WMAS Board Meeting Minutes – Wednesday 29th July 2026

Present

07/26/04 Minutes

The Board was requested to approve the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors held on 27 May 2026 as an accurate record.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors held on 27 May 2026 be approved as a correct record of that meeting.

07/26/05 Action Log and any Matters Arising not on the agenda for this meeting

a. The Board Log

The Board Action Log was submitted; the Action Log contains the schedule of matters upon which the Board has asked for further action or information to be submitted. Matters on this log can only be deleted through resolution of the Board. (For the avoidance of doubt unless specified below all matters contained on the Board log will remain on the log until the Board resolves that the matter can be discharged).

Minute 01/26/08b & 03/26/05 Manchester Arena Inquiry (MAI) Recommendations & Needs Analysis Register

The CEO gave an update and informed the Board of Directors that nationally the Ambulance CEOs had been told that a further update will be presented to the NHS England Executive Team this month and the outcome is awaited. It was his understanding that funding has been made available to address some of these recommendations and the CEO will update the Board once further information is available. The CEO reminded the Board that WMAS’s funding request totalled £32m to enable it to deliver its investment plan. The CEOs continue to press this issue with NHS England to enable implementation the Manchester Arena Public Inquiry recommendations as a matter of urgency and in the interests of the public given that national security threat levels has increased.

It was agreed that this matter would remain on the Action Log to receive further update at the next meeting.

Minute 03/26/06 Board Assurance Framework (BAF)

It was stated that the Board received its Cyber training facilitated by the National Cyber Security Centre at the Board Briefing in June 2026.

In addition, as requested by the Board, a presentation on the development of AI by the Trust and the wider NHS will be presented to the Board Briefing in September 2026.

On this basis it was agreed that these items could be discharged from the Action Log.

03/26/07d 1. Provider Capability Assessment outcome 2. Quarterly Segmentation Outcome

The Strategy & Engagement Director reminded the Board of the background to this matter and stated that this was raised at the June 2026 PRM meeting with NHSE Regional representatives and he had requested a meeting with regional representatives to discuss the segmentation rating and the comments, to date no explanation for the commentary had been provided and a date for the meeting was awaited.

It was agreed that this matter will remain on the action log for an update at the next meeting.

05/26/07 (c) – Trust’s Five-Year Strategy – Update

The Strategy & Engagement Director indicated that this was an item on the agenda for determination at this meeting. The Chairman stated that following a discussion amongst the NEDs at a recent meeting there was a feeling that given the various moving parts in that will influence the Trust’s strategic direction such as the direction of Government Policy the recommendation to the Board will be to delay the review of the Trust’s Strategy to the meeting of the Board in October to allow further discussion and more clarity in terms of strategy.

It was agreed that this matter will remain on the action log for an update at the next meeting in October.

05/26/09 (d) – Board Assurance Framework (BAF)

The Head of Risk and IG was requested to review with the Non-Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director the risks in relation to PTS contracted services following reported discussions at the EMB, and if appropriate recommend to the Board that the future and operational capacity of the PTS contracted services becomes the new Strategic Risk 7 in the BAF. It was reported that this action was complete and the revised BAF was submitted to this meeting.

It was agreed that this action could be discharged.

07/26/06 Consideration & Application within WMAS of the Nottingham University Hospital (NUHNHSFT) and Baroness Amos Investigation into Maternity Care.

A report and presentation from the Director of Nursing was submitted.

• The Donna Ockenden Review focused specifically on the localized, deep-rooted failings and avoidable deaths/injuries at Nottingham University Hospitals.
• The Baroness Amos Review focused on country-wide, systemic workforce and safety problems to create a single national action plan for the entire NHS

The purpose of this report and presentation to the meeting was to facilitate a discussion at Board level on the learning from the Independent Review by Donna Ockenden into Maternity Services at NUHNSHFT and also the findings of the Dame Amos investigation in particular:

• The discussion was to consider the wider organisational learning applicable to WMAS.
• To provide assurance that this Trust’s obstetric and maternity practice is consistent with JRCALC guidance.

The following was submitted:

• The Report considered by EMB
• A copy of the letter from Duncan Burton Chief Nursing Officer for England and Sarah-Jane Marsh NHS England Chief Operating Officer dated 26 June 2026 to all NHS trusts and integrated care Boards. The letter was entitled “Nottingham maternity review findings on post-death care and key actions required following the Fuller inquiry”. The letter referenced the findings of Donna Ockenden’s report which the letter said should be considered alongside the phase 2 report of the independent inquiry into the crimes of David Fuller, published in July 2025. The report made 75 recommendations to strengthen the protection, security and dignity of people after death, including 29 that are immediately relevant to the NHS. Attached to the letter Annex 1 was the guidance and support NHS boards should consider, and Annex 2 maps the NHS-focused Fuller Inquiry recommendations to this guidance. Trusts were asked to cascade this letter to relevant teams, and the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. Every Board should continue to review its local position and assure itself that all deceased people cared for in NHS settings are treated with the respect, dignity, security and compassion they deserve.
• A series of presentations on the subject.

