The past year has seen 44 'sexual safety incidents' reported within the East of England Ambulance Service Trust, the highest ever recorded.

Last year, the organisation dismissed four people for sexual misconduct and the same number have already been sacked in the first four months of 2025.

Incidents have included "harassment, crude remarks and unwanted advances", with colleagues left feeling "unsafe, disrespected or diminished" by the behaviour.

The organisation has also taken a hard line on behaviour including:

• Comments about appearance, clothing or body in a sexual nature,
• Unwanted flirting or romantic advances,
• Sexual jokes, suggestive banter and innuendo,
• Intrusive questions about sexual orientation, relationship status and sex lives,
• Sending inappropriate messages through email, text or social media.

The record high prompted the trust's chief executive, Neill Moloney to issue a stern warning to workers, urging them to speak out if they witness any such behaviour.

Neill Moloney, chief executive of EEAST (Image: East of England Ambulance Service)

In a letter sent to all staff, he said: "Silence is not neutrality; it is complicity.

"We all have a moral obligation to support those who experience behaviour.

"We can not expect victims to be solely responsible for reporting or tackling this type of behaviour."

It comes at a time when great scrutiny is being placed on sexual misconduct within the organisation.

Jamie Kadolski (Image: LinkedIn) Last week, 24-year-old Jamie Kadolski, a former call handler at the trust, was jailed for 12 years after a series of sexual assaults on women.

And earlier this month, married paramedic Graham Scott was struck off from the profession after leaving junior colleagues "uncomfortable, physically scared and nauseated" through a series of inappropriate interactions.

Graham Scott (Image: Mail Online)

Mr Moloney said: " I want to make it unequivocally clear that EEAST has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct in any form.

“The purpose of my letter, and our recently launched sexual safety campaign, is to reaffirm our proactive commitment to creating a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace for everyone.

“Rooting out sexual misconduct requires not only a firm stance but also collective responsibility. We must confront the problem with transparency and take decisive, effective action to address it.

“I am fully committed to ensuring that every member of our trust can work in an environment where dignity and respect are non-negotiable.” 

A former EEAST employee, who did not wish to be named, said: "I can't say I'm surprised - the Care Quality Commission pointed this all out to the trust in September 2020 but it seems the problem has not gone away. It shows they never seem to learn any lessons."

At this time, the CQC said it found a "negative culture" at the trust - which covers Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire - and placed it in special measures.

The organisation has since been removed from the recovery support programme.