Medicmart Ambulance Service

On this page

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

This means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first assessment of this service at this location.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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.

The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We were unable to observe staff interacting with people on any patient transport journeys during our assessment. However, we did speak to staff, who told us of the importance of treating everyone with dignity and respect. They were able to explain how communication may need to be adapted to overcome any additional needs a patient may have. At the end of each shift staff put any patient confidential documentation into locked box safe which only managers have access to it was then stored in a locked archive room.

Feedback from patients and their families indicates that staff were kind and compassionate when caring for people.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Equality and diversity training has been completed by 88% of the PTS staff. The service has an Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights Policy that is included in the new starter employee handbook that each new member of staff receives.

Staff were able to explain that they treated people as individuals taking into consideration physical and mental strengths, lifestyles and life choices.

People’s communication needs were met to enable them to engage with their care, treatment and support to maximise their experience and outcomes. Staff had access to visual communication aids, a language line and an online translation service to help them communicate with people where English was not their first language

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

The information received regarding the patient as part of the transport planning helped to promote care choices. It enabled the service to provide the correct staff and vehicle to help patients remain as independent as possible. The service had moving and handling aids to help and assist people that may have additional mobility issues and vehicles were able to accommodate wheelchairs.

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff explained that communication was key when treating and supporting patients. This enabled staff to understand fully the needs of the patient and for the patient to fully understand what they were consenting to and any treatment and care they were receiving. Staff had access to lifting aids to assist patients whose condition did not allow them to self-mobilise or if they had other mobility issues.

Staff reported that they actively involved family members and any carers in the care process to ensure all needs and preferences were considered, particularly where there were communication difficulties. Staff said they observe people throughout the transport journey, aware that a patient’s condition can change at any time.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The service had a well-being policy that staff could access. The service had an employee assistance programme and access to occupational health from an outside provider.

The staff we spoke with during our assessment were happy working at the service. Staff felt supported and trained to undertake their role. Staff felt safe to come to work there was an open culture and they were all treated equally. Staff generally worked in pairs. The service had a PTS car that solo staff would use. The service had a lone worker policy and risk assessment around this. Staff felt confident in raising concerns and said they were listened to. There was a staff feedback and suggestion box.

Staff supported each other, had regular breaks and days off around a rota system, they were supported around their own individual needs. They were supported by managers and told us managers were visible and available when needed. Managers took turns holding an out-of-hours mobile phone so staff could contact them at any time.