HATS @ Weir Road

Updated 7 July 2020

HATS @ Weir Road is operated by HATS Group Limited. The service opened in 1995. It is an independent ambulance service that provides non-emergency patient transport services for sick, injured or infirmed patients eligible for patient transport.

The service is contracted by several NHS trusts. The service takes patients to and from hospital appointments and clinic and day centres, takes discharged patients to their homes and transfers patients between hospitals. This includes the transfer of high dependency patients, patients with mental health needs, non-emergency transfers, and repatriation of patients to other hospitals.

The service has had a registered manager in post since 2014. The service was last inspected in March 2017, but did not have the legal duty to rate it until now.

Updated 7 July 2020

HATS @ Weir Road is operated by HATS Group Limited. The service provides patient transport services.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the unannounced visit to the service on the 21st January 2020, the 29th January 2020, the 6th February 2020, and concluded the inspection on the 1st May 2020 after following up on whistle-blower concerns raised during the inspection period.

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.

We had inspected this service before but did not have the legal duty to rate it previously. We rated it as Good overall.

• 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 for transport.

• 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 and 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.

  Dr Nigel Acheson

  Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (London & South)

Updated 7 July 2020

• 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 for transport.

• 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.