Private patient transport errors
Cookham: Inspectors place service in special measures
A Cookham ambulance service has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a recent inspection and is being placed in special measures.
LSA House, based in Long Lane, is an independent ambulance service.
It predominantly provides secure patient transport for those with mental health conditions, including those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
The provider was registered with the CQC in 2018. It was inspected in September of last year and the CQC released the results last week.
While LSA House was rated as ‘Good’ in terms of how caring its services are, all other areas were ranked as inadequate or ‘requires improvement’, leading to an overall Inadequate rating.
It was rated as ‘inadequate’ for safety and how well-led the service is. The CQC wrote: “Staff did not always fully complete patient risk assessments and patient risk assessments did not consider physical health needs.
“Staff did not develop plans to follow to promote the safety of patients and reduce risk of avoidable harm.
“There was no process to confirm who was responsible for the safe management of patients when they were accompanied by members of staff from the booking hospital.”
The body added that safeguarding of patients from abuse and improper treatment was not fully assured.
“Guidance for staff was not clear, policies and procedures did not always relate to the service provided and did not always include current national guidance,” inspectors wrote.
On the positive side, the CQC noted that patients could access the service when they needed it and staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, providing emotional support.
Nonetheless, LSA has been placed in special measures and will be inspected again within six months.
If it has not improved enough, the CQC will start the process of preventing LSA House from providing its services.
LSA House has been contacted for comment.