Latest news with #EEAST
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
East of England Ambulance 999 callers to get CPR video help
People calling 999 in the East of England to report a cardiac arrest will be the first in the UK to be offered live video support from advanced the call, staff in the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) control room will coach them on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) via a video streaming follows a successful trial in Denmark that improved the bystanders' hand position and the speed and depth of Council UK said when resuscitation was attempted following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, fewer than one in 10 people survived to hospital discharge and EEAST hopes the pilot will improve survival rates. Liam Sagi, an advanced paramedic, said survival had not "really changed in 40 years".EAAST serves Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and said it carried out resuscitation on 3,500 patients per year and its crews could restart more than 1,000 of the hearts of those patients, but that bystanders were resuscitation immediately could quadruple the chances of survival, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Sagi said the public needed to know what to do."We know that less than half of the public have learnt CPR and for every minute that goes by without getting CPR, your chances of survival drop by 10%," he said. Bystanders do not need to download an app. During the 999 calls, paramedics send a text message to them via the GoodSAM video caller clicks on a link within that message to initiate the video while they are still on the caller and paramedic can see each other them in the two-way video said this allowed the paramedic to assess the situation visually and provide guidance on CPR technique until the ambulance service arrived. Mr Sagi said: "We know that our call handlers do a fantastic chance of coaching people through CPR over the telephone but there are trials internationally that show we can really improve the quality of the CPR delivered."He said they would be looking at things like hand position and chest compression depth."We want to understand if this helps people in really traumatic situations. Does it help confidence? Does it help improve quality of CPR, and does it help the person process things after it's happened?"EEAST said video streaming worked best when there was more than one bystander present, so that one person could hold the phone while the other performed CPR. It said success would depend on video connectivity and the person being familiar with video calls. John Newman, a community first responder from Epping, Essex, said: "Sometimes when we arrive, folk are so nervous they might hurt the person on the floor, they just stand back and watch apprehensively."If they're already lying there, they're already in a life-threatening situation, so they should just get on and do it."Essex and Herts Air Ambulance is helping to provide critical care paramedics for the scheme. Dr Gareth Grier, associate medical director said: "Every day we see cases where high quality CPR has made a life-changing difference to patients."This project will make sure that every patient gets the best chance of a good outcome."NHS Charities Together has funded the scheme with a £142,000 grant. The video stream will also be used to coach bystanders on how to use defibrillators Newman said some people were "very apprehensive" about using one, but that that the quicker they used it, the more likely they were to save a life."The video will overcome the apprehension right at the beginning," he said."Our call handlers will tell you where the nearest defibrillator is. Someone else can go and get it, while you carry on with the chest compressions."The out-of-hospital cardiac arrest desk will run four days a week, from 07:00 to 19:00. Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Ambulance service launches veteran support network
An ambulance service has launched a support network for veterans, reservists and their families within its workforce. The East of England Ambulance service (EEAST) has about 5,000 employees, with 200 of those either veterans or who have links to the armed network is being launched in Armed Forces Week, and it will be initially online, with a variety of virtual and in-person events expected to follow. Neill Moloney, the EEAST chief executive, said: "We hope our Armed Forces Network will provide a space where veterans, reservists and their families can come together to improve the support we offer to staff." 'Lived experience' Across the service there are about 40 staff with reservist or cadet force commitments, including roles with the RAF, Army, Royal Marines and the Royal Navy. Mr Moloney added: "Within EEAST we have a wide range of people from within the military communities, whether by being veterans, reservists, military co-responders who volunteer with us in their spare time, or by being the spouses of those currently serving."We also recognise that EEAST's patients that are veterans can also have complex and specific needs and we hope that the lived experience of members of the Armed Forces Network will also help us improve the support we provide to those patients." Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk or BBC Suffolk.
