Archived: Falck (Sevenoaks)

Updated 26 June 2018

Falck (Sevenoaks) is operated by Falck UK Ambulance Service Limited. The Sevenoaks station opened in 2014. It is an independent ambulance service in Sevenoaks, Kent. The service primarily serves the communities of Kent and South East London.

Falck (Sevenoaks) worked under contract with two partner NHS ambulance trusts across South East England. Falck had two divisions; First Response and Patient Transport. Falck (Sevenoaks) was under the First Response division, which meant its ambulance crews acted as first responders to emergency calls. They provided emergency assessment, treatment and care of patients at the scene.

First response contracts involved supplementing the services provided by the partner NHS ambulance trusts through the supply of a set number of vehicles, or filling a set number of shifts.

Five permanent staff and 33 bank staff worked at the service. This consisted of paramedics, emergency care assistants and technicians, one operational team leader and a service delivery manager. At the time of the inspection, there were two vacancies for vehicle make ready operatives. Vehicle make ready operatives ensured ambulances were fully serviceable and ready for deployment.

The service used 11 ambulances to carry out the regulated activities from the registered location in Sevenoaks. The ambulance station at Sevenoaks operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Updated 26 June 2018

Falck (Sevenoaks) is operated by Falck UK Ambulance Service Limited. This location provides emergency and urgent care only.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out this announced inspection on 6 March 2018.

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.

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:

• The systems and processes in place for incident reporting was effective and there was evidence of staff learning from incidents.

• All staff undertook a comprehensive induction programme and mandatory training to equip them with the skills they needed to perform their role.

• Staff identified and reported abuse appropriately. They received the correct level of safeguarding training for their role.

• Staff followed infection prevention and control procedures to reduce the spread of infection to patients. They kept vehicles clean, tidy and well stocked. The system for servicing and maintaining vehicles was effective, with accurate records kept.

• Staff were competent in their role and followed national guidance when providing care and treatment to patients. They knew when to escalate concerns so patients’ needs were responded to promptly.

• The service ensured staff were fit to work with patients and vulnerable people by completing recruitment checks prior to commencement of employment.

• The service had implemented a new appraisal system, which incorporated the provider’s values and visions.

• Staff provided patients with compassionate and respectful care.

• There were effective governance arrangements in place to evaluate the quality of the service and improve delivery.

• The culture of the service encouraged openness and candour. Staff demonstrated a willingness to report incidents and raise concerns.

However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

• The vehicle make ready operatives cleaned the vehicles daily, however they did not record this.

• There was no central system in place for the service to monitor safeguarding referrals completed by its staff.

• Staff did not always follow standard operating procedures for the storage and disposal of controlled drugs.

• Policies did not contain a review date which meant staff might not have assurance they were accessing the most up to date policy.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it must take some actions to comply with the regulations and that it should make other improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. We also issued the provider with one requirement notice. Details are at the end of the report.

Amanda Stanford

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (South), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals