Questions asked over accessibility of NHS trust Norwich base

During a debate about the experiences of disabled staff of the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), one of its directors spoke of an "eye-opening" visit to its main control centre in Hellesdon.

Kevin Smith, director of finance for the trust, said that he had recently been given a tour of the site as part of research into the working lives of the trust's disabled workforce.

The tour was conducted by a worker called Lucy, who uses a wheelchair, and highlighted the difficulties disabled workers can face.

Mr Smith said: "I had some time moving around the site using her wheelchair which was a really interesting experience and certainly opened my eyes to the perspective of what wheelchair users face.

"We are very committed to making sure our estate adapts to the necessary needs we have.

"Going forwards, with new builds it is a lot easier to do than with some of our existing estate, but having some bruised knuckles and bashed feet from opening doors and understanding how wide our corridors aren't gave me a really useful perspective and will be helpful for wider knowledge in this area."

His comments came as members of the trust's board of directors discussed the findings of a survey into the experiences of disabled staff members.

The results included anecdotes from workers who reported feeling "mocked" for their disabilities.

Members agreed to an action plan to address the concerns, which includes additional training for managers in disability awareness.

Hein Sheffer, director of culture at the trust, vowed the research would not be a one-off exercise - with bosses agreeing to repeat the survey for the next three years to monitor the action plan's progress.

Analysis 

The cultural difficulties experienced by workers in the region's ambulance trust have been well-publicised.

Over the years, the East of England Ambulance Service Trust has been blighted by allegations of bullying, discrimination and harassment.

It is therefore deeply concerning to hear that this type of behaviour appears to still be rife within the trust.

This week, we have been reporting on the concerns over the type of discrimination disabled workers experience - which make truly worrying reading.

No person should have to face any form of discrimination in their work, particularly not those who devote themselves to an organisation geared at saving lives and certainly not from their own colleagues.

Certainly, not all forms of discrimination are intentional or malicious - but the onus should be on us all to do everything we can to educate ourselves enough to avoid it.

Clearly, a culture where people can feel as though they are constantly treading on eggshells is also not healthy, but with the right awareness and training this should not have to be the case.

While it is deeply worrying to hear of the negative experiences though, it is positive to see that efforts are being made to address these cultural issues.

EEAST has a significant role to play in our community and for a long time has found staff retention difficult, so exorcising the demons that have brought this problem about is vitally important.

However, what is most important is that the efforts to identify the causes of its problem are backed up by appropriate action.

What it can not afford to do is be seen to be solely paying lip service.

It is very, very easy to point out where shortcomings are and condemn poor behaviour.

The challenging thing will be making sure that once this behaviour is identified, it is eradicated and the change is sustained. Lip service helps nobody.