An ambulance boss has vowed to make changes for the better after a critical report from an official watchdog.
The pledge came after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that the NHS ambulance trust that serves Brighton and Hove “requires improvement”.
The CQC published a 56-page report yesterday (Wednesday 26 October) highlighting problems at the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (Secamb).
The health and care watchdog’s verdict was published days after a wider national CQC report which said that the health and social care system in the south east was “gridlocked”.
And the CQC’s latest report that Secamb would have to work with other NHS organisations to tackle those wider problems.
Secamb said yesterday that it had “reaffirmed its commitment to making improvements following the publication today of a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report”.
Secamb added: “The inspection, which took place in August, and looked at Secamb’s urgent and emergency care, as well as its resilience teams, sees the trust’s overall rating move from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’. The individual rating for caring remains rated as ‘good’.
“The inspection also checked on the trust’s progress in meeting the requirements from a well-led inspection which took place in February.
“The February inspection resulted in an ‘Inadequate’ well-led rating, rated the Trust NHS 111 service as ‘good’ but suspended other ratings until the latest inspection had been completed.
“Secamb is pleased the care provided by its staff was recognised with a ‘good’ rating and that inspectors found and were encouraged that trust leaders were showing a sense of urgency in prioritising the issues which had previously been identified.”
Secamb’s interim chief executive Siobhan Melia, who was appointed in July, said: “I am really pleased that the excellent care provided by our staff has once again been recognised and rated as ‘good’ by the CQC despite the huge pressures they face every day.
“I am very proud of the high-quality care and compassion provided by our staff.
“We have already taken concerns around our culture and leadership extremely seriously and we are committed to making further improvements to ensure we improve our response to patients and the working lives of our staff.
“I know that there is much to do to get the trust to where it needs to be and we are working closely with staff as well as partners both regionally and nationally to make the necessary improvements highlighted in the report.”
The CQC report said that there was additional pressure on Secamb’s services which included increased staff sickness and increased delays in hospital handover.
It also found, as flagged in a wider national CQC report published last week, State of Care, that the south east, along with other areas, had a health and social care system that was “gridlocked”.
