories;
Routines; and Symbols and Rituals”. Those attending outlined how they
would like the culture of the organisation to be in the future and what
could be done to achieve that. The main themes highlighted were:
teamwork; ownership and openness; development and reward;
resources; and communication. The recent Trust Board meeting
accepted the report and is determining how best to lead and model the
actions that will deliver the desired culture.
WMAS Covers V-Festival 2013
WMAS staff were among over 300 medics
and volunteers for the annual pilgrimage to
the V Festival at Weston Park in
Staffordshire in August. An estimated
85,000 people attended the event each day
to see headline acts such as Kings of Leon,
Beyonce and Eddie Izzard. With the typical
British Summertime weather continuing in its
erratic ways, the Trust urged festival goers
to arrive prepared for everything from
wellies to sun cream! Over 1,300 people
were treated by WMAS staff and volunteer
staff including doctors, nurses, paramedics,
technicians, managers, first aiders, control room staff and logistics staff.
A command and control centre was set up on site with call takers and
dispatchers co-ordinating the care. The Trust was also prepared for all
weather conditions with a number specialist vehicles and medical
equipment. WMAS once again worked in partnership with Venture Event
Medical Management and St. John Ambulance.
Thank You After Fire
Ambulance staff have been thanked
after their actions during a fire in the
A&E Department at Stafford Hospital
last month. Ambulance crews had to be
diverted away after a blaze in an
extractor fan in the roof. The fire was
quickly brought under control but the
department had to be evacuated. Five
crews were at the hospital at the time.
Doctors from the hospital assessed the
patients on the back of the ambulances
with three taken straight to wards, but
two had to be transferred to the
University Hospital of North Staffordshire
(UHNS). During the day, a further seven
crews had to be diverted to UHNS, two
were taken to Walsall Manor with
another diverted to New Cross in
Wolverhampton.
Chris Holt, Chief
Operating Officer at the Mid
Staffordshire Trust, said: “We are very
grateful to our own staff and those of
West Midlands Ambulance Service who
worked hard to make this possible so
quickly.
Thanks also to our
neighbouring hospitals who helped care
for our patients during this time.”
News…….
WMAS Views Changes to Mid Staffs
An initial review of the
proposed changes to Mid
Staffordshire
Hospitals
shows that some patients
may have to be taken to
alternative hospitals if
plans put forward are
accepted.
The
Administrators, who are
looking at the future of
the Acute Trust, are
consulting on plans which
would
see
Stafford
Hospital become part of University Hospital of North Staffordshire in
Stoke, with New Cross taking over Cannock Hospital. They say around
90% of patients will still attend the two hospitals and that the A&E
Department at Stafford will continue to operate between 8.00am and
10.00pm each day. WMAS Clinical Head of Cardiac and Stroke, Matt
Ward, said: “On first examination it seems likely that some patients will
need to be transported by ambulance to a different hospital than is the
currently the case. However, given the experience that we have in
dealing with the overnight closure at Stafford, with the right funding,
there should not be an issue with maintaining the high standards of
clinical care. We will continue to work closely with the Administrators and
Commissioners as the process is taken forward.”
Welcome to our New Call Assessors
The latest group of call
assessors have successfully
passed their NHS Pathways
Call
Handler
course.
Trainers Adrian Stanley and
Liz Deverall commented on
how proud they were of the
group's commitment and
hard work, both individually
and during team work, as
was
evidenced
by
their outstanding assessment scores. Liz said: “We look forward to
welcoming the group into the live environment after completing their
training.” Call Assessor, Rachael Cooke, said: “The course was really
thorough, I learnt a lot and it was very enjoyable. In fact I’d go as far to
say that it’s the best course I’ve been on so far.” The group pictured left
to right are Adrian Stanley (Pathways Clinical Trainer), Sam Shenton,
Liz Deverall (Pathways Trainer), Elaine Devey, Rachael Cooke, Vicky
Murfitt, Aimee Evans, John Whitehouse (Clinician) and Lee Carter (EOC
Commander).
Broad Agreement on
Up-skilling Paramedics
A review of emergency medicine in the
West Midlands involving the majority of
health organisations has given broad
backing to proposals to up-skill
paramedic staff. The 46 organisations,
which represented Acute Trusts,
Commissioners and Mental Health
organisations, all attended a recent
summit. They were asked to rate a
range of options designed to reduce
pressure on the emergency care
system. Almost three quarters believe
getting paramedics to provide more
primary care would be helpful for
patients and the system as a whole.
