NHS ambulance trust set for leadership upheaval in bid to improve service

The NHS ambulance trust providing emergency care for people living in East Berkshire and Buckinghamshire has announced a leadership upheaval.

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS), which operates in Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor, is set to merge its top jobs with South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb).

While both trusts will continue to operate independently, high-ranking leadership will combine under a new organisation called South Central and South East Ambulance Group by 2027.

SCAS chief executive David Eltringham said the merger would help the trust ‘use our resources more effectively’ at a time when ‘demand on our services is rising’.

But trade union UNISON has warned the changes ‘mustn’t be at the expense of the staff who keep services running’ and urged for jobs to be protected.

SCAS was placed eighth out of the UK’s ten ambulance trusts and handed a ‘low performing’ rating in new Government rankings published in September. SECAmb was ranked fourth.

An update from Mr Eltringham prepared for the SCAS’ board meeting later that month, discussed ‘challenging’ performance over part of the summer.

“We understand the drivers for the challenges we are experiencing, which are multifactorial in nature and include vehicle availability due to the age of our current fleet,” the update said.

The trust plans to replace its ambulances, but it is running at a budget deficit and is under pressure to make cost savings.

Mr Eltringham’s September board update said ‘unanticipated cost pressures’ this year had pushed the need for savings above its allocated £21.4million reduction plan.

It added: “The requirement for additional savings will inevitably lead to difficult decisions needing to be taken.”

Earlier this year, the trust’s assistant director of operations Kirsten Willis-Drewett discussed another problem facing the trust – rising levels of abuse towards SCAS workers in the Royal Borough and Slough.

The new operating model between the two ambulance trusts will see a ‘shared leadership model’ introduced and phased in from late 2025 until 2027.

A single chief executive and chair will represent both trusts in the new South Central and South East Ambulance Group to help ‘greater strategic coordination’, a statement on the merger said.

“This is about levelling up care for every patient in the South East,” Mr Eltringham said.

“Demand on our services is rising, and this model gives us the ability to respond more consistently, use our resources more effectively, and make sure patients receive the same high standard of care wherever they live.”

SECAmb chief executive Simon Weldon said: “Together we can build stronger teams, provide better support for our staff, and ensure ambulance services across the South East are fit for the future.”

Regional director for NHS England South East Anne Eden said the ‘shared leadership model will ensure both services are fit for the future’.

However, fears were raised about job security by trade union UNISON.

South east regional secretary Maggi Ferncombe said: “Efforts to improve patient care and make ambulance services more resilient should always be a priority.

“But this mustn’t be at the expense of the staff who keep services running.”