Ambulance service is upgraded

AN ambulance service has seen its rating upgraded after “significant” improvements.

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) saw two elements of its care move from “inadequate” to “requires improvement”, and another upgraded to “good”.

However, the Care Quality Commission said some staff felt unable to raise concerns and criticised its safe handling of medicines.

The service, which provides emergency services in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, said the upgrade was a “major achievement”.

In 2022 it said it would make “rapid improvements” after an inspection report found bosses were “out of touch” amid concerns about safety.

However, the commission said the service’s emergency operations centre, which receives calls from the public, had improved from “requires improvement” to “good”.

It added that crews’ ability to assess and treat patients had improved from “inadequate” to “requires improvement”.

The report praised the kindness of staff to patients and their safeguarding abilities. Average wait times had been cut from 38 minutes in October last year to 22 minutes by March this year.

It also praised the work in training staff to communicate effectively with people with autism but said staff “didn’t always manage medicines safely” meaning some patients did not receive the pain relief they needed.

It added that SCAS needed to improve its staff culture, with some feeling “unable to raise concerns”.

David Eltringham, chief executive of SCAS, said: “This is a major achievement, acknowledging the hard work in recent years.”

It was announced in October that SCAS and South East Coast Ambulance Service will combine its senior leadership team between 2025 and 2027.