All inspections: ERS Medical North - Care Quality Commission

ERS Medical North, an independent ambulance service provides patient transport services that are non‑urgent, and non‑specialist including discharges from hospitals, travel to appointments and between hospitals. In addition, journeys include transport from home to a care home, from home to respite care, and to end of life care facilities. The service also supports children and young people. This includes transfers between home and respite care, and occasions where the police need help to safely move a child.

We carried out a comprehensive assessment of ERS Medical North, patient transport services (PTS), where we assessed 32 quality statements. The assessment included unannounced site visits on 14 May 2026 to the Manchester location and 21 May 2026 to the Leeds site.

During the inspection we observed care and gathered the views of both staff and leaders. From these 2 locations the service had conducted 18,199 patient transports in the 6 months prior to the inspection. They transported both adults and children.

At this assessment, we rated ERS Medical North good. This assessment was undertaken in response to information of concern, to review whether the service was operating safely and whether governance arrangements provided sufficient assurance of quality and compliance.

Staff carried out appropriate patient pre‑transfer and dynamic risk assessments, understood how to recognise and respond to a change in people’s condition and could describe appropriate escalation processes. Vehicles and equipment were generally clean, well maintained and appropriately stocked, and staff received relevant training to support safe care.

The service had effective systems and processes to deliver safe, high-quality care. Staff treated people as individuals, tailoring care and support to meet their specific needs and preferences. The service also demonstrated a positive culture supported by capable leadership.

However, continuing governance shortfalls limited overall assurance. These included inconsistent incident reporting and learning, weaknesses in recruitment and staff record checks, and policies and procedures that were not always accurate or up to date. These issues reduced confidence that leaders had effective oversight of quality and safety.

Date of assessment: 14 to 21 May 2026. ERS Medical North is operated by ERS Transition - Trading as EMED Group Limited. It is an independent ambulance service providing non-emergency patient transport services to the public and private sector across the North of England, from bases in Leeds, Manchester and Crewe. This assessment looked at patient transport services which we rated as good. This assessment looked at patient transport services, we rated ERS Medical North good. This comprehensive assessment was undertaken in response to information of concern, to review whether the service was operating safely and whether governance arrangements provided sufficient assurance of quality and compliance.

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. The maintenance and use of vehicles and equipment kept people safe. Staff assessed risks to patients and acted on them. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
Staff provided good care and followed relevant national guidance. The service met agreed response times. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients.
Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs. Feedback from patients was consistently positive about the care and service they received.
The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for transport.
Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

ERS Medical North is operated by ERS Medical, which in turn is owned by ERS Transition Ltd. The service provides a patient transport service throughout the north of England from five bases: Manchester, Mansfield, Leeds, Crewe and Speke (the crew and vehicles are based within a hospital in Merseyside). There are 38 patient transport vehicles split (by demand) across all five sites. The registered location address is in Trafford, Manchester.

ERS Medical was previously owned by another company which sold the business towards the end of 2017. The new company, ERS Transition Ltd has been registered with the CQC since October 2017.

ERS Medical North provides support to the North West Ambulance Service as required. It also supports several acute hospital trusts across the north of England and provides support for a GP urgent care contract to a GP federation in Leeds.

ERS Medical North can transport patients detained under the Mental Health Act 2007 in a formal and informal context.

ERS Medical North is registered to provide treatment of disease, disorder or injury, and transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely. We carried out our inspection between the 18 and 20 September 2018, and 12 February 2019.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led?

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

We found the following areas of good practice:

The service protected patients from abuse and harm.
The service used suitable vehicles and ensured equipment was stored on these safely and securely.
The service had updated its running sheets to allow clinical handover information to be recorded.
Patient records were securely stored.
Disclosure and barring service checks were completed for all staff.
Staff ensured appropriate paperwork was available when transporting patients detained under the Mental Health Act.
The service had introduced an updated national training programme for road crews, as well as an updated observational audit to assess the competency of staff.
The service’s policies were up to date.
The service had introduced systems to monitor the quality and safety of the services provided.
All staff had completed training that was required to undertake their roles safely. In addition, records indicated that most staff were up to date with mandatory training.
The service had a clear policy for staff to follow in the event of an emergency. Staff were aware of this and knew what actions to take if needed.
Staff delivered patient care in a caring and compassionate way. Staff demonstrated an awareness of the need to protect the privacy and dignity of patients.
Sites had specific business continuity plans.
Patient feedback was very positive.
There was a good culture in the organisation, staff felt engaged, and they praised the regional manager.

However, we also found the following issues the service provider needs to improve:

Patient review forms were inconsistently completed.
Not all the running sheets we reviewed contained clinical handover information.
The service did not always record that staff returned uniforms or badges when they left the service.
The Leeds site did not hold regular staff meetings (albeit that new manager had plans to reintroduce meetings and to increase attendance).

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.

Ann Ford

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (North), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals

ERS Medical North

All Inspections

During an assessment of Patient transport services

During an assessment of the hospital overall

31 May 2022 and 1 June 2022

During a routine inspection

18 to 20 September 2018, and 12 February 2019

During a routine inspection