The Director of Nursing said colleagues will have seen the two reports in the national news. It is recommended that every NHS Board should take time to read the report, reflect on its findings and consider what it means for its own services, leadership, culture, governance and approach to listening to women, families and staff. We need to consider how we deliver maternity services to our patients by the leadership of the Trust. The Director of Nursing pointed out that a lot of the report focuses on in-hospital care and this Trust needed to look at its pre-hospital maternity care. The Director of Nursing informed the Board that a wider piece of work is around how we consider the systemic failings. As a Board we need to consider how the Board seeks and gets assurance.

Mrs Banks confirmed that this had been discussed at the Quality Governance Committee (QGC) meeting. A report will be submitted back to QGC on the alignment of recommendations in terms of the service this Trust provides in terms of prehospital and emergency care. The Director of Nursing explained that there is also some national funding available for maternity services and whether the ambulance sector could access it. The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) was asked if this funding would be available to us and they have said it is probably unlikely that it would be made available.

The CEO thanked the Director of Nursing for leading on this workstream and the Quality Governance Committee for its ongoing review of the recommendations for assurance to the Board, and he looked forward to the outcome of the review of the recommendations. The CEO said it is disappointing that the national funding is not available to the ambulance sector given the number of times the ambulance service staff respond to births and maternity obstetrics care both in terms of call handling and triage as well as when necessary, providing emergency care. In particular he highlighted that at Acutes there are specially trained clinicians and specialists that can be called upon. In the Ambulance sector it is a paramedic alone in the back of the ambulance so the CEO felt that representations should be made to enable the ambulance sector to access the available funding for development work. He pointed out that in the 1950s/60s and early 70s there were “Obstetric Flying Squads” often transported by ambulances to bring specialized hospital care directly to mothers experiencing severe complications during home or GP-unit births. The Chairman referred to the flying squad response by clinicians such as midwives and whether this no longer occurs. The CEO responded by stating that the advice now is to do the best possible care and convey the patient to hospital as soon as possible.

The CEO also stated that the Trust has done a lot of work and he had personally carried out a forensic review of maternity response equipment carried by ambulances and this has now been rolled out procured, to be rolled out in September 2026.

The CEO concluded by stating that based on previous learning by the Trust where the service provided had not been as good as it could have been which led to the creation of the Family Liaison role at the Trust, the way in which staff and the Trust generally listen to families is important. The Family Liaison Officers undertake a number of duties and also provide bereavement support. They work alongside the trust’s Duty of Candour process to offer compassionate communication, support, and information to bereaved families after serious incidents. They help facilitate engagement, understanding of patient safety reviews, and straightforward communication during distressing circumstances.

The CEO pointed out that obstetrics and maternity emergency calls are so infrequent that the opportunity for WMAS clinical staff to utilise and develop their skills and learning in terms of developing competency is not as great as the Trust would like. Mrs Banks confirmed that the competency of our staff and the frequency of exposure to these cases was discussed at the QGC. The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director is working on the JRCALC action cards with an emergency prompt for staff. Mrs Banks explained that one of the Staff Side Reps at the QGC meeting had talked about the work that has been done in relation to breach deliveries and the positive impact.

The Chairman asked if this was a discussion we should be having with Commissioners. If we cannot get a midwife to respond, could we use technology and use of IT systems to connect to a specialist unit for help and advice for clinical staff that do respond. This would need funding. The Director of Nursing felt that midwives would not understand the nuances of prehospital care as that is not part of their skill set and training, in addition the Director of Nursing referred to a clinical incident where the wrong advice was given by the midwife who had done their best to provide appropriate advice. The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director stated that we need to focus our staff on following the guidance from JRCALC hence the review of the action cards in relation to this matter which has received good feedback. In addition support will be provided where necessary in these cases through the enhanced critical care Team.

The CEO asked for an update report to the Board at an appropriate time to be determined by the Director of Nursing.

Resolved:

1. That the report be received and noted.
2. That an update be submitted back to a future Board meeting as part of the report from the Quality Governance Committee for purposes of providing assurance to the Board. Action: CE

07/26/07 Board Assurance Framework

A report of the Director of Nursing was submitted and attached thereto was the Board Assurance Framework.