Many delegates believed that training to
such a level would allow paramedics to
provide more see-and-treat services
and make more use of alternative care
pathways. Some of the more radical
suggestions included supporting
paramedics with “Skype” or live video
access to a GP from the scene. Other
proposals included developing a greater
level of experience in trauma,
paediatrics, mental health and
treatment providers.
Trust Chief
Executive, Anthony Marsh, said: “This
builds on the work to introduce
community paramedics across the
region.”
Health Education West
Midlands will now look to develop the
proposals into a firm proposition.
News…….
End of an Era for Cliff
As the North Staffordshire
Patient Transport Services (PTS)
contract came to a close,
Supervisor Cliff Allanson decided
to step down from his role. Cliff,
who has worked for the Service
for 23 years, began in post as a
care assistant in Cheadle in
1990. He is now looking forward
to spending more time fishing
and riding his motorbike. On his
last day, Cliff said: “It's a very emotional day. The opportunity arose for
me to take my pension, and with the PTS takeover and the service
moving depots, it just felt like a good time to me. This is definitely the
best job I've had. That's why I stayed for so long. I've loved working here.
The best thing about it was the camaraderie of the team. The staff have
been amazing and I've made some very good friends. It's certainly had
its stressful moments, but the whole experience has been a very positive
one.” The Trust would like to wish Cliff a very happy retirement and thank
all of his colleagues who are transferring to NSL, the new PTS supplier,
for their hard work and dedication. (Picture courtesy of The Sentinel.)
New Apprentices Join
WMAS
Four new business administration
apprentices have recently joined WMAS.
Pictured below from left to right are
Karen Hollyoake who will be working
with the clinical safeguarding team,
Lauren Hadley from the patient
experience team, Leah Parker is
working in the Press Office and Pascal
Barnet is assigned to Human
Resources. Diane Pittom, WMAS
Organisational Development Officer,
said: “The Trust is in the process of
recruiting new apprentices over the
coming months. The first four
have already started and I am sure
everyone would like to welcome them to
WMAS. Over the 12 month programme
they will develop their skills alongside
our staff with the aim of obtaining a
professional qualification.
WMAS Trained Staff Save Holidaymaker
A man who ‘died’ in Wolverhampton
in March has been reunited with the
train station staff that saved his life.
Husband and wife, Norman and Jean
Brotherton, were on their way to
Yorkshire for a holiday, but instead of
boarding a train, a replacement bus
service had been arranged due to a
delay. Moments before the bus
departed, Norman stopped breathing.
Fortunately, four staff from the train
station who were helping passengers board the bus knew exactly what to
do. They had been trained by WMAS and Station Manager, Dave
Whitehouse and his three colleagues Stuart Vickers, Steve Wade and
Kim Weaver-Davis jumped to the rescue. Dave and Stuart started CPR,
Kim reassured Jean whilst Steve raced to the train station to collect their
defibrillator. Dave said: “We did CPR for about 7-8 minutes, shocking him
once with the defibrillator which restarted his heart. It doesn’t seem like a
long time now but, that day, it felt like an eternity.” Norman spent 20 days
in New Cross Hospital and said: “I don’t know anything at all about that
day or for the two days after. All I know is that I was sitting on a bus and I
died. The staff at the train station are wonderful people and I owe them
my life.”
Work
Experience
Teenagers
for
A group of teenagers have been finding
out about life in the ambulance service
by taking part in the Trust’s work
experience
programme.
Seven
teenagers from schools across the
Region participated in the programme
based at the Dudley Hub. Diane Pittom,
WMAS Organisational Development
Officer, said: “All the students thoroughly
enjoyed the week; they certainly see us
now as more than just a 999 service.
One of the parents commented that the
week had reinforced their desire to
become a paramedic, every evening he
had more interesting facts to the service
and the all the staff involved were
helpful and dedicated.”
News…….
New Aircrew for MAA
Eight members of staff
have now completed
their
HEMS aircrew
course. The new recruits
were selected from an
initial 65 applicants and
began
their
three
year secondments
on
1st
August.
Becky
Tinsley,
Air
Operations
Manager,
said: “I am looking
forward to the new staff being part of the Midlands Air Ambulance team
and working with them during their time with air ops. I would also like to
take this opportunity to thank all of the staff who are coming to the end of
their secondments for their hard work and dedication. I would also like to
thank all the aircrew, paramedics and doctors who helped to assist
throughout the duration of the selection process and subsequent training
course. (Pictured L-R top row: Rob Davies, Tom Davies, Oliver Ayles,
Jason Newman. Bottom row: Kat Ellis, Stuart Evans, Candice Mansell.
Giles Griffiths will also be joining the team.)
