• Ambulance service

St John Ambulance - London Region

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Unit 9, Central Park, Central Way, London, NW10 7FY 0870 010 4950

Provided and run by:
St. John Ambulance

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

Latest inspection summary

On this page

Background to this inspection

Updated 31 October 2022

St John Ambulance – London Region is a large independent service that provides urgent and emergency support to NHS ambulance services. The service has one main hub in Park Royal, London.

The service has not been inspected since the change in registration in 2020.

The current registered manager has been registered with the CQC since the service was registered. The service is registered for the following regulated activities:

  • Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
  • Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely

The service provides the following services:

Emergency and Urgent Care Services (EUC)

St John Ambulance – London Region provides paramedic and technician crewed emergency ambulances to all London-based NHS hospitals and one NHS ambulance trust mainly in London.

St John Ambulance – London Region provides comprehensive cover to events including sporting meetings and festivals. Unless transport to hospital is provided, such provision is outside of the scope of registration. Provision within the scope of registration is reported under the EUC core service.

The service does not provide the patient transport services (PTS) core service in the London region.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 31 October 2022

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. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
  • Staff provided good care and treatment. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and supported them to make decisions about their care.
  • 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.
  • 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. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

  • The service’s audits did not always ensure leaders could monitor compliance fully,
  • The service’s medicines standard operating procedure did not make clear the protocols or practices required to keep controlled drugs at home.
  • Not all staff had received appraisals.