Devon Ambulance And First Aid Services CIC

Updated 23 October 2023

Devon ambulance and First Aid Services CIC is a community interest company, and they provide an event ambulance service. AmbFas is operated by Devon Ambulance and First Aid CIC and provides a patient transport service specifically where there is an actual or identified need to provide off-site transportation to a local hospital.

We inspected the service in November 2017 when a warning notice was issued for not having complete staffing records and no evidence of employment checks and manager oversight of the recruitment process. We next inspected in April 2018 and on both occasions the service was not rated. Since the last inspection the service has moved location to offices in Newton Abbot while the ambulances continue to be stored at the previous location in Buckfastleigh.

The service provides staff and 2 ambulances for non-emergency patient transport services from events to local hospitals. The provider also provides non-regulated activities which are out of the scope of CQC registration and are therefore not included as part of this inspection as these are event medical care and treatment.

The service is registered to provide the following regulated activity.

Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely.

We were told that there had only been 2 occasions, in the past 12 months, when the provider had facilitated the transport of patients from an event venue to a local hospital, and that the previous planned transport service was currently unavailable due to lack of vehicles and staff.

What people who use the service say

We were told that the service did not have records for the two patients that had been transferred from an event to the local hospital. The provider did not have a patient satisfaction survey or record of feedback from patients or commissioners of the service.

As a result of this inspection 2 warning notices were issued. These were for, 1, failing to maintain accurate employment records, and 2, failing to keep securely patient records, failure to operate an effective system for the management of medicines, no effective risk management, and governance system, not following national guidance for infection control.

The service informed us on 30 June 2023 that they had suspended all AmbFas services until further notice.

Updated 23 October 2023

Devon Ambulance and First Aid Services CIC (AmbFas) operates a patient transport service from event venues to the local emergency department. This service is referred to as AmbFas.

The service has been previously inspected in November 2017 and April 2018, when it was known as the Colin Sully Centre, and we have not previously rated this service. At the time of these inspections, we did not rate independent ambulance services.

Updated 23 October 2023

We rated it as inadequate because:

• There was no evidence of a structured mandatory training programme for staff. Safeguarding processes were not clear therefore staff would not understand what to do if an allegation of abuse was made.
• There was no evidence of a structured induction programme for new staff. Policy and procedures had not been reviewed regularly and did not contain current national guidance.
• Staff records were incomplete and did not provide assurance all staff were recruited following a safe recruitment procedure to safeguard patients. The systems and processes did not give assurance that staff employed were of good character and were able to fulfil all the duties they were employed for.
• There was no assurance staff had regular supervision and appraisals to demonstrate they were competent to carry out their role.
• The service did not have a clear competency framework to make sure staff were able to undertake their roles safety and effectively.
• We found that infection control was poor. There were no infection control processes in place to keep patients safe.
• All waste was not handled appropriately and there was no evidence that the provider was protecting staff against chemical hazards.
• We found that there was no audit of medication, and the medication policy did not reflect national guidance.
• The delivery of high-quality care was not assured by the leadership. Effective governance processes were not being operated and risks, issues and performance were not well managed, identified and mitigated. There was no evidence of an effective incident reporting and review framework. There was no structured audit process.
• Response times and quality outcomes were not kept.
• The effectiveness of multidisciplinary working was not regularly reviewed.
• The service was not inclusive to take account of patients’ individual needs and preferences. It was not easy for people to give feedback and raise concerns about care received.
• Patient records had not been stored securely.