Archived: Riviera Ambulance Service Limited

Updated 17 January 2018

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Riviera Ambulance Service Limited on 22 and 30 August 2017. Following that inspection we had concerns about risk management, and the safe care and treatment of service users. There were also a lack of systems and processes to enable the safety, quality and performance of the organisation to be monitored and improvements made where required. We also had concerns about the registered manager’s lack of understanding about their responsibilities with regards to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Following our inspection, we urgently suspended the registration of the provider and the registered manager.

Updated 17 January 2018

We initially inspected Riviera Ambulance Service Limited on the 22 and 30 August 2017. During that inspection we had concerns about the safe care and treatment of service users. Following the inspection, we took enforcement action to urgently suspend both the registered manager’s and the provider’s registration for a period of six weeks from 13 September to 25 October 2017.

During the suspension period the provider and registered manager took measures to significantly improve the service. On 6 October 2017, the provider sent us an action plan outlining actions they had taken, and planned to take, to improve the areas of concern we identified. On the basis of this, we carried out a focused inspection on 17 October 2017. This was only focused on the areas of concern reported in the notice of suspension.

We do not currently have a legal duty to rate independent ambulance services.

Our key findings were as follows:

• A significant number of improvements had been made to the service in response to the breaches identified in our notice of decision to suspend.
• The provider and registered manager had completed a significant amount of work to ensure compliance of the service against the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 to provide a safe service to patients.
• The registered manager demonstrated motivation and determination to improve the service. He spoke honestly about the introduction of new systems and processes being in their infancy stages, needing further development and embedding into practice.
• A two-stage risk assessment approach had been developed to ensure the safety of the patient and staff during the journey.
• A new recruitment procedure ensured patients were safeguarded against unsuitable staff.
• Systems and processes were clear to ensure safeguarding concerns were reported to safeguard patients against avoidable harm and abuse.
• A new system had been introduced to gather feedback from stakeholders who used the service, which aimed to support service improvement.
• Procedures to monitor the safety, quality and performance of the service were being developed.

However:

• The risk register still required further development to ensure all risks associated with the service had been accounted for and mitigated.
• The registered manager was open and honest that his knowledge of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 still required further development and this work was ongoing.

We will continue to monitor the provider’s performance and will undertake further inspections as necessary to ensure the improvements are sustained.

Amanda Stanford

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals 

Updated 17 January 2018

We do not currently have a legal duty to rate independent ambulance services.

The main service provided by Riviera Ambulance Service Limited was patient transport. The provider specialised in transporting patients with mental health conditions, some of whom were detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

During the inspection we saw a significant number of improvements which had been made to the service in response to the breaches identified in our suspension notice which we served on 13 September 2017. The registered manager, who was also the provider, demonstrated a significant amount of work had been completed to ensure compliance against the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014 to provide a safe service to patients.

Systems and procedures had been introduced to ensure the safety of patients using the service and to enable the registered manager to monitor the safety, quality and performance of their service.