Nottingham’s ambulance service has been told to improve by inspectors who raised concerns over its safety standards.
The trust which runs East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) was assessed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which has given it and overall ‘requires improvement’ rating.
The service was also rated as ‘inadequate’ when measured against one of the CQC’s five key questions: ‘are services at this trust safe?’
CQC ratings of East Midlands Ambulance Service in their latest report of the Trust
As a result the service faces enforcement action, meaning it must provide the commission with a report on how it plans to improve.
In the detailed CQC report, inspectors found that: “The trust was working hard to improve response times for emergency calls but these were consistently below the national target.
“Staff morale was low and they often did not feel valued with there being an unrelenting demand for emergency services combined with a lack of staff and resources to meet the need.
“However, the chief executive was praised by all her staff for her visible, open approach and her commitment to engaging staff face to face.”
We are sorry and disappointed
Speaking about the findings of the report, EMAS acting chief executive Richard Henderson said: “We are sorry and disappointed that we have not met the required standard.
“With the CQC’s input, we will be able to progress areas that we cannot fix quickly or that are not within our immediate control.
“For example, an issue is the delays that we experience at hospitals when they are not able to accept a clinical handover from our ambulance crews.”
CQC acknowledge there is unrelenting pressure
Mr Henderson said he was pleased with the challenges that EMAS have overcome.
He said: “Despite funding challenges during 2015/16, we have recruited over 300 new frontline staff since April 2015 and, following the approval of a business case in March 2016, we will invest in an additional 68 ambulance vehicles this year.
“There are staff that report low morale and the CQC acknowledge that is no surprise with the unrelenting pressure, combined with lack of resources to meet demand.
“EMAS is an emergency ambulance service and people in the East Midlands can be assured that we always prioritise our response to our most critically ill patients.”
EMAS chairwoman Pauline Tagg insisted the trust would be able to improve.
She said: “I have confidence in our acting chief executive and the recent appointments of a chief operating officer and improvement advisor will help us to address the ‘must do’ actions identified by the CQC and strengthen and drive improvements already identified.”
