Background to this inspection
Updated
23 January 2020
Beverley Ambulance Service Limited is operated by the Beverley Ambulance Service Limited. The service opened in 2014. It was an independent ambulance service based in Driffield, East Yorkshire.
Beverley Ambulance service provided a patient transport service primarily serving the communities of the East Riding of Yorkshire. This service was delivered privately on behalf of a local NHS hospital. The service also provided private emergency first aid and medical cover at sporting venues and events, medical repatriations and transport on behalf of insurance companies and organ transport.
The service was previously inspected by the Care Quality Commission in October 2019.
The service employed four staff, which included the registered manager who was also a director and emergency medical technician (EMT), a second director who was an advanced care assistant (ACA), one emergency care assistant (ECA) who was responsible for the company administration and an advanced care assistant (ACA). The service had an associated clinical/medical director who was the safeguarding lead. They worked on a consultancy basis.
The service had not transported any children in the reporting period July 2018 to July 2019 and they did not transport patients with mental ill health.
All management functions for this service were managed from the providers registered location in Driffield, East Yorkshire.
Beverley Ambulance service was registered for one regulated activity. This was in respect of transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely.
The registered manager had been in post since December 2014.
Overall inspection
Insufficient evidence to rate
Updated
23 January 2020
Beverley Ambulance Service Limited is operated by the Beverley Ambulance Service Limited. The service provides a patient transport service for NHS and independent health providers.
Beverley Ambulance Service Limited was not commissioned or contracted to provide patient transport services for any commissioners, NHS or private health providers. Patient transport services were provided on an as required basis.
The service also provided private emergency first aid and medical cover at sporting venues and events, medical repatriations and transport on behalf of insurance companies as well as organ transport. These activities were not regulated by the care quality commission and were therefore not inspected.
We carried out an unannounced inspection of the service using our comprehensive inspection methodology on 8 October 2019.
Following that inspection significant concerns were identified in relation to regulatory compliance. A notice under Section 31 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 was issued to the provider suspending registration as a service provider in respect of patient transport services from 11 October 2019 until 25 November 2019.
We carried out an unannounced responsive follow up inspection of the service on 21 November 2019 focussing on the issues highlighted in the Section 31 notice.
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 decision to update ratings following a focused inspection is dependent on us having sufficient evidence to update the existing rating. It was decided there was not sufficient evidence to update the existing ratings or rate the core services in this inspection report.
Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should take one action to comply with the regulations to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.
We did not rate this service following this inspection.
Ann Ford
Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (North East), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals
Patient transport services
Insufficient evidence to rate
Updated
23 January 2020
Patient transport services was the regulated activity carried out by the provider.
Beverley Ambulance Service Limited was not commissioned or contracted to provide patient transport services for any commissioners, NHS or private health providers. Patient transport services were provided on an as required basis.
Following the unannounced inspection 8 October 2019 significant concerns were identified in relation to regulatory compliance. A notice under Section 31 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 was issued to the provider suspending registration as a service provider in respect of patient transport services from 11 October 2019 until 25 November 2019.