Archived: NSL Stafford

In the office we met and spoke with the registered manager, the future manager, the compliance and patient safety officer and the operational support manager.

We spoke with four patients and two contracts managers on the telephone. Everyone gave us positive feedback about their experiences.

One person told us: 'They make sure I get to my appointment on time and make sure I get home safely too. They are absolutely excellent'. Another person told us: 'I'm very happy that they escort me to my appointments. I never worry about being late, they're so reliable'.

We spoke with two contact managers and they both gave positive feedback about NSL. They told us they continue to be proactive in sorting any issues and had very good communication skills. One person told us: 'We hear great comments from patients that tell us their staff are caring and are supportive during transfers. We are often in discussion with them about the service and the result is 'great' partnership working'.

In the office we looked at some patient transfer documentation, equipment logs, staffing rotas and how the service assessed and monitored the quality of the service. We had a tour of the premises, observed training taking place in the training room and saw the call centre in operation.

We looked at care records, staff recruitment, an NSL ambulance and had a tour of the premises.

The six people we spoke with that used the service were complimentary about the attention they received from NSL. One person told us, 'The transport arrives on time and the staff support me well. I never feel rushed by them, they're very kind'.

We spoke with the hospital support services manager and they told us that NSL worked hard to give the best service possible and they were very proactive in sorting any issues or problems.