Remote Medic UK Ltd is operated by Remote Medic UK Limited. The service supplies paramedics, doctors, emergency technicians and first aiders to provide first aid and medical cover. The service works with a local charity to supply medical staff on a mobile unit in town centres on Friday and Saturday nights on an SOS bus. The SOS bus is a charity based project, with the aim of providing a safe haven and medical support to people who need it. Facilities include a treatment room and assessment area. Remote Medic UK Ltd have been providing medical cover for the SOS bus since March 2017.
The service also supplies paramedics at organised events such as festivals and music concerts. On occasions, the service will provide emergency and urgent care transport from events to a hospital or suitable care facility.
We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the announced part of the inspection on 16 November 2017, along with an unannounced visit to the service on 27 November 2017.
To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led?
Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The main service provided is first aid and event medical cover; however, this is not within our scope of regulation. We inspected this service under our emergency and urgent care framework. As the service has transferred patients from event sites via ambulance to local urgent and emergency care centres between November 2016 and October 2017, and provides medical care, delivered by healthcare professionals on SOS buses, the service falls within our scope of regulation.
Services we do not rate
We regulate independent ambulance services but we do not currently have a legal duty to rate them. We highlight good practice and issues that service providers need to improve and take regulatory action as necessary.
We found the following areas of good practice:
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There was an up to date incident reporting policy in place and staff knew how to report incidents.
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Staff described what constituted a safeguarding concern and how to escalate concerns appropriately.
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Medicines were in date and stored securely.
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Records were completed accurately and stored securely, with completed mental capacity assessments forms where indicated.
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Staff always had access to senior clinical advice in the event of requiring advice in patient management.
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The service had a comprehensive set of policies which were based on national guidance, in date and accessible to staff.
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The service was passionate about developing their own staff, with the provision of training in extended skills such as wound closure and suturing.
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Staff described a positive culture within the service and told us that they felt supported and valued.
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The service had a clear governance structure in place. Members of the senior management team had dedicated key roles and responsibilities.
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The service was patient focused with an emphasis on providing effective pre-hospital care to patients, to reduce hospital admissions and therefore reduce the impact on the NHS.
However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:
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The service was unable to demonstrate that regular checks had taken place on a carry chair and stretcher.
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We found out of date consumable items within the ambulance. However, we raised this with the registered manager who took immediate action to ensure that there was an effective process in place to check consumable items were within their expiry date.
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The service did not have a formalised risk register in place.
Heidi Smoult
Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals, on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals