Hearts First Ambulance Service Limited

Updated 10 August 2022

Hearts First Ambulance Service is an independent ambulance service based in Radlett, Hertfordshire. It has 20 ambulances. It employs 70 regular staff and 50 bank staff on “as and when” contracts. The main aim of the service is insurance-based repatriation of adults and children from abroad. This is outside CQC scope of regulation, but we do regulate repatriation journeys which are privately funded. During the COVID-19 pandemic the service had started to assist the NHS with patients who needed ambulance transfers to their home address or a receiving hospital. This was still taking place and there were some months when the majority of all journeys fell within the scope of CQC regulation.

The registered manager has been in post since 2019 and the service is registered to provide transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely as well as treatment of disease, disorder or injury. We last inspected the service in December 2019 and rated it as good.

Updated 10 August 2022

Our rating of this service went down. We rated it as requires improvement because:

• Not all staff had training in key skills. Central training records were not consistent with staff files we viewed and we could not be certain the service controlled infection risk well.
• The service did not ensure medicines were stored at safe temperatures and some incidents were not fully investigated.
• The service did not monitor response times and managers did not always make sure staff were competent.
• Information and governance systems were not reliable and some staff were not clear about their roles and accountabilities.

However:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Most staff understood how to protect patients from abuse. They assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records.
• Staff provided good care and treatment and assessed patients’ food and drink requirements. Managers had started to monitor the effectiveness of the service. 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 and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• 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. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 10 August 2022