A County Durham MP said it was "little surprise" that an ambulance trust's staff felt unable to raise concerns after the way whistleblower Paul Calvert was treated.

Grahame Morris, MP for Easington, has today (February 1) said he was not surprised to hear North East Ambulance Service workers felt they could not voice their concerns, and cited whistleblower Paul Calvert's dismissal from the trust as a potential reason.

This comes after a report published by the CQC found that staff at the trust did not always feel respected, supported and valued, while its well-led rating was downgraded to 'inadequate.'

Further to this, the trust's overall rating has dropped from 'good' to 'requires improvement' following the September inspection into the safety and quality of healthcare services provided by the organisation.

Read more: North East Ambulance service given 'requires improvement' rating

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Speaking on staff's situation, he said: “The staff at the North East Ambulance Service hard work and dedication needs to be recognised. Many are working in extremely difficult conditions, in a toxic culture where they do not feel respected, supported or valued.

"I have seen how the North East Ambulance Service deals with whistleblowers, like my constituent Paul Calvert. It came as little surprise that in the report staff did not feel they could raise concerns without the fear of blame or reprisal.

"The staff at the North East Ambulance Service are being let down by the Government’s failure to properly resource the service, but there is a culture and governance deficit in the service to the detriment of staff, particularly those who raise patient safeguarding concerns.”

In May last year, whistleblower and former coroners' officer Paul Calvert revealed he was aware of at least 90 cases where families of people who have died have been misinformed about their loved one’s last moments.

Months after the scandal broke and a full review into these revelations was planned, Mr Calvert was sacked by ambulance bosses.

Read more: Paul Calvert's warning over North East Ambulance Service review

Meanwhile, Sarah Dronsfield, CQC’s deputy director of operations in the north, said the inspection revealed that staff did not always have access to critical medicines needed for patients, while crews did not have time to complete vehicle medicine checks, resulting in treatment delays.

Ms Dronsfield said: “When we inspected North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, we found a deterioration in the services being provided, especially in urgent and emergency care where this had potential for people to be placed at risk of harm.

“It was particularly concerning that staff didn’t always have access to critical medicines needed to treat patients and some crews didn’t have time to complete vehicle medicine checks, resulting in treatment delays.

“Staff told us they frequently responded to emergencies without the sufficient quantities of standard medicines they needed to treat common or life-threatening conditions, including morphine and seizure medication.

“In addition, we were concerned the trust was not always thoroughly investigating incidents and may have made decisions based on limited information, reducing the ability to identify learning and prevent reoccurrence.

“Although staff were focused on the needs of patients receiving care, they did not always feel respected, supported and valued."

Adding to this, the report highlighted the trust's absence and well-being plans, staff's treatment of patients, favourable survey results, clean station areas, and a robust recruitment plan as postive findings.

In response to the report, the trust said providing the best possible care to their patients remains a top priority.

Helen Ray, NEAS chief executive, said: "Providing the best possible care to all our patients remains our top priority. We are all committed to making improvements until we and the CQC are confident that the concerns raised have been fully addressed.

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“In the six months since the first inspection, we have taken swift action and subsequently provided additional assurance to the CQC that the work will ensure effective systems are in place to keep patients safe.

"We recognise there is more to do and are committed to longer term change as well as a short-term response.

“I am pleased that throughout the report the dedication, care and commitment provided by all our staff is recognised and acknowledged by the CQC. Our teams continue to deliver the best care possible in these exceptional times."