This is the revised BAF following the review of the PTS Risk rating by the Non-Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director, Service Transformation and Patient Safety Director, Non-Emergency Services Delivery Director. The Director of Nursing informed the Board that the review was undertaken following discussion at EMB in relation to the rationale for rating of Strategic Risk 7 – PTS Risk. The discussion on the appropriate risk rating is ongoing as the identification of patient harm is more difficult to identify in PTS when compared with emergency service provision.

The Board was asked to note that the risk rating in relation to cyber security was also to be reviewed and that there is a training/development and awareness session planned as part of the Board Briefing in September 2026 as part of the mitigating factors.

The Chairman stated that the risks and mitigation in relation to PTS has been the subject of more detailed discussion at a number of committees including QGC and Finance & Performance Committee. The CEO stated that the Chair of the QGC has asked for an all-encompassing report in relation to the PTS risk and the report will include performance against KPIs, the quality indicators, complaints received and vacancies etc. so that it has a better understanding. He welcomed the production of the report as it will pull all the data and information into one document giving a holistic report, this will then be reported to Board via the QGC.

Resolved:

That the Board Assurance Framework be received and approved.

07/26/08 Chief Executive Officer Reports

a. The CEO Report

A report of the CEO was submitted.

The CEO highlighted the following salient matters from the report:

At its meeting on 7 July 2026 the Executive Management Board (EMB) received the updated service level agreements between the Trust and Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and The Air Ambulance Service. The updated SLAs were supported at EMB. These are existing agreements which have been updated.

At its meeting on 23 June 2026 the Executive Management Board (EMB) received a report providing assurance on the Trust’s progress toward the annual Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT). The submission deadline was 30 June 2026. The new format of DSPT is aligned with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF). Following EMB’s approval to submit, the Trust received the “standards met” certificate before the deadline of 30 June. The certificate was attached as Appendix 1.

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted.

b. Performance Scorecards

1. Executive Scorecard – June 2026
2. Executive Scorecard ICS Sub Report – June 2026

Executive Scorecards were submitted.

The CEO indicated that the content receives more detailed review at the Finance & Performance Committee.

The Strategy & Engagement Director indicated that he will have the scorecard update the scorecard to include the quarterly segmentation scoring.

Resolved:

That the Executive Scorecards submitted be received and noted.

c. WMAS Winter Plan 2026

A report of the Head of EPRR was submitted attached thereto was the Winter Plan approved by EMB.

The CEO informed the Board that the Plan submitted today builds upon previous year’s plans and complies with the recent NHS England letter dated 17 July 2026 which is in the bundle submitted to this meeting. The CEO referred to the Board Assurance Statement that was included in the papers for this meeting. He stated that the document that was in the papers for this meeting had been updated to include the detail of the tabletop exercises that were held regionally had now been incorporated and the EIA and QIA are both attached.

The Chairman said this is a very comprehensive plan and he had reviewed it with the Head of Emergency Planning.

Mr Nat said that the plan looked very comprehensive and asked given the recent heatwaves and the need for emergency services to respond at any time of the year did the Trust have similar plans in place at any point of the year rather than just Winter given seasonal fluctuations. The CEO confirmed that the Trust has reviewed its escalation and surge plans to reflect the points made by Mr Nat. The CEO indicated that the data shows a comparative trend that more people died during the recent heatwave than during winter. He felt that it was more appropriate to enact a generic surge plan to respond to the effects of winter and the heatwaves that we have recently experienced given changing seasonal variations rather than having a specific winter plan. He indicated that there was very little difference between the Winter Plan and the day to day E&U surge plan. The only difference to be observed is that the Winter does happen every year and is consistent but varies in its effects, whereas events like the recent heatwave is less frequent or predictable and probably has less impact on the wider NHS system.

Mrs Jasper concurred that it was a comprehensive plan and referred to page 12 (strategic planning) it says that strategic planning was developed with no dedicated investment “enabling the organisation to mitigate risks during the Winter/Festive period”. Julie asked for clarity on the statement on whether funding was made available to mitigate risks. The CEO advised the Board that there was no specific funding made available for the NHS specifically for winter and there had not been for a number of years. He indicated that despite the lack of funding the Trust did not use that as an excuse not to do anything and had a plan in place to mitigate the risks to the public. Mrs Jasper then pointed out the next page refers to the recruitment of up to 84 student paramedics and 84 Graduates respectively, to ensure sustainability to be fully operational for the festive period which did show investment. The CEO confirmed that the recruitment of student paramedics has already occurred and they will be operational in time for the Winter period. The exact number of Graduate Paramedics was still to be determined, but the Trust is still progressing the selection processes such as fitness and also compliance with recruitment processes. He was confident that there will be significant job offers. The workforce and training plan will keep the Board updated.

