Governors at North East Ambulance Service "have confidence" in the beleaguered NHS Trust's management - despite a damning report highlighting failures including a "blame culture" and that some paramedics have been attending incidents without vital drugs.
That was the assurance made by Dr Simon Walford, NEAS' lead governor little more than 24 hours after the ambulance service was branded "requires improvement" and rated "inadequate" for being well-led by the Care Quality Commission.
Wednesday night also saw a BBC Newsnight special report which explored again the case of Quinn-Evie Milburn Beadle and saw the tragic teenager's mother Tracey again call for a public inquiry and senior figures at the ambulance service to face consequences.
A paramedic who arrived at the scene to treat Quinn failed to pursue resuscitation and was subsequently struck off.
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It can be revealed that two senior executives - the trust's medical director and director of patient safety - either have recently or are set to move on to new roles outside of NEAS. There is no indication this is related to recent events - and replacements are in place.
Speaking at a public NEAS board meeting, Dr Walford told the board that having seen the contents of the CQC report, none of his fellow governors had raised concerns about those at the top of NEAS. He said: "Neither before [a meeting last week] or since has any governor made any comment to me about any concern about the leadership of the trust.
"The board of governors has governance in this board, and we have no reason to doubt that."
Dr Walford, who has worked in a range of roles across the NHS before retiring and becoming a governor at NEAS, said he had "read every word" of the CQC report, and felt context was missing. He told the board: "There are two things in the report that aren't there. One is 'do the leadership of this trust have sufficient resources at their disposal'? They do not discuss that because the CQC does not talk about resources."
Dr Walford cited disparities in funding per call at NEAS compared to other ambulance services around the country. He added: "The other absence is any mention of the national emergency. That national emergency was still in place at the first of these visits.
"To my mind, that is two serious problems with this evaluation of the leadership. I am not saying that there are not things to be learned from the report, or that we would do everything the same - because I'm sure everyone around this table would have things they would not do the same - but those two massive issues are not there and I regret that.
"We have confidence in the board."
Later in the meeting, chief executive Helen Ray discussed that "the report is the report" and should not be shied away from - and she added: "It came at a time when we were both recovering from the pandemic and and also in the eye of the most significant pressures we have seen - particularly during the summer months. The whole of the NHS was in that recovery mode and I do think we need to be cognisant of that.
"However I really think we should acknowledge publicly that we have to take the findings of the report extremely seriously. There were things in that report that we found painful to read as executives and an executive team. We have to build on our work with staff to give confidence that they can speak freely in our organisation, that their voice will be heard and that we are committed to taking action."
The Newsnight report featured Tracey and David Beadle discussing the lack of resolution to their daughter's case. Speaking to the BBC, Tracey said they would keep pushing for a full public inquiry and added: "The paramedic has been struck off, but nobody else has had to answer for this. He was the start of the problem but he certainly wasn't the end of it."
At the board meeting, Mrs Ray also spoke about the Beadle family - adding: "This follows from the very tragic case of Quinn Evie Milburn and her family who continue to grieve. I cannot imagine how horrifying it is for that family.
"We continue to want to help them as much as possible so they reach a point where they feel justice is done. And I think we should again acknowledge publicly that the standard of clinical care and our initial handling of that case was not of the standard that we expect or that the public should expect from our organisation.
"We have moved mountains to improve things - though I would never say we are perfect. As said in relation to the CQC, we are always on a learning journey."
It is understood that a review led by Dame Marianne Griffiths into alleged failings in disclosing documents to coroners at NEAS and whistleblowing is set to be published in the coming weeks. Earlier in January, paramedic Gavin Wood - first on the scene of Quinn-Evie Milburn Beadle's death, was struck off.
Mrs Ray referenced this, saying: "I want to recognise that the clinical care was recorded as inadequate for Quinn-Evie Milburn Beadle and the outcome reflects that." She also paid tribute to ambulance staff who later raised concerns about the care given to Quinn-Evie.
She said: "I want to put on very public record my thanks to those who spoke up to tell us that the clinical process was not as it should be. That's a really positive example of staff who felt they could speak up."
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