15.12.16
CQC closes Plymouth Central over ‘unacceptable’ services
A private ambulance service in Plymouth has been banned from operating services after CQC inspectors found serious safety concerns.
Plymouth Central Ambulance Service, which provided services including transferring patients to acute hospitals, transferring patients between hospitals and transporting neonatal babies, had its licence suspended following the CQC’s May inspection.
Inspectors found that Plymouth Central staff received no mandatory training beyond their induction, despite the fact that yearly updates were required in infection control, manual handling and first aid. Additionally, some members of staff were driving using blue lights without training.
Mary Cridge, head of hospital inspection in CQC’s South West region, said: “What we saw at Plymouth Central Ambulance Service was clearly unacceptable. CQC needed to take action to protect the safety and wellbeing of people using the service by moving to cancel this service’s registration, meaning it could no longer operate.
“Taking action leading to the closure of any service is not something we take lightly, but when we find very poor practice, as we did in this case, we have no choice but to take action to protect the safety and welfare of people.”
Plymouth Central held contracts with Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG and the local NHS as well as providing private services for organisations and individuals.
Among other concerns, the CQC found that incidents affecting the safety and welfare of patients were not thoroughly investigated and opportunities to raise safeguarding concerns were missed.
It also called the registered manager for the service “out-of-touch” with frontline services and said they “had little understanding” of regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
In addition, managers did not understand requirements around capacity and consent in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and staff did not receive training in those areas.
Plymouth Central has now transferred the service’s equipment and staff to First Care Ambulance. The CQC inspection comes after Coperforma, another private company, lost its patient transport contract with Sussex CCGs following significant criticism of its performance.
(Image c. Peter Byrne from PA Wire)
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