Resolved:

That approval be given to the Winter Plan.

d. NHSE Core Standards Final Position 2025/26 Submission

A report of the Head of EPRR was submitted along with the following documents:

• Summary document
• National assurance letter
• Regional assurance letter
• Core Standards return – Partially compliant.
• Interoperable Capabilities – Partially compliant
• Core standards action plan – provides oversight of all partial and non-compliant standards
• Core standards – evidence submission list
• WMAS needs analysis for MAI recommendations updated March 2026
• WMAS review core standards vs MAI recommendations August 2024
• WMAS MAI & Core Standards letter to J Evans Aug 2024

The CEO informed the Board that normally the Trust in previous years has submitted a fully compliant document. This year the Trust has incorporated the recommendations arising from the Manchester Arena Inquiry (MAI) in the core standards submission. The CEO stated that definition and criteria for core standards were to be updated to reflect the requirements of the recommendations of the MAI public inquiry. However, this has not happened. In addition, he advised the Board that the NHSE had asked in the last few months that because the Trust had previously submitted a fully compliant submission, they queried why we were asking for substantial additional investment to address the recommendations arising from the MAI public inquiry. Given that the core standards do not include applying the MAI recommendations the Trust has now incorporated them in the core standards criteria. The Trust cannot therefore submit the core standards as fully compliant given that the Trust are not compliant with the MAI public inquiry recommendations. The CEO confirmed that all core standards can be met when we implement our Action Plan and receive the £32m of additional funding. The Action Plan has been tested by national colleagues.

The CEO explained that in today’s papers are various letters from the CEO to regional and National Directors setting out our position including the request for the additional £32mill funding.

The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director fully supported the submission as partially compliant given that the Trust has developed, and the Board has approved a gap analysis in response to the MAI recommendations. This documentation was included as part of the submission. It would, in his opinion conflict with the gap analysis if the Trust submitted a compliant submission

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted.

That the AEO be authorised to submit a partial non-compliant NHSE Core Standards Final Position for 2025/26.

07/26/09 Report of the Strategy & Engagement Director

WMAS Five-Year Strategy Update

A report of the Strategy & Engagement Director was submitted.

The Strategy & Engagement Director informed the Board that the Strategy document incorporates the comments received following submission of the draft Strategy to the meeting of the Board in May 2026. He referred to the generational attitudes to the workplace and how this was referenced in the strategy in terms of future workforce development so that it was forward focused. Vivek stated that there were still some issues in terms of the future impact on the NHS that were uncertain such as the impact of the handover delays and the contents of the 10-Year Plan and the “Key shifts”, partnership working and also the future of PTS.

He indicated that every organisational strategy should be a live document, which is adaptable based on prevailing issues and opportunities, for WMAS to drive towards its vision of bringing the right care to the right patient first time.

Since drafting the strategy, there are live strategic and policy developments unfolding, such as Advanced Foundation Trust status and detail around neighborhood health from hospitals into local communities by organizing multidisciplinary services around defined populations. There is also the developing partnership workstream with East Midlands Ambulance Service which could be considered as well as the current work we are engaged with the ICBs on standardizing the offer to patients and staff across the region.

The Chairman stated that there is a feeling amongst some Board members that the content would benefit from further informal discussions. This related the various national strategic directions and guidance that the Engagement & Strategy Director has referenced at the meeting. The Chairman stated that the document would be submitted to a strategy meeting to review the content and then submit the document to a subsequent Board meeting for approval.

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted.

That the Five-Year Strategy will be submitted to a future briefing session for final submission to the Board in October 2026.

Action: KV & PH

07/26/10 Report of the Communications Director

A report of the Communications Director was submitted.

The Communications Director gave an update and the following was noted:

