E-Zec Medical Wellington

E-Zec Medical Wellington is an independent ambulance service. The location for the management of the regulated activity is in Wellington and comprises of an ambulance base and management offices. There is an additional ambulance base at Shepton Mallet. E-Zec Medical Transport Services – Trading as EMED Group Limited (EMED) is the provider for this location.

E-Zec Medical Wellington offers non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS) for patients who, due to mobility needs or medical condition, are unable to travel safely for medical care appointments by other means. This patient transport is available to any patient registered with a Somerset GP, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. They have a contract with the NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board (the ICB) to primarily support planned care activity. Mostly, this involves transporting patients from one location to a healthcare provider for treatment and then providing a return trip. The contract also includes a smaller number of discharge and transfer services that take place within areas outside of Somerset. From February to July 2025 10,667 journeys were carried out by the service.

E-Zec Medical Wellington was registered with CQC in November 2023 to deliver the regulated activity: Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely. The staff consisted of ambulance care assistants (ACAs), patient transport liaison officers (PTLOs), control room operatives, an ambulance fleet assistant, and a data validations administrator. They were supported by a Team Leader, Operations Managers and a Regional Senior Operations Manager. The service has been without a registered manager since 14 February 2025, although the Regional Director was in the process of applying for this position.

We carried out a comprehensive assessment of E-Zec Medical Wellington on 13 August 2025. We assessed 1 assessment service group at this location: Patient transport services, where we looked at 32 quality statements.

During this assessment, we visited the main ambulance base at Wellington, as well as the Discharge Lounge and Trauma and Orthopaedics Department at the local NHS trust (the trust).

Data indicated people were being affected by the service falling short in several key performance targets relating to timeliness, and there was an increased risk that people could be harmed due to avoidable delays, which risked compromising the continuity and consistency of care. As a result of stakeholder concerns, the service was actively working on improvement actions in collaboration with the ICB, the trust, and NHS England. However, these actions had not yet resulted in the desired improvement.

Staff received regular appraisals, but some said they did not receive regular one-to-one conversations and did not feel supported by management. Several staff reported feeling unable to speak in confidence, with concerns raised about the handling of personal information, and some described instances where staff members were spoken to in an inappropriate and disrespectful manner.

While the provider’s assessment showed there was enough staff to cover their contractual agreement, several staff we spoke with felt staffing levels were not adequate for the workload. Several staff felt pressured by the workload and found it difficult to take adequate breaks. However, there was a range of wellbeing initiatives available to support staff. Staff received the right amount of training to undertake their roles.

There were processes for information to be shared with staff, and staff representatives were also present at team meetings. However, some staff did not feel information, including learning from incidents, was adequately communicated to them.

Patients were involved in their initial assessments, and their needs and preferences were considered during the booking process. Staff knew how to perform risk assessments before undertaking a journey, how to raise concerns and report incidents.

Staff treated people with compassion and kindness and respected their privacy and dignity. The service made every effort to take people’s wishes into account and respect their choices, including when on an end-of-life pathway.

The service listened to patient feedback and responded to complaints.

The ambulance base was clean, tidy and secure. The vehicles we checked were clean and in good condition.

We found breaches of regulations in relation to Safe Care and Treatment, and Good Governance.