Crucial emergency care system to be scrapped by NHSE within months
An IT system that prevents 999 call-handling services from being overwhelmed is set to be withdrawn by NHS England in an effort to save money.
Key recovery target hit
Ambulance services hit a crucial “interim” target for responding to the bulk of emergency calls last month, and showed marked improvements for the most serious category of incidents.
Zero tolerance ‘won’t fix sexual harassment of staff’
“Cultural transformation” rather than “zero tolerance” is required to overcome widespread sexual harassment by ambulance service staff and patients, according to the person leading national efforts to make improvements.
Ambulance services underprepared for ‘mass casualty incidents’
Ambulance services would still struggle to respond effectively to a mass-casualty event like the Manchester Arena bombing, HSJ has learned, as nearly all have been denied the funding needed to bolster preparedness.
‘Inadequate’ trust told to ensure it listens to staff
An ambulance trust has been told it needs to go further in its drive to improve, including that it listens to staff feedback.
20% of corporate jobs to go in cost-cutting restructure
An ambulance trust is reducing the number of posts in its corporate directorates by 20 per cent.
‘Safety concerns’ over provider with £500m new contracts
A patient transport company which is taking over contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds is grappling with concerns about service performance and risk to patients.
Revealed: the trusts with the highest savings targets
At least three trusts have efficiency targets approaching 10 per cent of their budget this year, HSJ research has found.
Teenager’s death linked to national IT system, review suggests
The 999 assessment and triage system is being reviewed after the death of a young footballer, which may have highlighted a recurring flaw in the tool.
Ambulance trusts suffer as calls jump 13% in London
Ambulance trusts are battling an extremely tough October with calls in one region up by 13 per cent year-on-year and others struggling with hospital handovers.
Trust in financial dispute with two ICBs
An ambulance trust has warned it may miss financial targets because it has failed to finalise some commissioning contracts halfway through the year.
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’.
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.
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.
£38.5m deficit leaves trust needing ‘cash support to continue operations’
An ambulance trust is moving from forecasting breakeven at the end of 2023-24 to a £38.5m deficit, and declared it will need to be given extra cash ‘to support continuing operations’.
Trust sacks seven staff over ‘sexual behaviour’
An ambulance trust saw a sharp rise in complaints – and has dismissed seven staff – after overhauling its complaints process, and encouraging people to speak up about sexual behaviour.
Cyber attack takes out two trusts’ records access
Two ambulance trusts have been left without a working electronic patient care record system for a week after a cyber attack affecting its Swedish-based supplier.
ICB and seven trusts put in ‘recovery’ after refusing to submit balanced financial plan
An integrated care board and all seven of its member trusts have been placed into the ‘recovery support programmes’ – formerly known as special measures – by NHS England, after declaring a deficit plan for 2023-24.