Nerams Ltd

Updated 4 July 2022

NERAMS is registered with the CQC to provide the following regulated activity;

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

The provider has had a registered manager in post since March 2018.
The service was subject to a CQC comprehensive inspection in August 2019 and was found to require improvement in the safe domain. There was insufficient evidence to rate the other four domains as the provider was not undertaking regulated activity at the time of inspection. There were no regulatory breaches identified following inspection
NERAMS provided a full range of services across two divisions. The patient transport services transported all patients including those with additional needs, which included bariatric, paediatric, and patients with mental ill-health. The accident and emergency division provided responses to 999 calls as a subcontracted service for the local NHS ambulance trust. The service also provided services in the event medical sector, technical rescue in heavy industry and other specialist rescue services which are currently not regulated by CQC.

The provider’s activity levels for March 2021 to March 2022 were:

• 18,480 patient transport journeys subcontracted from local NHS ambulance trust,
• 369 urgent and emergency care journeys subcontracted from local NHS ambulance trust
• One private patient transport journey.

The providers main operating base was from their operations base in Spennymoor, they also had an ambulance station situated in Washington.
The main service provided by this provider 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 services.

Updated 4 July 2022

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, the service demonstrated high levels of cleanliness and good adherence to the principles of infection prevention and control. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well.

• Staff provided good care and treatment. The service met agreed response times, performance data demonstrated high levels of consistent compliance. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent, mandatory training compliance was 100%. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and had access to good information.

• 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. The service proactively encouraged both negative and positive feedback as they valued all feedback as an opportunity to improve. 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, there were high levels of interaction between leaders and staff and positive working relationships were well developed. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.

Updated 4 July 2022

Following the previous inspection in 2019, the service did not have an overall rating. The service was rated as requires improvement in safe but there was insufficient evidence to rate the other domains. 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 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 and assessed patients’ food and drink requirements. 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, 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.

Updated 4 July 2022

The main service provided by this provider was patient transport services. Please see the patient transport service report for more detail.