Organisation Wide Learning Newsletter - Issue 3

Welcome to the third edition of the OWL Newsletter. This issue highlights some of the steps we’re taking across EMED to strengthen safety, improve consistency and support our teams. From raising our safeguarding standards and progressing our wheelchair safety work, to evolving our training offer and embedding PSIRF, each story reflects our commitment to learning, improving and putting patients at the heart of what we do.

This welcome recognition follows a focused and collaborative effort, led by Director of Clinical Governance Carrie Cardwell and her team, working closely with local colleagues to embed best practice and raise standards right across the board.

The ICB’s improved rating reflects:

• A stronger governance structure with clearer accountability
• Faster, more robust incident reporting processes
• Targeted staff training to build awareness and confidence

It’s a great example of what we can achieve with consistent governance and a shared commitment to doing better every day. While we know safeguarding is a journey, not a destination, this progress shows we’re firmly on the right track – for the benefit of both our patients and our people.

Our Medical Director, Dr Amjid Mohammed, has been visiting bases across the organisation with a team of clinical trainers to carry out spot checks and real-time observations. These visits help highlight good practice, tackle inconsistencies and reinforce the importance of following updated wheelchair protocols – particularly around ramp safety and equipment suitability.

Dr Mohammed has also been leading Toolbox Talks with frontline teams, creating space for honest discussion, sharing concerns and encouraging a strong sense of shared responsibility for safety.

Alongside this, our Governance, Training and Quality teams have:

• Rolled out enhanced training for operational staff
• Revisited risk areas and adapted procedures
• Continued to monitor local implementation
• Worked with the Comms team to share key information via on-site TV screens

The work is also being championed at the very top. Our Managing Director, David Bradford, has backed these initiatives through his all-EMED engagement sessions – helping ensure that safety stays on the agenda across every level of the business.

There’s more to do, but we’re moving forward with clarity and collaboration – building consistency into daily practice and strengthening our culture of care, one step at a time.

Installed at every base across the business, Site TV is a digital communication tool that brings real-time updates, safety messages and good news stories straight to our teams on the ground.

Managed centrally, Site TV ensures that key messages from our Quality and Governance, Clinical, and Operational teams reach all colleagues quickly and effectively. Whether it’s highlighting an emerging safety alert, promoting best practice, or sharing the latest internal news, Site TV helps reinforce what matters most.

While core content is centrally curated, Site TV also offers flexibility for local teams to broadcast area-specific messages – from rota updates to community initiatives – ensuring relevance to each base while maintaining overall alignment across the Group.

Whether it’s a policy reminder, safeguarding guidance, or a message of thanks, Site TV helps to inform, engage and connect colleagues across EMED.

Through this collaboration, our teams will have access to resources and guidance designed to support more compassionate, tailored care. We’re also embedding dementia awareness into our training programmes, helping colleagues recognise the signs, respond with sensitivity and communicate more effectively.

This work reflects our belief that patient-centred care means seeing the person behind the condition – understanding their needs, preferences and lived experience. By learning from the Alzheimer’s Society and applying that knowledge day to day, we’re working to ensure every patient feels safe, respected and valued on their journey with us.

By drawing on guidance from the Alzheimer’s Society, we’re making small but meaningful changes to how we support patients with dementia – helping every journey feel a little more considered and respectful.

PSIRF encourages a more thoughtful, compassionate approach to safety investigations. By moving away from blame, we’re creating space for reflection, learning and continuous improvement – with patients and colleagues always at the centre.

This mindset is already shaping how we respond to real-world events, such as our ongoing work on wheelchair safety. We’re using learning from past incidents not only to review protocols, but to understand how things unfold on the ground and how best to support our teams to make confident, safe decisions in the moment.

Led by our Clinical Governance and Quality teams, PSIRF is now being embedded into operations across EMED. This includes:

• Compassionate engagement with those affected
• Structured, systems-based reviews
• Actionable outcomes that improve daily practice

We’ve also partnered with the NHS Professionals Academy to deliver bespoke PSIRF training to our Patient Experience Team, wider Quality & Governance colleagues and operational teams – with open access to further learning via EMED’s online Learning Library.

Embedding PSIRF isn’t about introducing a single new process – it’s about gradually shifting how we think, talk and act when things don’t go to plan. These early steps are already helping us build a more open, learning-focused approach to patient safety, one where real change comes from reflection – not reprimand.

This internationally recognised standard sets a clear benchmark for the quality management systems and processes that underpin our services. Achieving it demonstrates that we have the right structures in place to deliver safe, efficient, and patient-focused care, and that we’re committed to reviewing and improving those structures as we grow.

For our colleagues and patients, ISO accreditation reinforces what we strive for every day:

• Clear and accountable ways of working
• A focus on learning, improvement, and doing things the right way
• Consistency across all teams, services and regions

This reflects the steady work of teams across EMED who keep quality front of mind in their day-to-day efforts.

Over the past few months, our training provision has evolved in exciting and meaningful ways, thanks to several changes led by National Training Manager Jack Stackhouse, alongside our rapidly growing training team.

Local managers are also benefiting from out revised booking system, which maximises efficiencies and has improved access to trainers.

To support consistency and fairness in how these standards are applied, the Training Team has developed a comprehensive Driver Assessors Course. This structured programme ensures assessors, particularly at the pre-employment stage, are aligned in their approach, helping to avoid the inconsistencies we’ve seen in the past.

The result is a more rigorous, fair and confidence-building process that supports safety, improves onboarding and strengthens our reputation for delivering accountable, professional patient transport services.

This tailored approach complements our formal induction and builds confidence and capability, helping colleagues embed high standards of care and strong teamworking into their everyday practice.

Put simply, Journey to Performance is more than just a framework – it’s an investment in people, and a clear statement of our commitment to continuous professional development and better patient outcomes.

We’ve also overhauled our booking system to improve efficiency and make it easier for teams to access the training they need, when they need it. Together, these changes are helping us deliver timely, targeted training interventions – whether it’s onboarding new staff, embedding updated protocols or upskilling teams.

A stronger training team means stronger outcomes – for colleagues, for patients and for the communities we serve.

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Meet the Mentors: Guiding Sussex’s New Patient Transport Service
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