Despite the global nature of emergency service phenomenon, a broad, inert-disciplinary approach to management inquiry is a relatively recent phenomenon.-There are various reasons- fragmentised nature of emergency community,... [ view full abstract ]
Despite the global nature of emergency service phenomenon, a broad, inert-disciplinary approach to management inquiry is a relatively recent phenomenon.-There are various reasons- fragmentised nature of emergency community, different organisational & funding models, private versus public split, etc. Academic knowledge is characterised by a strong theory-practice divide- primacy of profession based publications with little over-lap and limited understanding of the wider context.
Significant shifts in the demand patterns for blue light services have been observed over the last 7-8 years. Ambulance demand is growing at an annual rate of about 10%. Managing such levels of demand and maintaining the quality of patient care is clearly unsustainable and it is no secret that ambulance services across the country are struggling to meet their performance targets. The police services are witnessing a reduction in recorded crime but dealing increasingly with cases relating to cyber crime, child and sexual exploitation and mental illness. Fire Services have seen a massive reduction in incidence of fire. However, these organisations continue to be performance managed and target driven and the current models of service delivery do not reflect the fundamental shift taking place in their working.
Effective collaboration and successful organisational outcomes are built on capacity of the leaders to engage with and address ‘people’ issues. Supporting a diverse, modern and healthy workforce is one of the key commitments in the NHS Five Year Five Year Forward View (2014) in England. Similar commitments in Police and Fire Services are also made. The new model of ‘blue light integration’ under the Policing and Crime Act, 2017 aims to enable Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take on the duties and responsibilities of fire and rescue authorities, where a local case is made. Yet, critically what is not clearly stated is the level of support and training to emergency services staff to undertake these new roles/responsibilities in the collaborative context.
Workforce support remains a neglected management priority given the operational focus of these services. Staff input and knowledge doesn’t necessarily get reflected in the design of organisational systems and often leads to frustration, lack of motivation and non-engagement. In our previous research, we have highlighted that staff sickness is highest amongst ambulance services within the NHS and retention and recruitment is proving difficult with cases of shortage of paramedic staff reported nationally. Further, ambulance staff shows highest level of discrimination amongst NHS staff. Media reports increasingly highlight cases of harassment and bullying in emergency services, something which is also becoming a feature in official reports. Evidence is patchy on the issue of providing support to workforce in dealing with the new challenges and performance pressures.
The paper aims to explore the issues of workforce resilience and well-being in the emergency services workers in the UK. It analyses the implications of discrimination; exploration of incidences of bullying & harassment while assessing the impact on staff and organisation; and developing awareness of factors perpetuating staff sickness and implications for organisational productivity and resilience management. It provides avenues for further research.
