North East Ambulance Service recognized for investing in staff

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has achieved national Investors in People accreditation in recognition of its commitment to its workforce.

Investors in People (IIP) is the international standard for people management, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Underpinning the standard is the Investors in People framework, reflecting the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to outperform in any industry.

NEAS, which employs more than 2,600 people and handles the region’s NHS111 and 999 calls as well as providing a clinical care and transport service, was assessed by IIP over the summer and has now received the first level of IIP standard, ‘developed’.

Particular strengths were identified as:

o   Encouraging high performance

o   Adopting a culture of recognition

o   Creating autonomy in roles

o   Enabling collaborative working

Yvonne Ormston, NEAS Chief Executive, said: “Working for the ambulance service is more than a job and we are incredibly proud of our workforce and the care they deliver and the difference they make day in, day out.

“We want NEAS to be a great place to work, with a highly skilled, healthy, engaged and motivated workforce delivering excellent patient care. With this in mind we have worked incredibly hard as an organisation over the last few years to ensure we invest in and develop them.

“To date this work has included working with our employees to develop a set of behaviours that we can use as part of our recruitment, induction and appraisal processes as well as building a leadership and management programme which can be used throughout all levels of our organisation. We have also reviewed and improved our induction and training processes, introduced a staff benefits booklet highlighting the rewards for working within our service.

“Achieving this accreditation is an objective, external endorsement that we have the right principles and practices in place and have communicated these effectively so that people and leaders know what is expected of them. But we’re not stopping there and are now working towards receiving the advanced level standard by 2020.”

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “Investors in People accreditation is the sign of a great employer, an outperforming place to work and a clear commitment to success. North East Ambulance Service should be extremely proud of this achievement.”