• WMAS has the smallest Communications Team in the Ambulance Sector.
• Two thirds of trust staff do access the weekly briefing.
• Steve Bowyer joint Head of IT with EMAS NHS Trust was impressed by how many staff access the “Weekly Briefing”. However, the Communications Director was concerned that one third of staff do not read it. We are looking at alternatives to this, for example WhatsApp which is a valuable opportunity. The IT Team have some concerns but these are being worked through to allow it to happen.
• Podcasts are an area that the Trust has been considering for some time with the first season currently in production.
• The Team continue to deal with hundreds of media enquiries a year – in total we provided almost 2,000 statements and press releases. We continue to see a reduction in the number of journalists working in the area. Media organizations continue to use social media as their primary source of information which can lead to misinterpretations of what might have happened.
• In terms of social media the Trust has 250,000 social media followers.
• Unlike a number of other ambulance services who have stopped responding to routine media enquiries, the Communications Director is convinced that responding to media enquiries is an important area of work to highlight what our staff do, day in day out.
• The Trust’s Tik Tok account was launched in March 2026. We are only the second ambulance service following London, to do so. We are amongst many NHS and government organisations to join. TikTok hosts huge opportunities to reach a younger demographic with the majority of users aged 18-35. Since launching we have had 800,000 views with a Pediatric CPR demonstration, was one of the most popular.
• A sign that we are doing something right could be measured by the number of other organisations taking the time to arrange conversations with us about our social media approach.
• The past year has seen a continued reduction in our use of platform X. Many organisations, including a couple of ambulance services have come off it completely since Elon Musk’s take over in 2023. Earlier this year, NHS England provided organisations with specific guidance around usage including not sharing images of staff due to the platform’s AI feature ‘Grok’. We now only use it to share news and incident press releases and timely health and service updates.
• The Trust website continues to be a large area of work for the team due to the ongoing issues around accessibility standards. The Trust got confirmation that it was meeting all the requirements for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The Trust is now working towards Level AAA even though it is not legally required. We continue to have one of the most accessible websites in the NHS.
• The 15th series of “999 on The Frontline” which highlights the work of our staff is being produced.

Mr Nat said this was a comprehensive report with some very good work highlighted. The Trust’s heatwave educational media was very good. The Communications Director explained that other ambulance services have contacted us for guidance on this matter given the lessons learnt.

The Chairman thanked the Communications Director and his Team for this report and thanked the Communications Team doing such a great job.

Resolved:

That the report be received.

07/26/11 Reports of the Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director

a. Delivery of the Three Key NHS Shifts

A report of the Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director was submitted.

The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director explained that the purpose of this paper is to appraise the Board of Directors the progress the organisation has made in addressing the three key strategic NHS shifts contained in the NHS10 year plan, these were:

• Hospital to Community
• Analogue to Digital
• Sickness to Prevention

These workstreams are still being developed with stakeholders’ and fall into different directorates and is not the final plan and is here for discussion.

Hospital to Community: this is pivotal work the Trust is developing as part of collaboration across the wider system. This is being developed so that as many patients are treated in the community through initiatives such as the Clinical validation team, “call before conveying”, use of alternative care pathways, reducing variations and ensuring the pathways are appropriate which is a specific problem for the ambulance service in terms of significant variations across the region

Analogue to Digital: WMAS has made significant progress in this area over several years, such as the removal of paper-based processes and continual improvement to systems which are already digitized. The Trust needs to have systems developed and in place to take advantage as new technologies emerge or develop such as Artificial Intelligence. To support delivery the Data and Digital strategy is due for renewal this year in the light of the developing environment.

Sickness to Prevention: This is another area where the Trust has made progress in this area. The work on maternity development was discussed earlier in the meeting. There is a community response project that the Trust is working on focusing on reduction of health inequalities and access to CPR and AE access.

Mr Nat welcomed the report and thanked Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director for the transparency and felt that this is a balanced approach to the three workstreams. Mrs Jasper agreed and noted that a lot of items are already green.

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted.

Cost Improvement programme (CIP) Update 2026/27

A report of the Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director was submitted.

The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director informed the Board that at month 3, the Trust had a year-to-date efficiency target of £5m and reported over delivery against this of £0.3m. The Trust is forecasting full-year delivery of £21m of efficiency schemes for 2026/27 against an overall target of £20.1m. 76% is recurrent and the remainder is non-recurrent. The Trust continue to monitor this and try to move as much as possible to recurrent.

Nothing further has been received regarding the corporate cost reductions. The Chairman suggested this could be chased up.

The Efficiency and Transformation team have started work on the 2027/28 efficiency programme which will be presented to EMB in August/September 2026.

The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director confirmed that all CIP Schemes included at Appendix A are going through an EIA and QIAs process and is being reviewed at QGC.

The Chairman said that the non-recurrent CiPs build problems for next year and the confidence to achieve the CiP this year. The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director explained that a few schemes may slip but he was confident the Trust will achieve its CIP in full. In relation to the non-recurrent to recurrent a lot of this relates to vacancies. A report is being submitted to EMB or review so we can reduce the gap.

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted.

07/26/12 Reports of the Director of Finance

Finance Update

A report of the Director of Finance was submitted.

The end-of-year forecast remains at breakeven, which is the plan that the Trust has signed up to deliver. The biggest risk to achieving that end of year position remains the level of expenditure (primarily staff costs) incurred, alongside a likely reduction to income.

A lesser but current risk to the forecast is the continued rise in fuel costs, as a result of the global conflicts. This continues to be managed with our supplier relationships and despite the market disruption and the current volatility, there have been no delivery shortages.

