Each spring AACE – and the national director groups it hosts – review what’s been achieved in the previous year and look ahead to workplans for the new financial year.
There are nine national director groups, each with a chief executive (CEO) lead and an elected director level chair from one of the member trusts.
Many of the groups also have sub-groups focusing on specialist workstreams. This year ambulance directors have considered their strategic priorities and subsequent annual work plans for their groups in line with:
- The AACE Strategic Approach 2023-2026, which has been agreed by the Ambulance Chief Executives group (ACEG).
- The recently published vision for the UK NHS ambulance sector.
- The recommendations of the culture review of ambulance trusts, commissioned by NHS England and published in February 2024.
This work has been overseen by the Strategic Delivery Group (SDG) – made up of the national group chairs and sponsoring CEOs, alongside AACE team members. Each of the national director groups presented their workplans to a meeting of the SDG in March. In April the plans go to the AACE Council for final sign-off, which is attended by chairs and chief executives from each trust.
While each national group will have a range of priorities, some of them very specific to their area of expertise, there are several common workstreams which will be prioritised throughout the year. For 2024/25 they are:
- Implementing the recommendations of the culture review of ambulance trusts.
- Promoting health and wellbeing of staff including preventing suicide and improving sexual safety.
- Improving patient and staff safety in the workplace, including promotion of our ‘Safe in the Back’ campaign and a strong focus on violence prevention and reduction.
- Reducing hospital handover delays and subsequent harm, focusing on good practice examples.
- Reducing health inequalities, including improving out of hospital cardiac arrest survival rates and ensuring patients get the right response for their need.
- Implementing the Ambulance Radio Programme (ARP).
- Strengthening arrangements for cyber security and optimising digital solutions.
- Delivering sustainability goals and net zero ambitions.
- Embedding the recommendations of the Manchester Arena Inquiry.
- Strengthening ambulance volunteering.
- Ensuring safe implementation of the ‘Right care, right person’ national agreement.
The SDG and chief executives’ group will maintain oversight of these workstreams over the next twelve months so expect to see further updates on progress in Keeping PAACE.
