The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has taken enforcement action to cancel the registration of an independent ambulance provider, KFA Medical Ltd, who are now no longer legally allowed to provide services to people in West Yorkshire.
CQC carried out an unannounced focused inspection of KFA Medical Ltd, in June 2021 to look at whether the service was safe and well-led. This was to follow up on previous inspections carried out in January and March 2021, when the service was suspended due to risks identified around patient safety.
At this inspection there were concerns about the lack of improvements made, and as a result the providers registration has been cancelled, and they can no longer provide transportservices, remote triage and medical advice or the treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
KFA Medical Ltd was an independent ambulance service based in Keighley, West Yorkshire. They provided a range of services including; urgent and emergency paramedic and first aid medical care, blood and organ transport, first aid training and patient transport services.
Sarah Dronsfield, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said:
“When CQC visited KFA Medical Ltd, we found a service that wasn’t providing the safe and effective care that people using its service should be able to expect.
“We have been working with the provider since their suspension in January, however when we carried out this inspection, we found the provider had been unable to implement and sustain the necessary improvements to assure us that people were receiving safe care.
“It was concerning that staff did not have the appropriate skills and training to keep people safe from avoidable harm. We were told by the provider that training would not be given until the suspension was lifted, however this did not provide us with assurance that staff would be appropriately qualified to carry out safe care.
“We found that the provider did not have appropriate infection, prevention and control measures in place. Equipment, vehicles and premises were dirty which exposed staff and patients to the risk of harm.
“This action should send a very clear message to all providers of independent health and care services that while taking enforcement action of this nature is not something we take lightly, we will always take action where appropriate to protect the health and safety of patients.
“We will continue to work closely with providers and commissioners to highlight to them that the safe care and treatment of people using services is our highest priority and people deserve safe, effective, high-quality care.”
Inspectors found:
- The provider still did not have a mandatory training policy. There was no assurance mandatory training and key skills was provided to all staff.
- Staff could not demonstrate they understood how to protect patients from abuse. There was no evidence the service worked with other agencies to do so.
- The service did not control infection risk well. Staff did not use equipment and control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection.
- The design, maintenance and use of facilities, premises, vehicles and equipment did not keep people safe.
- Staff completed risk assessments for patients, but the provider had no specific eligibility criteria to ensure patient transport services (PTS) staff were competent to meet patient’s needs.
- Staff did not have the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep patients safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment.
- The service could not demonstrate it followed best practice or used systems and processes safely when recording and storing patient’s own medicines.
- The service did not manage patient safety incidents well. There was no formal process in place to share learning from incidents.
- Leaders could not demonstrate they had the skills and abilities to run the service.
- Leaders could not demonstrate how they operated effective governance processes. The registered manager could not answer questions in relation to company policies.
- Leaders and teams could not evidence how they used systems to manage performance effectively.
- The service did not collect reliable data or analyse it. Staff confirmed the provider had no retention of records policy.
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