The reported financial position includes CIP, which is on track for month 3 with a year-end forecast of delivery above the planned requirement. Work is ongoing to increase the recurrent element which will reduce the pressure on future years.

Capital resource for 2026/27 is planned with confirmation of strategic capital still in progress. The spend at Month 03 is broadly in line with planned levels.

Overtime and non-pay restrictions are required to continue in order to be able to deliver the financial target of breakeven. There is increased scrutiny being applied to all spend, both essential and discretionary

Mr Nat said this was discussed a lot in the Finance & Performance (F&P) committee with detailed discussion about the run rate expenditure. It is good to see this included. The Director of Finance pointed out that NHS England is very focused on this matter. The Chairman asked if the monthly income is actual or assumptions so, for example at the end of Q1 would it include the detail of the handover delays so that the income is accurate. The Director of Finance confirmed that it was not an assumption and that the plans are linked to the contract.

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted.

07/26/13 Reports of the Director of People

Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report 2025/26

A report of the Director of People was submitted.

The Director of People informed the Board that the Annual Report provides information about the work the Trust are doing and what has been achieved over the previous year including information and progress on projects such as: Equality Delivery System report and grading, The Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) The Disability Workforce Equality Standard (WDES) and the Gender Pay Gap data and action plans.

The report also provides a brief on our performance in regulatory compliance and our commitment to promoting a culture of inclusion for patients and staff through our vision for the future. This report will provide evidence of our commitment to meeting the Public-Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the need of giving due regard to eliminating discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between different people when carrying out our activities.

Some elements of the report are mandatory in relation to workforce data under the Specific Duty and Equality Objectives.

Mr Nat said there has been great work undertaken and he stated that he has seen a few of the published webinars, he congratulated the Director of People on the candid and open approach to the issues discussed.

Resolved:

That the Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report 2025/26 be approved for publication and placing on the Trusts internet.

Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme 2026/27

A report of the Director of People was submitted.

The Director of People gave an update and informed the Board that the Trusts Annual Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme is due to formally commence on 1 October 2026 ensuring our staff are as protected as possible and remain fit and healthy and able to continue to deliver service to the Trust’s patients and the public.

To ensure that all staff have the opportunity to receive the vaccine, a dedicated team of WMAS trained peer vaccinators are available to travel around to key Trust sites. All relevant influential stakeholders are members of the Flu Vaccination Steering Group who meet fortnightly to ensure the execution of the programme and monitor progress against the flu plan. The first meeting of this group took place on 16 July 2026.

Staff can also visit their local pharmacy or GP for the Flu vaccination and any costs incurred will be reimbursed by the Trust.

To maintain and / or increase the uptake of staff receiving their flu vaccination the following incentives were agreed by EMB to be in place this year:

• £20 Lifestyle Voucher issued to each member of staff who receive their Seasonal Flu Vaccination.
• All members of staff who have received their flu vaccination are entered into a randomly selected prize draw with the chance of winning a £50 Lifestyle Voucher. 3 draws taking place in October, November and December, with 4 winners available from each date.
• Top vaccinator award and prize available.
• Team and departmental awards to take place.

The Director of People informed the Board that the Trust has been asked to present at the best practice seminar to the Region as we were the highest performer.

Resolved:

1. That the report be received and noted.
2. That the Plan and incentives presented for 2026/27 be ratified.
3. That approval be given to the submission to the Regional Director by 31 July 2026.

Professional Registration & Medical Revalidatio0n

A report of the Director of People was submitted. To provide an update and assurance regarding the professional registration and medical revalidation processes within the Trust for the year end 25/26.

The Director of People informed the Board that the Trust has a duty of care to ensure that all healthcare professionals employed by the Trust or undertaking work on behalf of the Trust are appropriately registered and licensed to practice in the United Kingdom.

All Paramedics employed by the Trust were complete as registered on the HCPC register by 1 September 2025. This process will next commence in August 2027.

Nurses and Midwives registered with the NMC are required to complete a yearly registration process to maintain their registration and membership. In addition, Revalidation is the process that all nurses and midwives in the UK need to follow to maintain their registration with the NMC, this is required on a 3 yearly cycle. Both registration processes happen on a cycle date based upon the membership date that an individual first registered rather than on a set date for everyone.

As at the date of writing this report, 1 May 2026, all nurses employed with the Trust are in date for both NMC membership and revalidation.

The Director of People informed the Board that there are no risks and nothing to highlight. The report was submitted for assurance to the People Committee

Resolved:

That the report be received and noted.

07/26/14 Quality Reports

a. Combined Clinical Directors Quality Reports

The Combined Clinical Directors report was submitted, the contents of the report had previously be reviewed at the recent meeting of the QGC.