Cardiac Arrest Victim Back on his Bike
A former professional cyclist who
suffered a cardiac arrest has been
reunited with the ambulance crews
who helped save his life. Ged Dennis
(61) from Blymhill near Weston-underLizard had cycled to a friend’s house in
Sherrifhales for a bike ride together
when he collapsed. First to attend was
paramedic Charlie Cambidge who was
driving past the town at the time of the
call, followed by paramedic crew
Donna Malcolm and Mick Harvey. Just
37 minutes after the call, Ged was
admitted to Princess Royal Hospital in
Telford where he spent ten days. He
was soon back on his bike and only
three months after his cardiac arrest he
took part in the MAMIL (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) cycle event on the
Shropshire Hills. Ged is pictured at his home with cycling friend Adrian
Martin and paramedics Charlie, Donna and Mick.
Social Media Success
The importance of social media to the Trust
has been highlighted by the achievement of
three significant milestones. The Trust
smashed through the 10,000 follower mark
on Twitter and issued our 5,000th Tweet.
On Facebook and the Trust is now ‘liked’
by over 2,000 people. Communications
Director, Murray MacGregor, said: “We are
the second most followed Ambulance Trust
in the country after London. Social media
gives us an opportunity that we have never
had before. Previously we had to issue
messages via the media; now we are able
to have a conversation with the public
directly.” Follow us on twitter @officialwmas
or search for us on facebook - officialwmas
to see all the latest news.
Newly Appointed Assistant
Managers for NEOC
The Non-Emergency Operations Centre
(NEOC) has recently welcomed two newly
appointed assistant managers. Jennie
Morgan and April Gainford were appointed
into post and began in their new roles
based at PTS operations centre in Tollgate
in August. Jenny, who was a Controller for
the Coventry and Warwickshire contract
has worked for the Trust for 9 years, whilst
April was formerly working in a Liaison role
at Heart of England Foundation Trust and
has been with the Trust for seven years.
The duo will now be responsible for the day
to day running of the NEOC, including PTS
bookings and controlling for all contracts
across the region. Lesley Nixon, Head of
PTS, said: “I would personally like to
congratulate both Jennie and April on their
promotion and I am looking forward to be
working closely with them both.”
News…….
AGM and Members’
Meeting
All Steamed Up Saving Lives
A
leading
boiler
manufacturer is helping to
ease 999 pressures thanks
to a generous donation to
volunteer life savers in the
Black
Country.
Baxi
Commercial,
based
in
Birmingham, has a very
unique employee who sells
boilers by day and responds
to 999 calls to save lives by
night. Mark Gibbons, Baxi
Commercial Northern Regional Sales Manager, gives up his spare time
to be a Community First Responder (CFR) for FastAid Black Country.
Impressed by Mark’s dedication to the cause, Baxi Commercial has
decided to support Fastaid Black Country with a £3,000 donation. Mark,
who has been a CFR for 2½ years said: “This is fantastic news for
Fastaid and will help us with the purchase of a dedicated response car
and telephony for the CFRs. We’re extremely grateful to Baxi
Commercial for this generous donation, thank you.” Emma Wilkins, the
Trust’s Black Country Community Response Manager said: “It’s great to
see a large organisation such as Baxi Commercial striking up a
supportive relationships with such a valuable community charity. Not
only does it help to further boost public awareness about the role of
Fastaid CFRs, it also gives the charity the security to keep their
invaluable life-saving work going.” (Picture: Baxi’s Finance and Sales
Directors, CFRs Carol Waite, Julie Enbury and Mark Gibbons and Emma
Wilkins.)
WMAS will be holding its Annual
General Meeting (AGM) and Annual
Members’ meeting from 6.30pm on
Wednesday 11th September 2013, in
the McGregor Suite, Villa Park,
Birmingham B6 6HE. The meeting is
open to the public. Anyone wishing to
attend
should
email:
[email protected] to reserve a
seat as space at the venue is limited.
All members of our trust are welcome
to attend, as well as stakeholders and
any interested
members of the
public. The event will provide an
excellent opportunity to meet the
Board of Directors and Governors,
view presentations and hear about
WMAS. The meeting will also include
a presentation of the Trust’s activities
over the past year, and present the
Trust’s annual report 2012-13,
including Quality Accounts and
financial statements which will be
available on the Trust’s website
following the meeting.
Performance
July 2013
Red (999 life threatening calls)
(Target: 75% within an 8 minute response)
WMAS
72.5%
Birmingham
72.8%
Black Country
72.7%
Coventry & Warwickshire
69.2%
West Mercia
73.8%
Staffordshire
73.0%