Probe into bullying at crisis-hit ambulance trust

A SECOND major ambulance trust is under investigation after reports of bullying and safety breaches.

More than 1,000 calls went unanswered at South East Coast Ambulance Service in March alone with internal memos blaming the computerised ambulance dispatch system.

Preliminary findings by the Care Quality Commission, leaked to the BBC, said it had ‘received a number of calls from staff follow- ing the inspection indicating a continuing culture of bullying and harassment’. It added: ‘Accountability is absent in many areas.’

The trust, which covers Sussex, Surrey and Kent, had already lost its chairman in March, and its chief executive in May after it emerged last year that the service was delaying sending help to certain calls. An internal memo by Geraint Davies, the current acting chief executive, said there were still ‘very serious concerns’ including ‘serious system weaknesses’.

Mr Davies added: ‘It’s fair to say that many of these won’t come as a surprise and are areas of weakness that the trust has been aware of for some time.

‘It’s equally fair to say that, despite aware- ness, not a great deal has been done to really address these issues adequately.’

The computer-aided dispatch system is also using out-of-date maps, according to insiders at the trust.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: ‘It seems clear that poor leadership at the South East Coast Ambulance Service has put safety at risk, which is totally unacceptable – patients and staff deserve better.’