The CQC inspection report on EMAS is now available following the annual routine visit, which started on 29th January 2014 and lasted for two weeks. The report identifies improvements made since the last visit in March 2013, alongside a number of areas of good practice. However, in four of the six outcome areas investigated, further work needs to take place before the outcomes can be met in full.
The CQC report acknowledges that progress has been made by EMAS in a number of areas, particularly in relation to responses to less urgent calls, infection control and deep cleaning of vehicles, staff engagement, reduction in staff sickness, and the monitoring of equipment. Inspectors noted that whilst there was good practice in many areas across the four non-compliant outcomes, there was not always consistency. They observed that the minimum standard for response times to life-threatening calls would not be met for the full year, as well as the need to ensure that more vehicles are available at the start of shift.
The Trust needs to continue with its plans to ensure that more qualified staff are in the right place at the right time, and to offer better staff support with clear career progression. Inspectors also noted that EMAS is taking reasonable steps to progress its improvement plans, and is happy that no further action needs to be taken by the CQC.
Sue Noyes, Chief Executive, said:
“The findings of the report reflect that EMAS is well-underway in delivering an organisation-wide improvement programme. It praises us for many areas of care, such as cleanliness and infection-control, our handling of complaints, the professional, attentive nature of staff, and it acknowledges many improvements made since our last inspection. However, there are a number of areas where we know we need to improve. We are well underway with addressing these.
We have recently launched our new staff career development and support programme, and continue to focus on ensuring more consistent availability of ambulances at the start of shifts, and on improving staff engagement, satisfaction and morale.
