In-Pulse Ambulance Service - Lewes

Updated 24 January 2020

In -Pulse Ambulance Service - Lewes is run by In -Pulse Medical Services Limited . The service opened in 1991 . It is an in dependent ambulance service in Lewes, East Sussex offer in g patient transport services . The service primarily serves the communities of East Sussex and Hampshire. The service also provides events medical services, which is not with in the scope of CQC registration.

The service has had a registered manager in post s in ce 1991 . At the time of the in s pection , a new manage ment team had recently taken over the runn in g of the bus in ess and had submitted a new registered manager application to CQC.

The service was last in s pected in August 2017 when we regulated ambulance services but did not have a legal duty to rate them.

Updated 24 January 2020

In -Pulse Ambulance Service - Lewes is run by In -Pulse Medical Services Limited . The service opened in 1991 . It is an in dependent ambulance service in Lewes, East Sussex offer in g patient transport services . The service primarily serves the communities of East Sussex and Hampshire. The service also provides events medical services, which is not with in the scope of CQC registration.

The service has had a registered manager in post s in ce 1991 . At the time of the in s pection , a new manage ment team had recently taken over the runn in g of the bus in ess and had submitted a new registered manager application to CQC.

The service was last in s pected in August 2017 when we regulated ambulance services but did not have a legal duty to rate them.

Updated 24 January 2020

NHS non-emergency patient transport services help people access healthcare in England. They are free at the point of use for patients who meet certain medical criteria and are unable to use public or other means of transport.

We carried out an unannounced inspection on 19 November 2019. This was the service’s first inspection since registration. 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 service had systems to keep patients safe. Staff had appropriate training, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well.

• Staff provided good care and worked well together for the benefit of patients.

• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and took account of their individual needs. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.

• The service planned care to meet people’s needs, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for transport.

• Leaders ran the service well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. They felt respected, supported and valued and were focused on the needs of patients receiving care.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve.

• Continue to develop governance systems further development to monitor service quality, performance, trends and themes to aid service improvement.

• The provider should consider develop a formal risk register framework.

• Conduct regular infection prevention and control audits to monitor compliance to procedures.

• Ensure there is a complete audit trail to demonstrate all new staff have been through a robust recruitment process.

• The provider should ensure that all performance information is shared with staff.