The Care Quality Commission
  • Ambulance service

Archived: Quad Medical Limited

Crusader House, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY

Provided and run by:
Quad Medical Limited

All Inspections

11 and 12 July 2017

During a routine inspection

Quad Medical Limited is operated by Paul Saddington Managing Director, who is also the registered manager. The service provides a patient transport service. We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology.

We carried out an announced inspection on 11 and 12 July 2017, along with an announced inspection at an event on 22 July 2017.

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 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:

  • The provider had an incident reporting system which was regularly reviewed and updated. Staff were familiar with it and knew how to report an incident; there was evidence of learning from incidents.
  • Medical equipment was regularly checked and maintained and all medications, including paramedic drug packs, were in date.
  • The provider had one ambulance equipped to convey patients to a local accident and emergency department as required.
  • A robust plan and risk assessment was circulated to all staff in advance of an event. Staff were committed to providing the best quality care to patients. Staff demonstrated a caring and compassionate nature as well as being proud of their role.
  • Management meetings included a review of all incidents on the incident reporting system.
  • There was a named duty manager available at all times to provide support and guidance to staff.
  • Staff told us they felt very well supported by all members of the management team.
  • There was a secure staff social media group and a staff portal accessible to all staff.

We told the provider that they MUST take following actions to meet the regulations:

  • The provider must ensure all staff receive appropriate safeguarding training appropriate to their role.
  • The provider must ensure appropriate recruitment checks are carried out for all persons employed or appointed for the purposes of a regulated activity. This includes enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) checks.
  • The provider must ensure that medicines are managed appropriately. This includes ensuring suitable storage and that there is a way in which to evidence a medicines supply chain.
  • The provider must ensure that patients’ records are appropriate and discharge summaries are completed.

We also said the provider SHOULD:

  • The provider should ensure that staff are regularly appraised.
  • The provider should ensure that staff competency to use medical equipment is documented.
  • The provider should ensure all staff training is evidenced.

Professor Edward Baker

Chief Inspector of Hospitals

14 December 2012

During a routine inspection

When we visited the service they had only recently purchased an ambulance and this was not yet in service. They had already been providing First Aid services at events, such as at music clubs. We were not able to talk to anyone who had received First Aid, although we were able to speak to an event organiser who had used Quad Medical Limited for their events. They told us the service provided was 'great' and that they had never had any complaints with the service Quad Medical had provided. They told us they had a good relationship with the manager and they were responsive to any requests they had.

We found that the provider had systems in place to gather patient experience, although at the time of our visit they had not received any feedback yet.

When people received care from the provider this was being appropriately recorded.

The provider had cleaning procedures in place and we saw that cleaning products were available if needed.

Prior to working for the provider there was evidence that appropriate checks had been undertaken on staff. When we looked at the staff records there was evidence references were being checked prior to employment and that people had CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks in place. These ensured that that staff employed were appropriately vetted and provided safe care.

The provider had systems in place to check on the quality of service they were providing.