Phoenix Private Ambulance Service

Updated 19 January 2022

Phoenix Private Ambulance Service provides transport for adult medically stable patients between locations such as hospital discharge units, care homes, and specialist outpatient units. The service provides contracted patient transport for renal dialysis patients and for COVID-19 capacity support to an NHS ambulance trust.

The service does not provide emergency care or emergency transport.

Updated 19 January 2022

Our rating of this location went down. We rated it as requires improvement because:

• The service could not provide assurance that infection risks were controlled well through consistent standards of cleanliness.
• Not all risk to patients or staff were controlled or assessed.
• Senior staff did not adhere to the provider’s safe recruitment policy. The policy reflected national standards but was not consistently followed.
• Safety arrangements in the garage used to stored and dispatch vehicles did not reflect safe practice or the provider’s policies.
• Staff did not collect safety information or monitor performance and response times in order to improve the service.

However, we also found areas of good practice:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
• Staff provided good care. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and supported them to make decisions about their care.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it.
• Leaders supported staff to develop their skills. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and other providers to plan and manage services.

Updated 19 January 2022

The service provides patient transport for people are medically stable and do not require clinical intervention. Typical journeys are between hospitals, care homes, tertiary clinics, and people's private homes. We rated the service as requires improvement because there was room for improvement in aspects of safety and governance.