Have your say on the future of your Ambulance Service – open public events

News - 17 July 2024

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is launching an open conversation to gather the views of everyone living in the region on the future of healthcare in the region.
An ambulance parked outside a hospital unit.

This engagement is part of the Trust’s ongoing efforts to develop a strategy to deliver the best possible care for over 6 million people across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. 

EEAST has already engaged with more than 6,000 of its staff and volunteers and started to build a picture of the future. Now we need the input from the patients and public we serve.

A series of events – online and in person – are being hosted between July and September, beginning on Tuesday 23 July. Members of the public will be able to see the ideas that have emerged so far and will be free to share what they feel is wrong, strong or missing. They’ll be able to share their ideas, comment on others’ suggestions, and vote on what matters most to them. The platform is a safe space as it ensures anonymity, encouraging open and honest feedback.

There will be two online sessions on Tuesday 23 July, at 2pm and 6.30pm, that anyone can sign up to attend using the following link: https://clevertogether.typeform.com/to/cgpz9cjv. 

For those who are unable to attend an online session, you can still take part in the conversation by signing up here: https://eeast.clevertogether.com/en/sign-up/. This is a unique opportunity for the public to influence how their local ambulance service operates. The insights gathered will play a crucial role in shaping the future of EEAST’s services.

We are very excited to be launching the next stage in developing EEAST’s Strategy 2025-30, which involves listening to the people and communities we serve across the east of England, as well as the stakeholders and partner organisations we work closely with.

There were nearly 8,000 individual contributions from staff and volunteers at EEAST with views on what our service needs to do to deliver the best possible emergency patient care. But now we want to hear from the patients we serve every day. Their opinion is invaluable, and it is only by gathering the views and ideas of the public that we can deliver an ambulance service that meets the needs of everyone.

I encourage everyone in the east of England, whether they have used our service or not, to get involved and join the conversation at one of the upcoming public events. Whether you have ever needed an ambulance or not, your opinion is important.

Kate Vaughton, EEAST’s interim Chief Executive Officer

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