Gateshead Hatzola Ambulance Station Also known as Gateshead Hatzola

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We looked for evidence that people and communities had the best possible outcomes because their needs were assessed. We checked that people’s care, support and treatment reflected these needs and any protected equality characteristics, ensuring people were at the centre of their care.

We also looked for evidence that leaders instilled a culture of improvement, where understanding current outcomes and exploring best practice was part of their everyday work.

This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We maximise the effectiveness of people's care and treatment by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service made sure people's care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

The service used a bespoke app which supported the assessment of the patient's needs and the monitoring and review of their care and treatment. Contact with the patient was tracked from their initial contact with the service and supported their communications needs. The app supported completion of the patient data at the time of the incident. During our assessment we monitored the use of the app for people contacting the service and feedback from people using the service as well as staff was positive.

We plan and deliver people's care and treatment with them, including what is important and matters to them and in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service planned and delivered people's care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

Staff were supported by following clinical guidelines and quality standards appropriate to the service, including protocols for children and other patient groups which reflected their cultural needs. Staff understood the culture and assessed the nutrition and hydration needs of patients appropriately. Volunteer staff were trained in their roles and supported to maintain and update their skills. The service empowered staff to report any concerns and to share good practice.

Patients received care and support from staff who knew them well and feedback showed they were very satisfied with the care and support provided. A feedback procedure was completed for each call to the service with consistently positive feedback from patients and confirming the appropriateness of the service provided.

We work effectively across teams and services to support people, making sure they only need to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when they move between different services.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

Patients were well supported by the service, which demonstrated effective teamwork, both internally and with external partners, particularly the local NHS ambulance service. Volunteer staff communicated using radio contact and mobile phones. The Hatzola application included a handover protocol developed in partnership with the local hospitals so that patient handovers were fully aligned.

The service operated an effective partnership with the local NHS ambulance service which included support with training and equipment. The service had recently attended a working lunch session with the ambulance service to further develop arrangements for working together. Volunteer staff and partners were complimentary about how closely the teams shared working arrangements.

We support people to manage their health and wellbeing so they can maximise their independence, choice and control, live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

We scored the service as 4. The evidence showed an exceptional standard. The service always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

The service provided a range of examples of how it supported the health and wellbeing of patients and the local community. Feedback we reviewed demonstrated a high level of patient satisfaction with the service and evidence of its outreach to the local community. Ahead of an annual festival, it promoted alcohol awareness. The team included a trained mental health lead and commissioned mental health seminars for the wider community. The service consulted with GP's within the local community and volunteers supported local hospitals during winter emergencies. Special needs support workers were available. Jointly with the fire service, it supported training to support fire safety at home.

The service had introduced an outreach programme to train the wider community in basic first aid, life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In conjunction with a local sponsor, the service had installed 4 defibrillators in public buildings across the community. Through its outreach arrangements, the service had visited local schools and colleges to provide information about the ambulance service.

The service issued fridge magnets and telephone stickers to support people in accessing its services at all times. The service provided care call cover for older people using a panic button. The service has installed key safes at selected addresses so that it could access and assist patients without delay when alerted.

In conjunction with professional partners, it provided a support service for mothers and toddlers. The ambulance carried copies of `The Little Orange Book' with advice on managing common illnesses in young children so that parents were supported to manage their children's health independently.

We routinely monitor people's care and treatment to continuously improve it and to ensure that outcomes are positive and consistent, and that they meet both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service routinely monitored people's care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

The service continuously monitored and supported the care and treatment it provided to patients and families. Any clinical deterioration in a patient's health was closely monitored and the service used recognized tools effectively to support and improve outcomes for patients.

Key performance indicators were monitored, and the service benchmarked its performance with other organisations in the group. Quarterly reports to trustees presented the service's performance against its expected standards, including how it performed against expected response times and the key performance indicators were routinely audited.

Typically, responders attended each call within 2 minutes. Where patients had consented, the service obtained feedback through hospital chaplains which demonstrated the service achieved very positive outcomes for patients which met or exceeded expectations.

We tell people about their rights around consent and respect these when we deliver person-centred care and treatment.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service told people about their rights as to consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

The service consistently explained their rights to patients and obtained their consent, which was recorded on the app. Volunteer staff were trained to make decisions in the patient's best interests where they lacked capacity. Reflecting cultural sensitivities was a key component in how these decisions were applied and staff were appropriately trained for their role.

Volunteer staff obtained consent from patients for their care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance which was recorded in the patient records. Volunteers understood the relevant consent and decision-making requirements of legislation and guidance, including the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act 2005, and knew who to contact for advice.

The service did not transport patients who were detained under the Mental Health Act or patients experiencing a mental health crisis. The service escalated these patients to the local NHS ambulance service or local mental health crisis response team.

Staff received and kept up to date with mandatory training in mental health awareness and understood how and when to assess whether a patient had the capacity to make decisions about their care. Staff we spoke with demonstrated a level of knowledge appropriate to their scope of practice and they knew how and when to escalate.