5 November 2019
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Rapid Response Medical is operated by Rapid Response Medical Services Ltd. The service provides emergency, urgent care and a patient transport service, event cover and blood and organ conveyance. As this was a focused inspection, we only inspected the emergency and urgent care core service and patient transport.
We inspected this service using our focused inspection methodology. We carried out the unannounced visit to the service on 5 November 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? For this focused inspection we only focused on certain aspects of each key question. This was due to the service not being inspected since registration and the need to clarify the actual location of the service was carrying out our regulated activities from. We also received some information relating to staffing and safeguarding processes.
Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The main service provided by this service was emergency and urgent care. Where our findings on emergency and urgent care – for example, management arrangements – also apply to other services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the emergency and urgent care service.
We found the following areas of good practice
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. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. 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 treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Key services were available seven days a week.
Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
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 treatment.
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 receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.
However, we also found the following issues that the service needed to improve
The storage of medical gases was not compliant.
The room where medication was stored was not secure.
However, both of these issues were rectified during the inspection period.
The service had no formal risk register.