Ambulance response time hits two-year low
Ambulance response times for incidents including elderly people falling rose to the highest level in two years in November.
Plan for first ambulance group revealed
Two ambulance trusts are planning to form a group next year.
Ambulance response times soar
Ambulance trusts are coming under severe pressure this week with typical waits reaching two hours for category 2 calls in the West Midlands this morning.
Emergency performance dips as winter nears
Ambulance response times rose dramatically last month with urgent care performance also worsening as winter appeared to strike early.
NHSE admits ‘urgent’ ambulance target will be missed in capital
NHS England has agreed ambulance trusts can meet ‘realistic’ response times for ‘urgent’ ambulance calls including some heart attacks and stroke this winter, citing ‘service pressures, resources and demand’.
Exclusive: Trusts forced to dismiss overseas staff shortly after hiring them
Two NHS trusts have been forced to dismiss multiple staff from a cohort recruited from overseas, leading to a row over assurance of their qualifications, HSJ can reveal.
Five trusts join forces on AI and procurement
Five ambulance service trusts are forming a group, which will include joint projects on artificial intelligence, and a potential move to standardisation and joint procurement of vehicles.
Four regions still without extra ambulances promised by NHSE
Four regions that successfully bid for dedicated ambulances for mental health patients are still without the specialist vehicles, despite growing concerns the NHS is unable to respond to people in crisis.
Trusts face paybill hike from rebanding claims
Ambulance trusts are facing significantly higher costs as thousands of staff look set to be upgraded to a higher pay band.
Top team overhauled at trust with ‘inadequate’ leadership rating
Half of the executive directors at an ambulance trust are absent from work or due to leave as it contemplates a major shake-up of its governance.
Outside CEOs bring ‘positive challenge’ to sector, says review author
The senior leader who carried out a cultural review of the ambulance sector has said bringing in chief executives from outside has “shone a different light” on the service, although she stressed it was not a “silver bullet”.
Waiting times focus ‘overshadows misconduct’, finds NHSE review
Ambulance trusts have often prioritised capacity and response times over dealing with cases of misconduct, a review of culture in the sector for NHS England has found.
Revealed: 300,000 more NHS staff missing out on flu jab
Some 300,000 fewer frontline NHS staff had the winter flu vaccine last year than in 2019 and 2020, with huge variation in uptake among trusts, HSJ analysis shows.
56% of staff leave ‘relentless’ jobs within a year
A trust has found that more than half its new call handlers quit within a year of starting, and a third within six months — with ‘health’ being given as the main reason.
Trust which had three ‘catastrophic’ IT failures in two years still at ‘high risk’
A trust which suffered three major IT failures in the space of two years was let down by poor leadership and governance, an external review has found.
National director admits ‘misconduct’ in prior trust CEO role
A director at a national agency has been removed from the paramedic register after admitting to misconduct in a previous role as chief executive of an ambulance trust.
A&E handover delays up by a fifth, leak reveals
Hours lost to ambulance handover delays shot up by nearly a quarter last month amid growing fears about the pressure on ambulance services going into winter, according to figures seen by HSJ.
Chair to retire after 50 years in the NHS
An ambulance trust chair is to step down after more than half a century in the NHS.
The Integrator: ‘We’ve got to be more efficient together’
Insider tales and must-read analysis on how integration is reshaping health and care systems, NHS providers, primary care, and commissioning. This week by correspondent Mimi Launder
New CEO for trust where ‘bullying and harassment were normalised’
An ambulance trust grappling with major cultural problems has appointed a substantive chief executive, who most recently has been on extended leave from his role leading two acute providers.