North East Ambulance Service recently launched its new website. 
The new design which has been developed for our public-facing communications, features a user-friendly design, an interactive 360 virtual tour of our Fiat ambulances, a dedicated recruitment portal and enhanced overall user experience to patients, residents and potential future employees across the region.
The new platform reflects our commitment to providing timely, accessible, and high-quality information about the services NEAS provides and the career opportunities available.
Assistant director of communications and engagement at NEAS, Mark Cotton said: “Our website regularly receives more than 25,000 unique visitors every month, totalling more than 65,000 page views between them and we expect this to rise with the new functionality and improved accessibility.
“Information about how to use our services should be readily available to all members of the public, and we wanted to make sure that we tailored the information so that it’s accessible to people who need it in a different format.”
Key features of the new website include:
- 360 virtual tour of an ambulance: This tool gives a fantastic insight into the inside of our vehicles whilst providing useful information for those who may need our services in the future. These virtual tour videos have been developed for both adults and children and are interactive with photos, videos and captions with the user in mind. Watch our interactive virtual tours here.
- Enhanced accessibility: An inclusive design ensuring seamless navigation for all users, regardless or abilities or devices used. The design includes additional resources in a number of key areas including integration of ReciteMe and BSL (British Sign Language) button at the top of page - compliant to WCAG2.1AA standards.
- Improved design: The website design has been developed to allow information to be accessed easily with a simpler navigation, improved search function and responsive to adjust to any screen size including mobile.
- Dedicated recruitment portal: This area of the website explores what it is like to work at NEAS and a hub for all vacancies and the types of careers we offer within the service. The dedicated sub-site includes career information for frontline, support services and volunteers and as well as upcoming recruitment events. See our dedication recruitment portal here.
- Reliable health resources: An integral part of the website is providing reliable and accurate health information for patients and public to use in emergencies including emergency advice, seeking alternative medical help, first aid training and information on community defibrillators. See our emergency advice and health resources here.
- Learning Zone: The NEAS learning disability zone has been created to reduce barriers to communication for people with learning disabilities to optimise patient experience and quality of care. The information is presented an illustrative form of what to do in an emergency, including a section of what to expect inside an ambulance with pictures and basic descriptions of the equipment in the vehicle.
- Calendar events: There is a dedicated section for upcoming events at the Trust including public board meetings, annual general meeting (AGM), community events and NEAS regional events which include Mela, Pride and county shows. The events will include dates, times and booking information. Take a look at our upcoming events here.
- Feedback your experience forms: Within the new website, there are forms in place for the public to submit as receiving patient experience is extremely important to us and helps us identify what’s working well and where any improvements are needed to our service. See more about patient feedback here.
- See how we are doing as a service: As part of our dedication to the public, we have a page to show how we are doing as a Trust which includes: performance reports, resource escalation plan, quality improvement schemes, clinical governance, CQC reports, audit reports and patient surveys. Alongside this, we have highlighted some of the work we have achieved in the last 12 months. See more about how we are doing here.
- Career videos from NEAS employees: As part of the recruitment sub-site, there are a range of videos of NEAS staff talking about their roles within the service and what it’s like to have a career within emergency services. Visit our recruitment portal here.
Mark continues, “This website demonstrates our commitment to public health by providing the public with accurate and reliable information with accessibility at the heart of the design. This platform also reinforces our mission to deliver safe, effective and responsive care for all.”