This service is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection March 2016 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection at North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust NHS 111 Service on 18 and 19 September 2018 as part of our inspection programme. The inspection was undertaken as part of a joint inspection with the CQC hospitals inspection team.

At this inspection we found:

• The service had well established systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When they did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes.
• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided. Staff were supported in the effective use of the NHS Pathways tool to triage telephone calls (NHS Pathways is a licensed computer based operating system that provides a range of clinical assessments for triaging telephone calls from patients, based on the symptoms the patients share when they call).
• Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. Regular call audits were carried out for all staff.
• The service had a clear system for managing and learning from complaints.
• The service had an overarching governance framework in place, including policies and protocols which had been developed at a provider level and had been adapted to meet the needs of the service locally.
• The service had not met all of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) targets, for example, calls answered within 60 seconds.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Improve systems to ensure that the service can deliver local and national performance targets.
• Ensure that sufficient clinical advisors are available to meet patient demand.

Regulation requirement notices in relation to the above two areas of concern have been included in the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Quality Report.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Identify measures to improve noise levels at Russell House.
• Take steps to give all staff the opportunity to attend regular team meetings; to provide support and opportunities to share learning.
• Develop a system to monitor that staff have been made aware of and understand interim Pathways updates.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice