Archived: MediPatrol Ltd

Updated 22 December 2020

We did not rate the services of MediPatrol Ltd. In order to rate a service, we need to inspect at least three domains. We inspected the two domains of Safe and Well Led at this inspection.

MediPatrol Ltd is operated by MediPatrol Ltd. The service opened in April 2020. It is an independent ambulance service based in Cinderford, Gloucestershire. The service primarily serves the communities of Gloucestershire when they need to be transported between the two acute hospital sites in the county. It also provides a service at independent events nationally. The CQC do not have powers to regulate independent events and this element will not be included in our inspection activity.

The regulated activity performed by the service is for Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely.

The service has had a registered manager in post since 17 April 2020 but who had recently resigned from their role. At the time of the inspection, the service had no registered manager.

This was the first inspection of this service since it was first registered to provide the regulated activity in April 2020.

We received information which gave us concern about the safety and quality of the service provided. Our subsequent contact with the provider and requests for information did not provide assurance they were providing a safe service. We therefore, suspended the registration of the service for a period of 28 days from the 30 October 2020 and carried out an unannounced inspection at our earliest opportunity, on 11 November 2020. The service had 24 hours’ notice of our visit to ensure staff would be available to give us access to the site.

Updated 22 December 2020

We inspected safe and well led domains for MediPatrol Ltd. but did not rate them at this inspection. We are taking regulatory action in response to the concerns we have described and this is ongoing at the time of publication.

• There were no reliable systems to ensure staff were trained adequately for their roles to keep patients safe. There was no assurance that staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse or manage safety well. The service did not always control infection risks well. Staff assessed risks to patients, but the provider was not able to assure us that staff were adequately trained to be able to safely monitor patient conditions. There were no records kept by the service of patient monitoring or their conditions. Medicines were not securely and safely stored nor were expiry dates checked and acted upon. There was no embedded system for staff to identify, report, receive feedback or share learning about incidents and concerns. Safety was not a sufficient priority. Managers did not ensure actions from patient safety alerts were known, implemented and monitored.

• Leaders of the service showed a limited understanding of the safety and business priorities and how to manage them well. There had been major disagreements between directors, which caused a disconnected and dysfunctional leadership team. There were no reliable and consistent systems which provided oversight of safety and quality of care delivered. Systems that were in place had been stopped and not all staff and leaders had access to them. This had led to disruption for the maintenance of electronic records. Leaders were not clear about their legal limitations of providing care and what regulated activities they should be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide. Leaders tried to support staff but found it challenging and opportunities for staff development were limited. Staff were allocated roles but not always provided with opportunities to access specific training to support these roles. Leaders and staff wanted to provide a safe service and wanted to put the patient at the centre of their service planning. However, they were not clear on how they would achieve this. There was no consistent, embedded system for gathering and reviewing feedback, incident reports or risks. This had the impact of limiting opportunities for learning and improvement. There were processes for gathering patient views but there was no documentation of how these were discussed or actioned. Staff support systems were inconsistent and guidance for staff depended upon who they contacted within the senior leadership team.

Updated 22 December 2020

This was a focused inspection and had not previously been inspected or rated.This was the first inspection of this service since it was first registered to provide the regulated activity in April 2020.

It is an independent ambulance service based in Cinderford, Gloucestershire. The service primarily serves the communities of Gloucestershire when they need to be transported between the two acute hospital sites in the county. It also provides a service at independent events nationally.