Archived: Transcare

Updated 4 March 2019

Transcare Services UK Ltd is operated by Transcare Services (UK) Limited is an independent ambulance service based in Keighley. The service primarily serves the communities of West Yorkshire. However, patients are transported across the UK as required. The service predominantly provides patient transport services for adults and also provides bariatric transport with the one vehicle equipped with bariatric equipment. Bariatric equipment is designed to be stronger, sturdy and larger to suit the needs of obese people.

The service provides medical patient transport services to NHS trusts. The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely.

We last inspected Transcare Services UK Ltd in January 2014. Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure people using the service were provided with effective, safe and appropriate personalised care.

The service has had the same registered manager in post since 2014. This person is also one of the managing directors.

Updated 4 March 2019

Transcare Services (UK) Limited is an independent ambulance service provider based in Keighley, West Yorkshire. The service is registered to provide patient transport services. Transcare Services UK Ltd offers ambulance transport on an ‘as required’ basis and provides pre-planned transport. Ambulance services are provided to an NHS trust and an ambulance service trust.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out a scheduled comprehensive inspection on 20 February 2018. The service had one registered base which we inspected.

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.

The main service provided by this service was patient transport.

Services we do not rate

We regulate independent ambulance services, but at the time of the inspection we did not 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:

• Staff were knowledgeable about how to report incidents to ensure the safety of people using the service.

• The service ensured a minimum of two staff were allocated to each patient transfer depending on risk and need. The staffing levels and skill mix of the staff met the patients’ needs.

• Systems were in place to ensure vehicles were well maintained. Staff maintained consumables and stock to ensure stock was in date and fit for purpose.

• All equipment necessary to meet the various needs of patients was available.

• Services were planned and delivered in a way that met the needs of the local population. The service took into account the needs of different people, such as bariatric patients or people whose first language was not English. Journeys were planned based upon their requirements.

• We observed appropriate hand hygiene, and infection control processes.

• The service had a system for handling, managing and monitoring complaints and concerns.

However, we found the following issues that the service provider needed to improve:

• Staff were not up to date with training in duty of candour, safeguarding and infection control to ensure they were safe to carry out the duties they were employed to perform.

• Deep cleaning records were not provided and audits did not take place. The provider needed to ensure the patient transport drivers had the correct cleaning equipment at home and were following the correct infection control processes when deep cleaning their vehicle at their residential address.

• A vision and strategy for the service had not been developed.

• Team meetings did not regularly take place.

• Appraisals did not take place.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it must take some actions to comply with the regulations and that it should make other improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. We also issued the provider with four requirement notices that affected patient transport services. Details of these are at the end of the report.

Ellen Armistead

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (North), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals.

Updated 4 March 2019

The main service was patient transport services.

We inspected but did not rate this service, we found that:

• Staff knew how to report incidents, deal with complaints, recognise and report safeguarding concerns in relation to adults and children.

• The vehicles we inspected was visibly clean and serviced appropriately. Equipment was serviced and appropriate for patient use.

• Staff described a positive working culture and a focus on team working, saying they could approach the management team at any time to report concerns. They got positive feedback when they had done a job well.

However we also found:

• Staff were not up to date with training in duty of candour and safeguarding to ensure they were safe to carry out the duties they were employed to perform.