Archived: Acute Ambulance & Medical Services

Updated 10 August 2022

Acute Ambulance and Medical services (A.A.M.S) is operated by Acute Ambulance & Medical Services Limited.

It is an independent ambulance service based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

The service provides patient transport services to both adult and child patients across England. A.A.M.S provides patient transport services to NHS trusts and NHS ambulance services along with private providers nationwide. The service also provides medical cover and emergency transfers to hospital for events. Events are not within our scope of regulation and therefore we do not inspect events. However, at some events, the service provided emergency transport and this falls into our scope of regulation.

The service was established in 2006 providing patient transfer services. As the service has developed, the events cover has increased and this now includes, large sporting events.

In 2011 the service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the regulated activities of:

• Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely
• Treatment of disease, disorder, or injury

The service has had a registered manager in post since 2011.

During the six months July 2021- January2022:

• The service carried out 6,370 patient transfer journeys, an average of 910 per month

The patient transfer journeys included:

• Cardiac Transfers;
• Inpatient admissions;
• Spinal patient transfers;
• Out-patients and day-patients from the patient’s place of residence, including nursing homes to NHS facilities;
• Non-urgent transfers between hospitals;
• Discharges from hospital to home.

During the year June 2021 to May 2022:

• The service carried out 27 transfers from events, an average of two per month

We had previously inspected Acute Ambulance and Medical Services in January 2018. At that time, we regulated independent ambulance services but did not have the legal duty to rate them. Good practice and areas for improvement were highlighted.

The main service provided was patient transport services. Where our findings on patient transport services, for example, management arrangements, also apply to other services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the patient transport service.

Updated 10 August 2022

This was first time this service has been rated. We rated it as good because:

• 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. Staff assessed risks to patients and acted on them. 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 and treatment. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients. Key services were available seven days a week.
• 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 local 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 and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• The service did not control infection risk well.
• The service did not always record medicines accurately.
• The service did not always complete patient records thoroughly.
• The service did not have a robust staff recruitment and induction process.

Updated 10 August 2022

This was first time this service has been rated. We rated it as good because:

• 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. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care. The service met agreed response times. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local 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 ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• The service did not control infection risk well.

Updated 10 August 2022

Emergency and Urgent care is a small proportion of service activity. The main service was patient transport services. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the patient transport services section.

We rated this service as good because it was effective, caring, responsive and well led, although safe requires improvement.