Critical Perspectives on the Management and Organization of Emergency Services

Lin, Yiwen; Kelemen, Mihaela; Hamilton, Lindsay

doi:10.4324/9781315104447

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Ambulance staff are likely to encounter some very stressful situations [1,2,7,29,30] which can exact a toll on their physical and mental health [31].…”

Section: Links To Research Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The experiences and perceptions of wellbeing provision among English ambulance services staff: a multi-method qualitative study

Phung

Sanderson

Pritchard

et al. 2022

BMC Health Serv Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background NHS ambulance service staff are at risk of poor physical and mental wellbeing because of the likelihood of encountering stressful and traumatic incidents. While reducing sickness absence and improving wellbeing support to ambulance staff is a key NHS priority, few studies have empirically documented a national picture to inform policy and service re-design. The study aimed to understand how ambulance service trusts in England deal with staff health and wellbeing, as well as how the staff perceive and use wellbeing services. Methods To achieve our aim, we undertook semi-structured telephone interviews with health and wellbeing leads and patient-facing ambulance staff, as well as undertaking documentary analysis of ambulance trust policies on wellbeing. The study was conducted both before and during the UK first COVID-19 pandemic wave. The University of Lincoln ethics committee and the Health Research Authority (HRA) granted ethical approval. Overall, we analysed 57 staff wellbeing policy documents across all Trusts. Additionally, we interviewed a Health and Wellbeing Lead in eight Trusts as well as 25 ambulance and control room staff across three Trusts. Results The study highlighted clear variations between organisational and individual actions to support wellbeing across Trust policies. Wellbeing leads acknowledged real ‘tensions’ between individual and organisational responsibility for wellbeing. Behaviour changes around diet and exercise were perceived to have a positive effect on the overall mental health of their workforce. Wellbeing leads generally agreed that mental health was given primacy over other wellbeing initiatives. Variable experiences of health and wellbeing support were partly contingent on the levels of management support, impacted by organisational culture and service delivery challenges for staff. Conclusion Ambulance service work can impact upon physical and mental health, which necessitates effective support for staff mental health and wellbeing. Increasing the knowledge of line managers around the availability of services could improve engagement.

show abstract

“…Ambulance staff are likely to encounter some very stressful situations [1,2,7,29,30] which can exact a toll on their physical and mental health [31].…”

Section: Links To Research Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emergency responders may encounter extreme critical incidents, including trauma and violence [1,2]. Some of their work has been characterised as dangerous [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experiences and perceptions of wellbeing provision among English ambulance services staff: a multi-method qualitative study

Phung

Sanderson

Pritchard

et al. 2022

BMC Health Serv Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Austerity and new public management (NPM) have placed financial constraints on emergency services, changing the meaning of work (Granter et al, 2019;Wankhade et al, 2019). For the UK-FRS, fire incident numbers have decreased (Home Office, 2020), in part the result of successful fire prevention activities.…”

Section: The State Organisational and Individual Context Of Operational Firefighting Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I Find it Daunting . . . That I’m Gonna Have to Deal with This until 60’: Extended Working Lives and the Sustainable Employability of Operational Firefighters

Egdell

Hussein

Harrison

et al. 2021

Work, Employment and Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While operational firefighters in the UK fire and rescue service traditionally retired in their 50s, their working lives are now extending. However, external pressures and the emotional and physical demands of firefighting work, lead to questions about whether operational firefighters will be able to extend their working lives. In this article, we engage with Van der Klink et al.’s sustainable employability model, which focuses on situations that allow individuals to make valuable contributions through their work and reveal how working lives can be extended. We consider implications of the characteristics of operational firefighting work, individual circumstances and contextual factors for the extension of working lives. Drawing on interviews conducted with firefighters, crew managers and watch managers working in a UK fire and rescue service, we highlight the unsustainability of many future working lives because of wellbeing and organisational pressures.

show abstract

“…Ambulance services provide first response emergency care to those in need; within the United Kingdom (UK) pressure and demands of ambulance workers in National Health Service (NHS) has grown exponentially and exacerbated due to the unprecedented global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) (Morse, 2017;Wang, Horby, Hayden, & Gao, 2020;Wankhade, McCann, & Murphy, 2019). It is widely cited that the role of an ambulance worker is inherently stressful and can come with significant emotional and physical costs (Petrie et al, 2018;Wild et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Epidemiological evidence has estimated prevalence rates of 27% for general psychological distress in this occupational group (Petrie et al, 2018), compared to 15.7% of common mental disorders in the general population (McManus et al 2016). It has been cited that frequent exposure to potentially traumatic and distressing situations (Wild et al, 2016) and experience of increasing organizational demands with limited resources (Wankhade et al, 2019) are implicated in emotional wellbeing, however, the specific mechanisms associated with increased prevalence of psychological distress is unclear. The relationship between work, physical health and emotional wellbeing in ambulance workers is complex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of lifestyle on NHS ambulance workers’ wellbeing

Hutchinson

Forshaw

McIlroy

et al. 2021

Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The role of lifestyle on mental health in the ambulance worker population is unclear. The aim of this paper is to explore the role and impact of lifestyle on the mental health of ambulance workers within the United Kingdom (UK). Participants (N ¼ 160) were recruited from 4 NHS ambulance trusts in England. Data were collected on lifestyle factors (sleep, physical activity and alcohol use) and mental health outcomes (trauma, anxiety, depression and stress); these were assessed by use of various questionnaires including validated measures. Sleep was shown to be the single biggest unique and significant predictor to all mental health outcomes. Suggestions for future research and intervention are considered.

show abstract

Critical Perspectives on the Management and Organization of Emergency Services

Abstract: For guidance on citations see FAQs.

Cited by 10 publications

References 21 publications

The experiences and perceptions of wellbeing provision among English ambulance services staff: a multi-method qualitative study

The experiences and perceptions of wellbeing provision among English ambulance services staff: a multi-method qualitative study

‘I Find it Daunting . . . That I’m Gonna Have to Deal with This until 60’: Extended Working Lives and the Sustainable Employability of Operational Firefighters

The role of lifestyle on NHS ambulance workers’ wellbeing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About