Community Ambulance Service

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of FALCK (London) on 21 and 23 September. Following the inspection, we issued a warning notice on 7 October under Section 29 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We rated it as requires improvement because:

• Leaders and teams did not have a local risk register to manage performance.
• Governance processes were not always fully effective.
• The service did not always manage patient safety incidents well. Staff did not always recognise and report incidents and near misses. Managers investigated incidents but lessons learned were not always shared with the whole team and the wider service in a timely way.
• We found processes to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service were not embedded.

However:

• All staff received an induction before beginning work for FALCK, and mandatory training was given to ensure staff kept up-to-date with key skills.
• Staff felt supported by the management team and enjoyed their work.
• The registered manager and the management team welcomed feedback and used it to make improvements to the service. We found the leadership team were responsive to our concerns
• The design, maintenance and use of facilities, premises, vehicles and equipment kept people safe. Staff were trained to use them. Staff managed clinical waste well.