UK Emergency Medical Transport Ambulance Service Limited

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

The service worked with patients to understand and manage risks. Care and support met patients' needs in ways which were safe and supportive, and enabled them to do the things that mattered to them.

When people communicated their needs, emotions or distress, staff could manage this in a positive way, which protected their rights and dignity and maximised learning for the future about the causes of their distress.

We looked for evidence that patients were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We assessed the levels of privacy and dignity afforded to patients. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take patients’ wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.

This was the first assessment since registration.

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 patients with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took account of their individual needs. Staff introduced themselves to patients and said what their role was. Staff were discreet and responsive when supporting patients. They took their time to interact with patients and those close to them in a respectful and considerate way.

Patients who were particularly anxious, who were very young or who had cognitive impairment were able to have somebody familiar with them.

Staff followed policy to keep the patient’s care and treatment confidential.

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

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients and how they may relate to care needs. For example, talking with the patient about their needs and the secure transfer plan.

Feedback was gathered through stakeholder feedback and concerns were responded to.

We reviewed 4 transportation plans and saw these were tailored to individual needs and circumstances.

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

We were told patients were encouraged to be as independent as possible when moving to and from vehicles.

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

Staff told us they observed patients and intervened where they saw people were uncomfortable, uncovered or distressed. They used deescalation techniques when needed, to reduce anxiety.

Staff gave patients, and those close to them help, emotional support and advice when they needed it.

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

Staff had access to resources and facilities for safe working. This included being able to take breaks, designated rest areas and a kitchen to make drinks and warm food up.,.

Staff were able to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences. Staff told us the registered manager responded to them.

Staff had access to personalised support which recognised the diversity within the workforce.

Staff felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. Staff had opportunities to contribute to service development. We spoke to staff who told us, for example, the registered manager supported them with balancing work and home life.

The registered manager ensured staff welfare, offered them downtime and psychological support.