CQC’s annual State of Care Report was published on 20th October.
The Report highlights the challenges being faced by the care sector and the impact this is having on both patients and providers.
The impact on the Ambulance sector is a particular focus, being a touchpoint for those needing to access health services: calling 999 is the default for many.
The Report references ‘ambulance’ 59 times and the challenges being faced, including:
- accessing emergency services/response times
- increasing ambulance capacity through investment
- increasing the flow of patients out of hospital
- the impact of unprecedented demand is having on ambulance staff (staff morale, turnover and sickness levels)
There are no simple answers to these challenges, and the resilience of those employed in the ambulance sector has been, and continues to be, amazing.
It’s refreshing to note that against this challenging backdrop, the Ratings for independent ambulance providers showed a marked improvement on previous years.
Quality guru Peter Druker is often quoted as saying Quality = Experience/Expectation.
For independent ambulance providers, the experience gained from previous CQC inspections has better informed their expectations of the evidence required and this is reflected in the Report.