The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) has welcomed the report published today by the Health Services Safety Investigation Body (HSSIB) entitled, ‘Sexual safety: the implications for patient safety’ which is focused on incidents involving staff-on-staff sexual behaviours and the wider impact these behaviours may have on patient safety.
HSSIB engaged with twenty different stakeholder organisations including AACE, alongside other national organisations, regulators, universities, royal colleges and professional associations, national patient advocacy organisations, and independent activist groups.
Helen Vine, Deputy Managing Director of AACE said: “We know that the ambulance sector has some deeply challenging issues related to sexual safety, so we are pleased that the HSSIB report references the comprehensive range of work we are doing in the ambulance sector to address outdated harmful behaviour and reduce misogyny while improving sexual safety for employees, volunteers, learners and members of the public alike. We agree with all of the safety observations contained within the report, which align with the fact that this is a key priority for AACE and its members and will remain so until the NHS ambulance service is a place of psychological and sexual safety for everyone.”
AACE has an agreed national consensus that sets out the sector’s shared commitment to lead meaningful reduction of misogyny and improvement of sexual safety focused on reducing harm through a learning approach to change. By removing barriers to speaking up and enabling greater access to support, AACE’s aim is to embed a culture of respect, understanding and safety across all UK statutory ambulance services.
A summary of AACE’s national work on reducing misogyny and improving sexual safety in the ambulance service can be found here.