South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) colleagues’ responses to the latest annual NHS Staff Survey reveal an increase in staff morale and continued year-on-year improvements across all key themes covered.

SECAmb is pleased that a record number of colleagues (3,268), 67 per cent of staff, completed the survey – the highest return rate ever recorded by the Trust.

The survey, which shows SECAmb as performing above the ambulance sector average in every area, was open to staff to complete anonymously in October and November last year. It reveals a six percent increase on 2023 in the number of colleagues recommending SECAmb as a place to work and a 20 per cent increase compared to 2022.

The percentage of colleagues who felt SECAmb employed enough staff increased 14 points on last year and was up 27 points on 2022.

A majority of colleagues (70 per cent) said that their immediate manager cared about their concerns – an area which has seen steady year-on-year increases and a 10 per cent increase since 2021.

Elsewhere, the percentage of individuals stating that care of patients is the Trust’s top priority also increased to 65 per cent – a rise of 5 per cent on last year and 12 per cent on 2022.

And, as SECAmb continues to encourage staff to feel comfortable in reporting concerns, close to 60 per cent said they felt safe to speak up about anything that concerned them – up from around 45 per cent in 2022.

SECAmb’s results also revealed:

  • 80 per cent of colleagues feel they make a difference to patients
  • 70 per cent colleagues are polite and treat each other with respect
  • 70 per cent say there are opportunities to improve skills

SECAmb Chief Executive, Simon Weldon said: “I am really pleased to see the continued improvement we are striving for evidenced by the views of colleagues in this important survey.

“I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to participate in record numbers and I am particularly pleased to see significant improvements in the specific scores for speaking up and in colleagues recommending SECAmb as a place to work.

“I am very aware that we still have work to do to ensure that SECAmb is the best place to work that it can be. I am committed to ensuring that we listen to the voices of colleagues in the survey. It is vital that we act on them to make further improvements so that colleagues are as best placed as they can be to provide the care and service our patients deserve.”

To view SECAmb’s NHS Staff Survey results in full visit: NHS Staff Survey 2024 Benchmark Report