Slow investigations and worrying incidents

Royal Borough: Ambulance service is rated Inadequate

An ambulance service which cares for patients in East Berkshire and South Bucks has been rated Inadequate.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an inspection of the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in April and May.

A report, released today (Thursday), found several examples of serious incidents not being investigated by the trust, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire.

This included eight cases where paramedics identified that potentially life-saving defibrillators were not working as intended between January and April this year. This was not identified as a trend until an investigation report was commissioned in April.

CQC inspectors also said several people raised concerns about the treatment of women, particularly younger women and student paramedics at the ambulance service.

One response to a CQC survey said: “When sexual harassment is reported it seems to be brushed under the carpet and the person is given a second chance.

“In the eyes of the law sexual harassment and abuse is never given a second chance and as a result people are reprimanded for their actions.”

Staff described a ‘dismissive attitude’ when raising whistleblowing concerns to leaders at the trust, the report added.

The trust’s Emergency Operations Centre, which receives and triages 999 calls from the public, was rated as requires improvement.

Inspectors said the service did not always have enough staff with the right skills to keep people safe from harm.

The CQC also found no evidence of action being taken by the trust to try and shorten waiting times outside hospitals while a patient was on board. One resolution to this could be taking patients to quieter hospitals to reduce waiting times.

Frontline ambulance crews were praised for ‘doing their absolute best’ to provide safe care for patients.

“They should be applauded for the job they are doing, especially in the light of the additional pressures on the service caused by COVID-19,” the CQC added.

Deanna Westwood, director of CQC’s south network, said: “I want to thank the staff who spoke up and praise them for being brave enough to come forward.

“Speaking up in these circumstances is not easy, but it is important that it happens because it can support safer and more effective patient care.

“We will continue to monitor the trust closely to ensure people’s safety whilst they are making the improvements we have told them to.”

Will Hancock, chief executive of SCAS, said the trust is determined to fix the CQC’s serious concerns as a ‘matter of urgency’.

He said the trust will immediately increase resources for the safeguarding team, increase the capacity of its ambulance crews and call centres and carry out enhanced equipment checks of all 660 of its vehicles.

A statement added: “It is vital that every member of our team can raise concerns with the confidence they will be dealt with quickly and effectively.

“We are also working with our partners across the NHS to manage the on-going pressures so we can improve response times and hospital handover times.”

The trust had previously been rated Good.