Now it's the turn of the Ambulance Service to be under the microscope. This article is terribly troubling and details worrying incidents and a worrying culture within a very busy southern ambulance service.
There are now calls for the Chief Executive to stand down and the article is rife with, ' this culture has been known for some time and not been addressed.'
What worries me here is that this reaction and perceived culture is mirrored in other stories about other public sector organisations, such as the Fire Service, Metropolitan Police and the MOD.
For me, the question shouldn't be 'when is the Chief Executive going to stand down?' The more important question is, what is wrong with the culture around safeguarding in the public sector? Something is going seriously wrong if so many organisations are struggling with and harbouring such cultures and personnel!
There really is no excuse. This isn't down to just one person overseeing a troubled organisation, this is a leadership problem across a range of organisations. Why is this being allowed to happen over a prolonged period of time? Why isn't it being addressed particularly when it's being reported? I would wager this article by Sky News will get some traction and may force change, but my point is, why does it take a national news article and public shaming for an organisation to get its house in order?
Fostering a positive, safe, respectful work environment is not a hard process. Doing the right thing as an organisation is not a hard thing to do! There will be counterarguments to this article and I would wager funding will come up, but seriously, cultivating a safe work culture and expecting your people to do the right thing is neither arduous nor expensive. However, and in my opinion, this is the crux of the issue, public sector focus has been elsewhere for many years.
Creating a safe environment hasn't been a priority and this, sadly, is the result. Focusing on doing the right thing should always be a priority. Treating people with dignity and respect should surely be top of the list. Doing the right thing, cultivating a safe culture, ensuring all are safe are the basics for any public sector organisation, in my opinion. There really is nowhere to hide from this topic, especially when so many experts are able to assist at every juncture and at every step of the process. The public sector and senior leadership really must do an awful lot better.
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