South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

We looked for evidence that people were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We checked that people’s privacy and dignity was respected. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take people’s wishes into account and respect their choices.

We assessed 4 out of 4 quality statements.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people felt well-supported, cared for and treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We observed staff interacting considerately with patients. Staff did not try to rush patients but were also encouraging and got their attention when patients got distracted.

Staff spoke with patients in a supportive manner. We listened to calls and heard staff telling patients they were “doing great”. However, staff understood in which circumstances they needed to have firm conversations in order to direct the call when the patient was distressed.

We observed staff supporting a patient who was having a mental health crisis. Police were onsite with the patient and staff and police worked together, spoke to the patient compassionately and supported the patient to safety.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Staff took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff understood the needs of patients and how those needs differentiated from person to person. For example, staff were speaking with a carer on behalf of the patient, as the patient had severe dementia. When staff spoke with the patient, they were aware that the answers provided may not always be correct as per carer’s advice. However, staff personalised their approach to the call appropriately. They kept the number of questions to a minimum and kept all questions as simple as possible. We observed staff were very kind and gentle when speaking to the patient.

If a patient requested a female-only crew, staff explained in emergencies they may not be able to accommodate this, but staff always tried to deliver and communicated this request to the dispatch team.

When a patient was identified as requiring extra assistance, this was added to their file as a special note. One patient’s note stated they were autistic and required information to be repeated. We observed staff ensured all parts of their conversation were repeated, and staff also double checked the patient’s understanding.

The service promoted people’s independence.

The midwife specialist team received calls from women who were concerned about their pregnancy and unsure what to do. We observed the team were able to reassure and signpost to other agencies where appropriate. For example, local community support, such as the National Childbirth Trust, breast feeding groups, GPs etc.

Staff ensured they signposted patients to recognised websites, and encouraged patients, friends and family to check sources of online information to ensure accuracy.

The midwife team offered choice to callers. For example, one patient had not yet registered her pregnancy with a trust. Staff discussed details of different local trusts they could attend for their current concern, as well as potential locations to give birth.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

Staff were able to summon help when needed. We observed managers regularly check in with staff. Managers were located throughout the call centre floor for good visibility and accessibility. Staff raised their hand if they needed immediate assistance from a manager, or they could send a message via email or call if help was required from a specific person or team.

Staff were supported during and after difficult calls, and managers provided live support as well as assistance after a call. Staff could also mark themselves as having a ‘difficult call’. Staff advised us that after a difficult call, they could rest in the quiet room. Managers could refer staff to an external trauma risk management (TRIM) service. TRIM practitioners are trained to spot signs of distress in people that may go unnoticed. Call handlers received badges to put on their lanyard if they successfully guided someone on the phone through CPR or a birth. Additionally, this was displayed with the name of the call handler and date of the call.

Each site had allocated well-being officers, these were staff available to support teams after a difficult call or when further mental health support was required. Staff also had access to well-being areas where they could relax in a non-clinical, calm environment. These areas included sofas, plants, low lighting, bean bags and access to books as well as outdoor areas including gardens and benches. Both Bicester and Otterbourne sites also provided staff with a prayer area that included a prayer mat and various religious texts. Each site had allocated well-being champions, these were staff available to support teams after a difficult call or when further mental health support was required. There was variation in staff opinion regarding the effectiveness of these, some staff loved the areas whilst others thought they were a ‘token’ gesture. Although all staff advised us they thought the well-being champions were very supportive.

We observed posters displayed in staff areas for domestic abuse, health and well-being charities and sexual harassment support telephone lines. We also saw a poster detailing how SCAS employees could receive benefits from local vendors, shops and services.