19 February and 13, 20 March and 1 April 2014
During a routine inspection
People told us they had no concerns regarding cleanliness and infection control. They said vehicles were clean and EAS staff always wore gloves when delivering treatment.
People who had used the service told us they had no concerns about the safety and availability of equipment. One person told us 'He's got the right equipment with him; I'd say it was all up to date proper kit.' However we found that some equipment had not received regular maintenance and treatment bags contained out of date equipment including sterile dressings. This showed that people were not protected from unsafe or unsuitable equipment because the provider failed to ensure regular checks of equipment were carried out.
People we spoke with did not comment on recruitment practices. We saw that the provider had appropriate policies in place for recruitment of staff, however these were not always followed. Staff records showed that appropriate background checks had not always been carried out for all staff.
People told us they had an opportunity to give informal feedback regarding the experiences of the service. We did not see evidence that formal assessment of the service took place. The provider did not have an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.