NEAS Wins TIDE Gold for Inclusion, Sixth Nationally

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), which answers every 999 and NHS 111 call in North Tyneside, has been awarded Gold in the 2026 TIDE (Talent, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) benchmark. It was also ranked sixth overall among the organisations taking part, fifth in the public sector and fourth in the health sector.

The trust announced the result on 22 October. TIDE is an independent benchmark that looks at how organisations handle equality, diversity and inclusion across leadership, culture, workforce practices and the services they deliver.

What the trust says has changed

According to NEAS, over recent years it has:

• strengthened support for staff who experience hate and harassment;
• improved reasonable adjustments for disabled staff;
• expanded its staff networks;
• done more work with communities that are underrepresented in its workforce.

On the patient side, it says it has made information and communications more accessible, worked more closely with local communities and used patient feedback to understand health inequalities. The assessment, the trust says, highlighted how it listens to staff, patients and communities and uses that alongside workforce and patient data to find where inequalities sit.

The trust is not claiming the job is done. It says there is “more work to do” so that everyone gets fair access to its services and every member of staff feels valued.

In their words

Kevin Scollay, the chief executive, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have achieved Gold, but what matters most is what sits behind the award.

“This recognition reflects the work our colleagues are doing every day to create a workplace where people feel respected, valued and able to be themselves, while also making sure our services meet the needs of the diverse communities we serve.

“For patients, equality and inclusion can mean being able to access information in the right format, having confidence that individual needs will be understood, or feeling that their voice is heard. For staff, it means having opportunities to succeed and feeling supported to bring their whole selves to work.

“The benchmark shows we’re making progress, but it also highlights where we need to do more. We’ll continue listening to colleagues, patients and communities so that we can keep improving and reduce inequalities wherever we find them.”

Karen O’Brien, director of people, said: “This award belongs to colleagues across NEAS who are helping to build a culture where inclusion matters and where everyone has a role to play in creating a fair and respectful workplace.

“What makes the TIDE assessment valuable is that it doesn’t simply measure policies. It helps us understand whether we’re creating meaningful change for people.

“We’ve made progress in areas such as supporting disabled colleagues, tackling hate and harassment, developing our staff networks and improving accessibility for patients, but we know there is still more to do.

“We’ll use the findings, alongside what colleagues, patients and communities tell us, to shape our new Equality Plan and ensure our efforts continue to make a real difference to people’s experiences.”

What it means for you

The benchmark findings feed into NEAS’s new Equality Plan for 2027 to 2031, which the trust says will also draw on feedback from staff, patients and communities across the North East. If you need information from the ambulance service in a different format, or want to comment on how it has treated you, the trust’s own contact is public.relations@neas.nhs.uk.

NEAS covers 3,230 square miles, employs more than 3,600 staff and serves 2.7 million people. In 2025/26 it answered more than 1.475 million 999 and NHS 111 calls and reached more than 40,444 category 1, life-threatening incidents in an average of 6 minutes 17 seconds, according to the trust.

For the service’s winter advice, see our report on the NEAS winter safety campaign.