Bosses have admitted there is no “quick fix” to combat bullying in the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), after its failings were laid bare in a “harrowing” report.
Damning findings published in February saw NEAS heavily criticised following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection. The service was told that it “requires improvement” and its leadership and emergency care were branded “inadequate”, with the shocking report detailing concerns that paramedics were responding to emergencies with medicines that were out of date or missing altogether.
Two NEAS chiefs appeared before councillors in Newcastle on Thursday to be grilled over the failures. While the city council’s health scrutiny committee was told there had been “significant changes” since the CQC’s visits in 2022, particularly in resolving the medication issues for ambulance crews, the health bosses conceded that culture problems remain.
