East of England Ambulance Service leaves 'special measures'

The East of England Ambulance Service was placed in "special measures" in 2020

An ambulance trust has been removed from "special measures" after improving, NHS England has confirmed.

The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) was placed on a national support programme in 2020 amid concerns over its leadership and culture.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recognised the trust had expanded its safeguarding team and policies.

Tom Abell, EEAST's chief executive, said the news was a "major milestone" and thanked staff for their commitment.

He said: "We have made much progress since I joined the trust over two years ago. When I joined, I made clear it would take time to tackle longstanding cultural and organisational issues.

"Although we have made good progress, we know there is still work to do to provide consistently excellent service to our communities."

Mr Abell added that the service's response times to incidents had "halved over the course of the last couple of years or so".

EEAST chief executive Tom Abell praised the hard work of staff

The CQC said there had also been an improvement in the way allegations were handled, "after processes were strengthened and standardised".

The trust had been on the National Recovery Support Programme for challenged providers and systems - formerly known as special measures - for almost four years.

However, it will now leave the programme "with immediate effect".

The latest CQC report, published in July 2022, showed significant improvements on long-standing cultural issues. The report recognised the trust's efforts to improve leadership, culture and safety for staff.