Senior leaders in the ambulance services across the UK have heard how their collaboration over the last 12 months has helped to improve patient care and employee wellbeing.
The work, undertaken by more than 40 groups reporting to ten key work-streams, was reviewed by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) Council at its last meeting in late April.
Martin Flaherty, managing director of AACE, said:
There has been a phenomenal amount of work in the last 12 months to ensure that the ambulance sector is driving forward innovations in so many different areas.
The AACE Council plays a vital role in setting the strategic direction of our sector to provide ambulance services with an organisation that can support, coordinate and implement nationally agreed policy.
Reports from ten key work-streams were scrutinized by AACE Council members made up of ambulance chief executives and non-executive chairs, who add an extensive private and commercial sector experience to meetings.
Progress was measured against the national priorities to reduce unwarranted variation between services; be an employer of choice; set the strategic direction for urgent & emergency care; improve patient safety and experience; build alliances with commissioners and promote the reputation of the ambulance sector.
Managers from all the services in England and devolved nations of the UK are co-opted on groups responsible for delivering the AACE national priorities in areas such as operations, medical, quality & risk, urgent & emergency care, finance, communications, resilience, IMT, HR and diversity.
Highlights of the year include the completion of a suicide prevention research study and supporting the movement of paramedics to Band 6 among HR directors; collaborating on more than 100 national media inquiries and developing guidance for ambulance use of social media among communications directors.
The national ambulance diversity forum has supported the development of the first ambulance BAME conference and the second LGBT conference and pooled budgets to support the recruitment of the first national ambulance diversity forum programme manager, focusing on workforce race equality – as well as other equality, diversity and inclusion areas – over the next 12 months.
More than 2,000 delegates have completed 158 training courses supported by the National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU) and implemented a revised national safe system of work.
Medical directors have support the development of JRCALC guidelines as well as working with the national ambulance commissioning network in the development of acute behavioural disturbance recognition and management guidance.
Directors of quality, governance and risk have provided strong and successful challenge (for safeguarding adults) to the intercollegiate group in the development of the Intercollegiate Guidance for Safeguarding Adults and Children. There is a joint piece of work with Health Education England and the National Education Network for Ambulance Services to look at resources for safeguarding training.
Finance directors have lobbied the Department of Health and Social Care to raise the specific funding needs of the UK ambulance sector and ambulance service managers leading on emergency & urgent care have successfully contributed to the NHS Long Term Plan.
