Because of the nature of this service, it was not possible to speak to people who used the service. We inspected the vehicles and looked at documents held by the provider. The provider supplied ambulances to events across Gloucestershire and beyond. The ambulances were staffed with technicians or paramedics depending on the nature of the event. If people became injured at an event, the provider would assess and treat people as necessary and either discharge them with the appropriate advice or transfer them to an NHS ambulance for transfer to hospital.

We checked the equipment held on a main ambulance and a response car and found this to be in working order. The equipment was appropriate for emergency vehicles. The equipment included stretchers, spinal boards, resuscitation equipment, burns dressings and suitable equipment for children. The provider was staffed by appropriately checked and qualified staff. The provider kept the patient report forms on each person who used the service and kept these securely.

The service provided medical cover for people at sporting and cultural events and had the facility to transport people from events to hospital for treatment. At the time of our visit the service had not needed to transport anyone to hospital so we were unable to speak to anyone who had used the service. When it was necessary to transport people to hospital for further treatment the service worked with the local NHS ambulance service.

We spoke with a volunteer who worked for the service and two event organisers. They all told us the service was professional, vehicles were clean and well equipped, and the service understood the specific needs of the type of events they attended. One event organiser told us “They are outstanding, highly recommended and professional. They understand our sport and we have confidence in their ability to deal with spinal injuries”

We saw that there were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection and equipment used was regularly checked and maintained. The provider sought the views of people who used the service and used these comments to improve and develop the service.