- Ambulance service
Criticare UK Ambulance Service
Report from 2 December 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings - Patient transport services
Our view of the service
We inspected Criticare UK Ambulance Service due to receiving information of concern about the service. We assessed 12 quality statements across safe and well-led key questions and have combined the scores for these areas with scores from the last inspection. During the inspection, we visited Criticare UK Ambulance Service at the site where ambulances and equipment such as consumables are stored. We spoke with three members of staff including patient transport drivers and the registered manager. We were unable to speak with any patients or relatives during our inspection because no service users were available for us to contact. At this assessment, we found the service was performing well and meeting expectations of its patients and those who commissioned services from them. However, there were concerns regarding effectiveness of infection prevention and control processes and procedures. There was an open and honest learning culture, incidents and complaints were used as an opportunity for improvement. The service provided safe systems and had patient pathways to ensure continuity of care. There were limited systems and processes to ensure a safe environment, however these were not tailored to the service, not always followed by staff or monitored effectively by leaders. Staffing numbers and competencies were calculated to ensure safe and effective staffing. There were limited governance systems and processes in place to effectively monitor safety, quality and performance in the services.
People's experience of this service
We did not speak with any patients during this assessment due to the nature of the service. Feedback from patients provided by the provider indicated people were generally positive about their experience of using this service. People were happy with the quality of their care and were made to feel safe. Where concerns had been raised the provider had investigated and provided appropriate responses.