The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director gave an update and the following was noted:

• Patient handover delays remain the highest risk for the Trust at a score of 20. The delays in responding to patients that are caused by the above risks result in patient harm and long patient waiting times causing harm, that does unfortunately include deaths, placing increasing workloads on the Trusts Patient Safety and Corporate Services.
• There was concern about the increase in requests to treat patients on the “back of ambulances” with increasing number of concerns relating to patients being assessed and treated in emergency departments and then being returned to the ambulance
• There was also an increasing concern about Mental Health patients being held in ambulances as a ‘safer’ alternative to the hospital corridor, which we strongly disagree with as it ca exacerbate hand over delays and also poses a risk to the Trust’s staff who do not have the experience and skills for this care.
• We have seen a delay in offloading pre-alerted patients. There has been a restart of the Regional NHSE led 45-minute implementation ‘Triumvirate’ meetings with WMAS & Acute Executives, where the focus has been implementation of the 45-minute maximum handover. There is however little progress to report.
• In relation to the Pharmacist, we still have an MoU in place with North West Ambulance Service. The Trust has recruited and the relevant preemployment checks are progressing.
• The Service Transformation & Patient Safety Director explained that an electronic patient record task and finish group has been established to review and simplify the ePR as this have become too complex.
• The Medical Director reiterated that ambulances waiting outside hospital cannot meet the need of the patient waiting for help. Ambulances are being used as an extension of the hospitals Accident & Emergency cubicles, and we continue to challenge this practice given the risks of harm and the demoralising impact on Trust staff. It must never be seen as the norm and hence the robust challenge.

The Chairman thanked the clinical directors for highlighting the specic risks and pointed out that he had recently seen the regional performance slides and they were measuring 45 minutes as an average. He stated that it reflects the concerns about normalising this behaviour and empahsised that 45 minutes maximum. The Medical Director that he has fed back to the region.

Resolved:

1. That the Combined Clinical Directors Quality Report submitted be received and noted.
2. That it is acknowledged that there remains the continued risks of patient harm being caused as the result of delayed responses due to continuing long handover delays, and that the Trust requires the NHS target for all ambulance handovers to A&E to be completed within 15 minutes with no more than 45 minutes maximum handover delay to be implemented immediately.

07/26/15 Service Delivery Report

A report of the Chief Operating Officer was submitted.

June 2026 saw sustained operational pressure across the Trust, driven by continued growth in emergency demand, worsening ambulance handover delays and exceptional demand associated with periods of extreme heat towards the end of the month.

Total incident demand increased by 5.1% compared with June 2025, with emergency incidents increasing by 5.5%. Whilst demand growth remained significant, the principal driver of deteriorating operational performance was reduced ambulance availability resulting from prolonged hospital handover delays.

Category 2 mean response times increased from 20:29 in May to 25:22 in June, moving significantly above the national mean target of 18 minutes. Hospital handover delays remained the most significant operational challenge affecting service delivery. Average handover time of 51 minutes 36 seconds. Overall strong position year to date for Cat 2. 999 call answering remains strong although we did have 603 occasions where calls exceeded 2 minutes.

Mr Khan informed the Board that Operational performance was reviewed in detail at the F&P Committee meeting on 20 July 2026.

The CEO pointed out that the hot weather and the World Cup had placed additional pressure on the Trust’s operations. He wished to record his thanks to all staff, officers and commanders for their hard work during this time. The CEO explained that 999 call handling was under extreme pressure. We are now recruiting students to fill those vacancies with Graduate Paramedics.

Resolved

That the report be received and noted.

07/26/16 Board Committee Meeting Minutes & Chairs Reports

a. Audit Committee

The Chairs Report of the Audit Committee meetings held on 9 and 22 June and 21 July were submitted along with the minutes of the meetings held on 10 March, 9 and 22 June 2026.

Julie Jasper as Chair of the Audit Committee highlighted the salient points from the meetings:

9 June 2026

• Concerns raised at previous Audit Committee regarding the content of Claims and Coroners report have been resolved.
• External Auditors raised a concern regarding the release of the Annual Leave Accrual (Not a material issue for the Annual Accounts c£3.5m)
• The “Auditors certificate” will not be issued until later in the year.
• Internal Audit Annual Report including the Annual Conclusion (previously the Head of Internal Audit Opinion) was presented to the Committee – with a Positive Opinion.
• DPST/Cyber Assessment Framework review was completed with “Significant Assurance” – with minor opportunities for improvement.
• Data Quality: Ambulance Handover Times review was completed with “Significant Assurance” with minor opportunities for improvement
• The Counter Fraud Functional Standards Return (CFFSR), a statutory requirement, was submitted on time with an overall Green rating.
• The LCFS Progress Report was discussed.
• LCFS Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy (Recommend approval to Board).
• Policy and Procedure to deal with Conflicts of Interest (Recommended approval to Board).

