The Care Quality Commission
  • Ambulance service

Elite EMS Headquarters

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

21 Darwell Park, Mica Close, Tamworth, B77 4DR (01827) 307841

Provided and run by:
Elite Emergency Medical Services Ltd

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

8 March 2022

During a routine inspection

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. The service-controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service mostly 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 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 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.
  • 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:

  • There were not systems in place for reporting significant events for NHS patients and some incidents had not been reported to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as required by the regulations.
  • While the processes to support the duty of candour were appropriate for private patients, for NHS patients the commissioning ambulance service completed this as identified in the commissioning contracts.
  • The guidance for dealing with unresolved complaints for NHS patients did not reference the Health and Public Service Ombudsman.
  • The service did not always meet agreed response times.
  • Staff did not consistently ensure patient records were completed when transferring patients into the care of a third-party provider.
  • NEWS scores were not always recorded accurately However, there had been a noticeable improvement over time.

15 and 16 February 2018

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Elite Event Medical Services Ltd is operated by Elite Event Medical Services Ltd. The service provides emergency and urgent care and a patient transport service. As this was a focused inspection, we only inspected the emergency and urgent care core service.

We inspected this service using our focused inspection methodology. We carried out an unannounced part of the inspection on 15 and 16 February 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:

  • There was an effective system in place for reporting incidents, which staff understood. Learning was shared.
  • The service had systems in place to ensure the safety and cleanliness of vehicles and equipment and to protect people from the spread of infection.
  • Premises and equipment were appropriate and generally well maintained.
  • The service had a fire safety risk assessment for the premises and a policy that gave guidance for all staff in terms of managing fire safety on vehicles.
  • Appropriate systems were in place to ensure the safe storage and management of medicines.
  • The service had effective systems in place to safeguard adults and children and monitored staff’s compliance with mandatory training.
  • Patients’ individual care records were well managed and stored appropriately.
  • Appropriate procedures were in place to assess and respond to patient risk.
  • Staffing levels and skill mix was planned and reviewed to ensure that people were safe from avoidable harm and received safe care and treatment at all times.
  • Effective staff recruitment processes were in place. All necessary checks on new staff had been carried out.
  • There was an effective system in place to demonstrate that policies had been developed, reviewed, and updated to reflect current practice.
  • The service monitored patient outcomes. There were service level agreements in place at the time of the inspection.
  • Effective multidisciplinary working was in place.
  • Systems were in place for staff to seek patient’s consent, and assess capacity to agree to treatment when required.
  • Feedback messages from patients using the service were positive.
  • Information about the needs of the local population was used to inform how services were planned and delivered and took into account the needs of different patients through the initial risk assessments carried out.
  • Patients had access to timely care and treatment.
  • Effective procedures were in place to manage complaints about the service.
  • The service had managers at all levels with the right skills and abilities to run a service working to provide high-quality sustainable care.
  • The service had a clear vision underpinned by strong patient-centred values.
  • There was an effective governance framework to support the delivery of the strategy and high quality care.
  • The service had an open and learning culture, focused on patient care.

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

  • Systems for environmental risk assessments were not always effective. However, immediate action was taken during the inspection to address this.
  • The service was in the process of implementing effective systems for formal staff supervision and appraisal, and for ensuing staff were compliant with mandatory training.

Following the inspection, we told the provider that it should make other improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.

Heidi Smoult

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (Central Region), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals