CQC praises ‘outstanding’ EHAAT
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has praised UK HEMS charity Essex and Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) following an inspection earlier this year.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has praised UK HEMS charity Essex and Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) following an inspection earlier this year. The independent healthcare regulator highlighted areas of outstanding practice at the charity’s North Weald and Earls Colne bases, and gave no recommendations for further improvements.
Inspectors said that the passion and commitment of the staff that worked on the bases was exemplary. Stuart Elms, Clinical Director at Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, was pleased with the report, saying that the findings reflected ‘the outstanding effort and hard work shown every day by EHAAT staff, whatever their role’. “We are immensely proud of these outstanding inspection reports,” he said, “which reflect the professionalism, passion and dedication of all the Charity staff as well as the amazing pilots, co-pilots, pre-hospital care doctors and critical care paramedics that work so hard to deliver a world class service to the people of Essex and Hertfordshire.”
The inspectors looked at all areas of the charity, from its clinical expertise, operations and staff support to customer service, feedback from patients and their families and work with other medical organisations. Specifically praised in the reports were EHAAT’s Clinical Governance Days (CGDs), which are workshops designed to improve clinical knowledge and share best practice. These are open to internal clinical staff and external emergency services. The creation of Patient Liaison Managers was also highlighted as a positive.
Jane Gurney, CEO of EHAAT, said: “The Trustees and myself are very proud of the incredible commitment and hard work of all of our staff in delivering the highest possible clinical care to the people of Essex and Hertfordshire. We are delighted that this has been clearly reflected in the CQC report. We would like to thank the people of both counties for their continued generosity and support of our life-saving work.”