Helimed house

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

The service worked with patients to understand and manage risks. Care and support met patients' needs in ways which were safe and supportive, and enabled them to do the things that mattered to them.

When people communicated their needs, emotions or distress, staff could manage this in a positive way, which protects their rights and dignity and maximised learning for the future about the causes of their distress.

We looked for evidence that patients were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We assessed the levels of patient’s privacy and dignity afforded to patients. We asked patients to tell us about their experiences, if they were respected, if they understood that they and their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take patient’s wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.

At our last assessment we rated this key question outstanding. At this assessment the rating has remained outstanding. This meant that care and support met patients’ need.

We have not awarded this service a score for Caring.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Caring.

We scored the service a 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service treated patients with kindness, empathy and compassion in how they respected patient’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

The culture of the service was rooted in empathy. Staff consistently went above and beyond to provide thoughtful, person‑centred care that upheld dignity and promoted emotional wellbeing. Staff told us that senior leaders were approachable and respectful. This was further supported by external partners we spoke with who reported that Helimed House senior leaders were invested in being a true partner and were always striving for excellence.

Staff displayed exceptional compassion, actively listening and responding to people’s concerns with sensitivity and reassurance, creating an environment where individuals felt valued, safe, and truly cared for. Staff told us that patients who were particularly anxious, who were very young or who had cognitive impairment were able to have somebody familiar with them. Feedback from patients and families was overwhelmingly positive. They said staff treated them well and with kindness.

Patient feedback consistently showed that ambulance crew were discreet and responsive when supporting patients. They took their time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way.
Examples of feedback received by the service included “The crew ensured I was comfortable before, during and after the journey. Ensuring I was warm and moved gently” and “Everyone was so kind and professional, taking great care of me and putting my mind at ease. Thank you!”.

Staff followed policy to keep patient’s care and treatment confidential.

People were treated with remarkable kindness and respect. Staff built trusting relationships, offering emotional comfort and personalised support that made people feel understood and at the centre of their care. The Aftercare team provided children’s memory boxes to supporting bereaved families containing information, books and keepsakes for families and children recently bereaved.

We scored the service a 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service treated patient as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure patient’s care, support and treatment met patient’s needs and preferences. The service took account of patient’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

The service had guidance for caring for people with specific needs, including newborn babies, bariatric patients and acute mental health needs. There was an embedded emphasis on every patient and their family receiving tailored support from the ambulance crew and Aftercare team. We saw evidence of this when a child was taken to a local hospital to ensure the family were together following a road traffic accident. One patient’s feedback included “They explained what I wanted to know without leaving out any details, answering anything I was confused about” and “A lovely lady came to my house to talk me through the situation and answer any questions I had which put me and my brother at ease.”

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs. Staff asked patients and their family questions to learn about who they were and if they had any specific physical, emotional or cultural needs.

The Aftercare team created a profoundly supportive environment by connecting patients and their families with others who had lived through similar experiences. Patients described how being introduced to others with shared experiences made them feel understood and emotionally supported, helping them process their journey with greater confidence and reassurance.

We scored the service a 3. The evidence showed a good standard. Where relevant in an emergency service, the service understood the need for people to maintain their independence and be able to exercise their rights to have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing, as much as clinically possible.

Patient records demonstrated evidence of staff speaking with family to avoid hospital admission which would be unlikely to meaningfully benefit a patient as they were profoundly frail. The assessment was holistic and put the patient’s need and wishes as likely outcome at the centre of the decision making. Discussions resulted in community team support the medical management of the patient.

Ambulance crew told us that they promoted choice and independence, where clinically possible. For example, they told us that they transported a young child to a major trauma centre closer to their home address so that the family unit would be closer.

Staff gained relevant past medical history to support decision making and offer choice. For example, we saw evidence of gaining information on patient’s cultural background and consideration for limitation in treatment such as not transfusing blood products.

We scored the service a 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The staff were exceptional in how they listened to and understood patient’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to patient’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff listened and responded to patient’s needs, views and wishes. Where there were barriers, staff had access to tools to ensure that they understood the patient's needs to act and minimise concern or distress. Ambulance crew could access specialist equipment to meet patient’s specific needs. For example, vehicles were stocked with specialist equipment to provide roadside mechanical ventilation both adults, children and babies.

Staff gave patients and those close to them help, emotional support and advice when they needed it. Patients and their families were exceptionally complementary of the support given by staff not only on scene but during the follow up also.

Patient feedback results from February 2025 to March 2026 scored an average of 4.98 out of 5 for being made comfortable and 4.89 out of 5 for responding and managing pain.

We saw how support was offered by ambulance crew to other young family members that had witnessed a cardiac arrest. They were given trauma teddies and were included in discussions and given an opportunity to ask questions.

We scored the service a 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.
Staff had access to resource and facilities for safe working. This included being able to take breaks, designated rest areas, rooms to stay following a shift to ease psychological fatigue, and access to drink and food out of hours.

Staff were able to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences and could expect a response. There were 3 staff network groups, “Refuel” which focused on staff wellbeing, working dads and a more recently set up neurodiversity group. Staff networks consulted on the review of the service’s parental leave policy.

Senior leaders embedded an exceptional culture of compassion by placing staff psychological wellbeing at the forefront of the service’s values. Following traumatic missions, leaders ensured crews were supported through structured cold debriefs with external partners, creating safe spaces to reflect, process emotions, and feel genuinely cared for.

Leaders demonstrated deep insight into the emotional toll of the work. They were acutely aware when crews had attended multiple traumatic incidents in a single shift and encouraged them to step down, rest, and recover before redeploying—reinforcing a powerful message across the service that “it’s OK to not be OK.”

Staff consistently told us they felt understood, protected, and valued. Every member of staff we spoke with knew exactly how to access both internal and external wellbeing support, reflecting a culture where emotional safety was prioritised as highly as operational safety. Teams worked and where relevant learnt together to develop multidisciplinary working. For example, the pilots completed their bullying and harassment and level 1 and 2 safeguarding training through East Anglia Air Ambulance.

Staff had access to personalised support which recognised the diversity within the workforce. We saw evidence of reasonable adjustments made to support staff perform their role and in line with the Equality Act 2010. The service had a Finding the Balance Policy which supported staff improve well-being by reducing stress, burnout, absenteeism while enhancing work-life balance. In the last 12 months 8 requests had been made. We reviewed 3 approved by the human resource team.

Staff felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. We observed motivational, respectful and kind interactions amongst all staff during our visit. Leaders monitored workforce statistics to monitor turnover. When staff left, they conducted exit interviews to improve employee satisfaction and retention.

In 2023, the service carried out 2 staff surveys and developed an action plan to address identified themes. These included more healthier options in the vending machine, electric charging points in the car park and more confidential working spaces.

Critical care paramedics were supported through multiyear development pathways, and the service invested heavily in clinical governance to maintain high standards. Staff told us they felt well supported, and there was a clear focus on wellbeing as part of the organisation’s culture.