The Care Quality Commission
  • Ambulance service

Archived: AFJ

Western Court, 11 Bromley Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B9 4AN (0121) 689 1000

Provided and run by:
A F J Limited

All Inspections

19, 23 June 2014

During a routine inspection

When we inspected the service in March 2013 we found that the provider did not have effective recruitment procedures in place to protect vulnerable people. The systems in place were not sufficiently robust and effective to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service that people received. The provider sent us a suitable action plan to show how it intended to improve quality assurance and comply with regulations by 22 May 2013.

We visited the service again on 23 June 2014 to follow up on the provider's action plan. We were not able to speak with any people who used the service on this occasion and none of the transport crew were available at the depot. We found improvements had been made to recruitment procedures and staff training, including induction which was structured. Some improvement had been made to quality monitoring of the service. Vehicle cleaning was included in daily checks made by crew and equipment such as first aid and oxygen had been installed on board vehicles.

However we found the provider had not fully carried out its action plan to improve the service and comply with regulation. Some weaknesses remained in auditing systems, including responding to MOT test advisory actions and oversight of the in-house mechanic inspections system. This meant the provider could not be confident in the safety of parts of the service.

21 March 2013

During a routine inspection

During our visit we were not able to speak directly with people who used the service. However, we contacted and spoke with representatives from a local NHS ambulance service that contract on an ad hoc basis with the service and three nursing / care homes whose residents had used the service. We also spoke with two members of staff and the registered manager about the services provided and reviewed various documents made available to us.

We received positive feedback from the representatives of the services we contacted. They did not raise any concerns with us. Comments received from the representatives included: 'Really good with patients; excellent drivers' and 'Never had any issues with the ambulances.'

We saw that regular checks were undertaken on the ambulances to ensure they were roadworthy. We found the vehicles clean and well maintained.

We did have some concerns around the recruitment of staff and the level of quality monitoring of the service. Processes in place did not always provide adequate assurance as to the quality of the service people received.