22 June 2026

• Extraordinary Meeting of the Audit Committee to approve the Annual Report and Accounts of WMAS (2025/2026) under delegated authority of the Board.
• The “Auditors Certificate” will not be issued until later in the year, as was the case for the 2024/2025 Annual Report and Accounts, however this does not preclude the holding of the Annual Members Meeting (AGM).
• There was a very robust and detailed presentation of the Annual Governance Statement given by the Chief Executive in his role as the organisations Accountable Officer.

21 July 2026

• The BAF was discussed in detail – in particular the new risk relating to PTS escalated to the BAF with a score of 25.
• The statutory Data Security and Protection Tool Kit Annual Report for 2025/26 was received for assurance, noting the “Standards Met” categorisation.
• The Audit Committee Annual report was presented – the report will be presented to the CoG and Board.
• The Audit Committee Self-Assessment Annual Review was presented and discussed.
• BAF and risk appetite to be discussed in detail at a future Board Development Session.
• Accounts were laid before Parliament and duly approved.
• The following were approved:
  • Audit Committee Annual Report
  • Annual Audit Committee Self – Assessment Review.
• Audit Committee Members will attend QGC and People Committees during the year.

The Chairman thanked Mrs Jasper for her comprehensive reports.

Mr Nat pointed out that there was a very comprehensive report from KPMG on handover delays.

Resolved:

1. That the Chairs Report of the meetings held on 9 and 22 June and 21 July be received and noted.
2. That the minutes of the meetings held on 10 March, 9 and 22 June 2026 be received and noted.
3. That the board noted and endorsed the action taken in approving the Annual Report & Accounts under the delegation approved by the Board of Directors in March 2026 Minute number 03/26/08 d refers.
4. That the Annual Report of The Audit Committee be received.
5. That the recommendation of the Audit Committee to approve the following be endorsed and published:
   • LCFS Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy
   • (Updated) Policy and Procedure to deal with Conflicts of Interest
6. That the Board noted the outcome of the Committee self-assessment.

Mrs Jasper left the meeting.

a. People Committee

The Chair Reports of the People Committee meetings held on 1 June, and 20 July 2026 was submitted along with the minutes of the meeting held on 13 April 2026.

Resolved:

1. That the Chairs Report of the meetings held on 1 June, and 20 July 2026 be received and noted.
2. That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 April 2026 be received and noted.

Finance & Performance Committee

The Chairs Report of the Finance & Performance Committee meeting held on 20 July 2026 was submitted along with the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 2026.

The Committee asked the Board to note the need for a strategic discussion on the Trust’s long-term financial and operational model, including PTS, income lines, capital, overheads/back-office costs and workforce implications.

The Committee asked the Board to note the continuing importance of managing operational performance sustainably, particularly when delivery is affected by overtime restrictions, handover delays, workforce vacancies and fleet constraints.

Resolved:

1. That the Chairs Report of the meeting held on 20 July 2026 be received and noted.
2. That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 2026 be received and noted.
3. That the request for the Board to

b. Quality Governance Committee (QGC)

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2026 were submitted.

Suzanne Banks, Chair of the QGC, gave a verbal update on the QGC meeting held on 28 July 2026. The QGC risks were set out and the following were escalated for Board to note:

• Lack of Patient Experience / Engagement activity continues – FFT numbers low and reported halting of the Patient Forum, both due to reported capacity issues within the team. In addition, limited progress on the Communications and Engagement Strategy and oversight of the Clinical and Quality Strategy shows action behind schedule and at risk.
• Trial for identified patients attempting Overdose and Suicide being handled by CVT resulting in positive management by the team and no evidence of recontact.
• Violence Prevention Reduction Standard action plan non-compliance around capacity within the team to deliver violence prevention. Risk assessment and prioritisation being undertaken.
• Discussion around maintaining clinical knowledge and skills for emergency high risk scenarios that are not experienced regularly. JRCALC emergency action cards due to be available and work to take place to promote amongst workforce.
• National Maternity Enquiries paper received and work underway to determine the impact on WMAS from the key recommendations

Resolved:

1. That the verbal Chairs Report of the meeting held on 22 July 2026 be received and noted.
2. That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2026 be received and noted.

07/26/17 Board Schedule of Business

The schedule was submitted.

Resolved

1. That the Board Schedule of Business be received and noted.

07/26/18 Any Other Business

There was no other business.

07/26/19 The Date of the Next Meeting

Wednesday 28 October 2026

There being no other business for this meeting the Chairman brought proceedings to a close and thanked members for their attendance.