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Trust Chair and Non-Executive Report - November 2025

Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting

Date: 5 November 2025

Report Title: Trust Chair and Non-Executive Report

Agenda Item: PUB25/11/1.5

Author: Mrunal Sisodia, Trust Chair

Lead Director: Mrunal Sisodia, Trust Chair

Purpose: Information/Noting

Assurance: Substantial

Link to CQC domain:

  • Caring
  • Responsive
  • Effective
  • Well-led
  • Safe

Link to EEAST’s Strategic Mission:

  • Patient Mission
  • Partnership Mission
  • People Mission
  • Productivity Mission

Equality Impact Assessment: No negative impact identified|

Purpose: To update the public board on chair and non-executive director activities since the last public board.

Executive Summary:

Report identifies

  • Key areas of board focus since the last report
  • Key areas of board focus in the coming months.
  • Non-Executive Director additional activities providing wider assurance and Board visibility. Key activities by the Chair since the last public board

Introduction / Background:

Development of our strategy Since our last public board meeting, we have been giving time and thought to the evolution of our strategy through to 2030. We have already started on this with the development of our corporate values and missions which were crucially coproduced with stakeholders and staff. Our current strategic plans run to 20205 and 2026 and we are actively working on new strategies and plans that will take us to 2030. It is clear that this will be an evolution and extension of our current clinical, people and sustainability strategies framed through our four new missions – patient, people, partnership and productivity.

I have previously reported on external changes in the NHS and wider public sector that influence our work here at EEAST. We have been checking and testing our strategic intent against these developments and I am pleased to say our thinking is consistent with the direction of the NHS in its 10-year plan launched in the summer. We have also been seeking external input and validation of our thinking and are in the process of incorporating the findings of several reviews of our services and the system we operate in. Again, I am pleased to say our direction of travel is clear and consistent and we will be sharing these plans with you as we develop them, again in conjunction with our staff, stakeholders and the public.

Addressing some areas development areas for the board’s work Linked to this, we have made great strides over the last few years in the quality and extend of our coproduction with staff and stakeholders (examples of this are the development of our strategy, recruitment of our CEO and the presence of the Community Engagement Group here at board). However, I feel we can go further and to that end, we are taking steps to enhance the public and patient voice in everything that we do. Over the coming months we will develop and implement new ways of working to further embed public and patient voice in our work.

Similarly, we have a board workshop planned to look at how we engage with health inequalities – recognising that as a universal service across the whole region, we are uniquely placed to identify, reflect and champion health outcomes across the 6.5 million people of the East of England.

Finally, I am pleased to say that today we will be debuting our new board assurance framework, based around our four missions to improve how we manage the extensive risks we face as an organisation and weave them into all aspects of our work.

Performance and Partnership We are already feeling the impact of winter. Hospital handover delays have been increasing and so has the impact on our work.

The first thing to say is that the board is committed to two, overarching principles: Firstly, that we will hold ourselves to account for those aspects of our performance that are within our gift. Over the course of this year, we have made astounding productivity improvements (on an aggregate measure we are now one of the most productive ambulance trusts in the country). Secondly, we will work with our partners to address those aspects of system performance that impact us – be this through improved use of the UCCH hubs or implementing the handover 45 protocols.

As ever, Winter is going to be tough, perhaps tougher than ever. But we are committed to ensuring that we are well prepared in collaboration with our partners.

Staff and Stakeholder engagement The NEDs and I undertook the following activities since the last public board meeting over and above our core board, committee and working group commitments:

Activity

Internal engagement and activity

  • Monthly meetings with the BLMK sector leadership team
  • Regular meetings with Executive and non-executive colleagues
  • Met with union representatives
  • Attended an EEAST leadership day
  • Attended the Stars of EEAST annual awards
  • Attended the multi-faith staff network quarterly meeting
  • Attended the Marauding Terrorist Attack training exercise
  • Attended the opening of our new Ipswich Ambulance Hub
  • Met with the BLMK leadership team at Kempston station
  • Visited the Cycle Paramedics team at Wells-next-the-Sea

Board / Committee (in addition to regular board and committee meetings)

  • Chaired the EEAST AGM
  • Attended the Raising Concerns Forum

External Governance and events

  • Attended an NHS Confederation all member chairs meeting
  • Attended BLMK ICB chairs meeting
  • Regular meetings with NHSE regional director, Clare Panniker
  • Attended the Southern Ambulance Services Collaborative meeting
  • Joined the AACE council meeting
  • Joined the NHS confederation chairs meeting
  • Met with CEO of the Patients Association
  • Met with the CEO of AACE and president of the Royal College of Paramedics

Activity by other NEDS

George Lynn had the following engagements:

  • Meeting on governance at Melbourn
  • SNEE Audit Chairs catch up

Catherine Glickman had the following engagements:

  • Attendance at the Leadership Day
  • Meeting with Susan Wilkinson
  • Meeting with Darren Meads
  • Attendance at the Raising Concerns meeting

Omid Shiraji had the following engagements:

  • Meetings with Director of Digital Innovation
  • Proof of concept for using AI video to improve public engagement with board content.
  • Engagement NHS Provider Digital Boards programme

Julie Thallon had the following engagements:

  • 1:1 With Darren Meads
  • 1:1 with Hein Scheffer
  • Met with EEAST sustainability lead

Chris Brook had the following engagements

  • SNEE performance review
  • Stars of EEAST Awards Event

Susan Wilkinson had the following engagements:

  • Ride out with Royston crew
  • Attended MTA exercise
  • Attended leadership day
  • Visit to Bedford EOC
  • Meting with Simon Chase

Trust board

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