Improving Wellbeing and Career Progression for Ambulance Staff: the third #ProjectA tweet chat

We know that protecting the physical and emotional wellbeing of staff is key to a happy workforce, and to good performance. How can we best protect the wellbeing of ambulance staff, who work so hard under often very difficult circumstances to look after others? And how can we work together to help create a clear career progression path within the ambulance service?

These were the issues at the heart of the third #ProjectA tweet chat. Dozens of people - mainly ambulance staff, and also people from other sectors enthusiastic about supporting them - joined the tweet chat to share their ideas. 

The honesty and openness by participants about what they would like to improve not just for themselves but for their service colleagues too was lovely to see. It's clear lots of good work is already happening, and there is much still to do - there were 78 new ideas suggesting ways to improve wellbeing and career progression in the ambulance services.

Those ideas have been grouped in to 11 themes:

1. Creating a wellbeing culture

2. Improving systems and processes

3. Promoting wellbeing

4. Talking about mental health

5. Debrief

6. Accessing wellbeing support

7. Creating time and space for rest and relaxation

8. Training and continuing professional development

9. Creating clear career development routes

10. Creating a portfolio of experience across health and care

11. Leadership development

You can read more about the themes and ideas in the tweet chat report.

If you have an idea about improving the wellbeing and career progression opportunities in the ambulance service (or any other issue) please do have your say. Everyone is welcome to join in the conversation - even if you don't have a new idea to add, you can vote on an existing idea, or write a comment on a thread.

The fourth of the five #ProjectA tweet chats will take place on Wednesday 15 August from 7pm to 8pm, and is about working with partners. Everyone is welcome - we hope to see you there!

You can also catch up with the first tweet chat - about partnerships with patients and the public; and the second, which was about patient pathways. 

About #ProjectA

#ProjectA was initiated by Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England, after he spent time with ambulance crews in London and the Midlands. Simon identified the potential for frontline ambulance staff to play a much bigger role in innovation, service redesign and problem solving. He has asked the NHS Horizons team to work with the Association of Ambulance Chief Officers (AACE) to develop a year-long initiative that supports and builds on the excellent work that is underway in many parts of the system and builds on the ideas and energy of frontline ambulance staff.

The ambition is to identify at least four major change ideas that can be developed, prototyped and implemented by frontline staff across all ten ambulance trusts, in time to start making a difference in winter 2018/19. The whole ethos and approach of #ProjectA is one of co-production and collaborative decision making.