‘Inadequate’

Ambulance service review

INSPECTORS have placed London Ambulance Service (LAS) into special measures after rating it ‘inadequate’.

England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said on Friday (November 27) that the NHS Trust which runs the service was being placed into the hands of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It comes after an inspection found there had been a “significant” decline in the number of urgent calls attended in the target eight minutes since May 2014.

Some black and minority ethnic staff also told the CQC that at times they felt “humiliated” and “ignored” by managers, with some claiming they were overlooked for promotion.

Professor Richards said: “I believe that this is the step necessary to ensure that this vital service – which provides emergency medical services to 8.6 million Londoners – gets the support it needs to improve.”

On the positive side it was found that LAS delivered caring services however, with staff noted as being “overwhelmingly dedicated”.

Chief executive for LAS, Dr Fionna Moore MBE, said: “I am, along with my leadership team, completely focussed on addressing the challenges highlighted in this report.

“We accept that we need to improve the way we measure and monitor some important standards and processes but we would like to reassure Londoners that we always prioritise our response to our most critically ill and injured patients and, in the event of a major incident, we are ready to respond and CQC recognise this.”