EoEAS Reviews

Pros

Great Life Experiences, Friendly Colleagues, Real Privilege to work for NHS Ambulance Service. You can develop you teamwork, leadership, communication, under pressure working skills.

Cons

Long shifts through evenings and weekends. Social life is almost non-exsistance, but that's the job of a paramedic, and its what I was aware of before signing up.

Pros

Great to meet and assist all calibres of people, get to know their problems and help them as much as possible.

Cons

Management are a disgrace. No back up, support and mostly a closed shop. Nepotism prevails regarding managerial jobs and mostly have no idea of policies and procedures laid down by the Trust. Although the Trust does not advocate bullying, it still goes on and needs eradicating.

Advice to Management

Employ managers who have a bit of sense and are not in it just for the glory or pension

Pros

Helping people. The crazy money you get working overtime

Cons

No management support. Managers were not helpful. Treated like an inconvenience cliquey staff. Not open to helping new staff. Line managers either asleep or out smoking.

Advice to Management

Refresh your managers and change the attitude if staff make it welcoming so you retain staff

Pros

An easy and rewarding job. Never has to be stressful.Not many jobs you get paid to potter around the countryside and enjoy the day.

Cons

The pay is poor throughout, at PTS level its poor and at front line level like most NHS roles everyone is seriously underpaid.Disorganised from above, lots could be done to improve the system.At PTS level unless you go front line there is zero opportunity to progress.

Advice to Management

Go out on the vehicles regularly and do the job.

Pros

The variety of calls. The opportunity to learn from my colleagues. The daily challenges.

Cons

Being on relief so therefore not knowing my shifts too far in advance.

Pros

Really busy with plenty of overtime and a nice warm workshop .It can make you feel guilty for going home sometimes as there is always so much to do ...

Cons

So insecure as it appears everyone needs to do the work of two, with contractors taking more and more jobs from us everyday instead of increasing staff levels to cope with the ever increasing demand for our service

Advice to Management

Employ more staff and save the trust as contractors cost so much and they only want the cream big money work .Employ more staff and dump the CONtractors where possible ..

Pros

They pay me a wage, it gives me somewhere to go in the day, I have some good friends among my colleagues.

Cons

Unsupportive management, lack of development opportunities, too many broken promises, failure to deliver on offers of development & support. Unrelenting pressure on front line crews, too much effort put into chasing unrealistic and unobtainable targets, lack of care and compassion to crews, late finishes, relentless non stop work load with only a 30 minute break in 12+ hours. Quick to criticise, slow to praise.... Reluctance to acknowledge the trust is failing in staff relationships. Highest staff loss figure of any other ambulance service, failure to recognise experience, qualifications, and knowledge of staff. Too much emphasis put on qualifications over experience.

Advice to Management

Realise that if they took better care of their staff, supporting them backing them & believing them that if morale actually improved then the problems the trust is facing would be eased. Managers, especially the senior managers need to get out of their offices and instead of attending endless, pointless meetings, get out on the road and attend calls on an ambulance to not just see for themselves what we are facing... on a regular basis, but also help deal with some of the calls. Just recently I worked a Saturday night shift when we were down two and a half crews. Not one single manager came in to try and make up a crew and help out. Yet on the Monday, when we were fully staffed and it was a bank holiday, so therefore double time, two managers turned up to man a vehicle for four hours to "help". The most valuable asset the trust possesses is the dedicated men and women that man the vehicles day and night and are worked into the ground. Yet they treat us with contempt and no regard. They are more interested in their own career development and getting as much out of the trust as they can.

Pros

Hard working, loyal, clinically sound staff who will go out of their way to provide an excellent service to the patient

Cons

Lack of staff, lack of vehicles, inconsistent and poor call handling/dispatching protocols. 'Jobs for the boys' - managers who are 'yes men' get promoted to power allowing management to empire build not for the greater good. Lack of moral due to lack if leadership (managers don't empower and support staff), lack of communication, everything by email - no online database of information, little face-to-face or... group discussions/learning. Bullyboy tacktics from management -lack of leadership training.

Advice to Management

Empower your staff, they are your biggest asset. Support your staff, don't just dump them when they ask for support. "A good employer should train their employees with the skills that they should be able to leave but treat then well enough that they don't want to" - EEAST has a loooooong way to go.