23.07.18
East of England Ambulance Service Trust praised for ‘visionary and compassionate’ leadership following poor CQC report
An independent examination of leadership and governance of East England’s ambulance trust has labelled the chief executive as “visionary and compassionate” after a CQC report noted concerns about the trust’s leadership.
The CQC rated East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust as ‘requires improvement’ on 4 July following the safe, effective, responsive, and well-led sectors of the trust deemed to need improvement by the health regulator.
However, in a new external review conducted by Deloitte, chief executive Robert Morton was labelled as “visionary and compassionate.”
The report said: “Our overall view is that the trust board has all the necessary foundations in place to become a high performing board and well governed trust. The board is sighted on many of the challenges that are facing the trust and has a number of plans in place to address them.”
The comprehensive review included interviews, focus groups and surveys along with desk research and meeting observation. It involved internal and external stakeholders from across the organisation and across the region. Almost 1,000 staff participated in the engagement process.
Chair Sarah Boulton said: “This has been an extremely worthwhile exercise, and the report and its findings will inform our future strategies and plans to provide an excellent service.
“We are pleased that the independent report confirms that the leadership and governance at EEAST is well placed to meet the challenges facing the trust and that the board has the skills and experience to become 'a high performing board and well governed trust.’
“We acknowledge that there are substantial challenges to be addressed and that the board needs to clearly focus on these challenges. Particularly we want to address as a matter of urgency the dissatisfaction among staff highlighted in the report.”
Ed Garratt, chief executive of the lead commissioning group of the trust, said: “Robert and Sarah have led together for three years, and have the created the foundation for improvement. Along with this stable leadership and the recent agreement to a £11.5m uplift in funding to support new posts and fleet, we have confidence in the team to see real change over time.”
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