BBC News
07-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
UK's oldest responder from Manningtree still saving lives aged 88
An 88-year-old volunteer community first responder (CFR) is still serving her community after more than 23 Moss, who lives near Manningtree in Essex, is believed to be the oldest CFR in the is part of a team at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) in and around her village, including in nearby explained she "loved" helping people and it had been her partner who originally encouraged her to volunteer. "People's faces when you arrive, they are very relieved that someone has turned up and it's just so lovely, you feel so welcome."Every call is a chance to help someone in need, and that is what keeps me going."CFRs are unpaid volunteers who are trained to respond to 999 calls. They can provide immediate treatment until an ambulance Moss was one of the first group of volunteers to join the trust in Suffolk, she explained, with herself and two others still there today. 'Inspiration' EEAST said it estimated that Ms Moss had responded to about 1,000 medical emergencies."I never imagined I would still be volunteering after 23 years, but I love it," she the first five months of 2025, Ms Moss volunteered about 260 hours per month, and was on-call most days to respond to medical emergencies, EEAST retired teacher was awarded a community champion award by Conservative MP for South Suffolk James Cartlidge in urged others to consider volunteering for the service."It's such a wonderful service so you like to give as many hours as you can."Lorna Hayes, head of community response at EEAST, said: "Carol is an inspiration to us all."Her unwavering commitment, compassion and resilience has saved lives and brought comfort to countless families." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
NHS trust takes ambulances off road because they have the wrong wheels
An NHS trust has been forced to pull dozens of ambulances off the road because they were accidentally ordered with the wrong wheels. The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) mistakenly purchased a fleet of 75 new MAN and Ford ambulances fitted with steel rather than alloy wheels. Steel wheels are not suitable for ambulances because when they reach speeds of up to 90 mph it can cause some safety features on the wheels to melt away. NHS chiefs have had to spend £133,500 on retrofitting new wheels, which has forced the vehicles off the road. EEAST has reassured the public that, despite the mishap, it would always have an 'appropriate number' of ambulances to support patients. A spokesman said: 'Many vehicles in our fleet have used steel wheels, and there is no suggestion steel wheels on ambulances cannot withstand 999 response driving conditions. 'We have retrofitted alloy wheels to some of our ambulances as they were not included in the original procurement due to an error. There is no additional cost than if the wheels had been fitted before delivery. 'This work will be done in a phased approach so that we always have the appropriate number of vehicles to serve our patients.' Steel wheels melt safety tabs Trust bosses had identified alloy wheels as being preferable to steel because of a problem with plastic indicator tabs used to tell when wheel nuts are loose. Previously, heat caused by high speeds associated with emergency vehicle driving with steel wheels had caused these plastic indicators to melt. Glenn Carrington, the Unison union's branch chairman at the trust, said: 'This is a costly mistake at a time the trust is supposed to be looking after every penny. 'Overtime is an essential part of the pay check for many staff, so it is a real kick in the teeth to see the trust having to spend over £130,000 fixing this error. 'This is the latest in a long line of fleet blunders, which are costing the trust money and hitting its ability to service the public. The trust urgently needs to get a grip on this fleet crisis.' 'Embarassing and avoidable error' Donna Thomas, the GMB regional organiser, added: 'This embarrassing and avoidable error shows a lack of due diligence and proper processes in EEAST. 'Vehicles were unable to enter frontline service due to management mistakes – yet another delay to frontline response. 'This is a trust which is currently subject to an improvement notice from the CQC [Care Quality Commission], due in part of category two ambulance response times. 'The £133,500 spent on this retrofit should have been used to fund clinical staff on the road. There must be accountability for this error.' The trust insists that the £133,500 cost of retrofitting the vehicles was a planned cost as part of ordering the new vehicles.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Bedford and Chelmsford ambulance 999 call centres to close
Two 999 emergency call centres run by the region's NHS ambulance service are to close, and a new one will East of England Ambulance Trust (EEAST) said its sites in Bedford and Chelmsford would shut but it would invest in a new centre in Essex while retaining its site in Norwich. In September, the trust announced that the Bedford Emergency Operations centre (EOC) was not up to "modern control room standards" and was at risk of closure. The GMB Union said it would put "significant strain" on the service and "leave large numbers of staff out of a job". EEAST said its trustees made the decision at a meeting on Wednesday. "The board agreed in principle to retain the EOC at Norwich, to close the EOCs at Bedford and Chelmsford and to invest in a new operations centre in Essex, subject to a full business case," it said in a statement."This is the best option for our future resilience and for the service for our patients."The trust said it could be up to two years before a new centre was opened, and all existing EOCs would remain operational until added that affected staff would be supported and it would look at "every opportunity for them to continue to work for us, including relocation or retraining".In March, the trust said 99 frontline staff would be added to its centres in Bedford, Chelmsford and Norwich. 'Deeply concerned' A union spokesperson said the decision to close the Bedford site "could place significant strain on ambulance cover across the East of England and leave large numbers of staff out of a job".Staff had been told to "either relocate to the more expensive areas of Chelmsford or Norwich, secure another role within the trust, or find themselves made redundant".Donna Thomas, the GMB's regional organiser, said: "It represents a potential threat to public safety, particularly as the trust is already failing on call wait times."We are deeply concerned about the impact it could have on our members, who will be faced with the difficult choice to relocate, redeploy or find themselves out of work." The trust said it had looked at five options but its decision "offers the most strategically aligned, resilient and future-proofed solution, with long-term benefits across performance, workforce sustainability and operational efficiency".The Essex location has "a better recruitment and retention profile, has a reasonable market profile to find a suitable property, and will impact fewer staff than a new site in Bedfordshire would".It said it hoped its decision would "ensure any savings will be reinvested in front-line services and enable EEAST to provide a better service to our patients". Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, or BBC Suffolk.
