Health watchdog wants your view on East Midlands 999 service ahead of inspection

Inspectors will be auditing EMAS NHS Trust in November and ahead of the inspection want to hear what people who have received treatment think of the service provided.

The response will be used to guide inspectors on what they should be looking at.

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust serves a resident population of 4.8million across the East Midlands (Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire), across 6,425 square miles. The trust responds to over 616,000 emergency and urgent calls each year.

The inspection team are particularly interested in hearing the local public’s experiences of care over the past year but also to say where they would like to see improvements made in the future.

The inspection team will be speaking to patients when on site during the course of the inspection to get their views.

CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, said: “The inspections are designed to provide people with a clear picture of the quality of the services at their regional ambulance trust, exposing poor or mediocre care as well as highlighting good and excellent care.

“We know there is too much variation in quality – these in-depth inspections will allow us to get a much more detailed picture of care in NHS services than ever before.

“Of course we will be talking to a range of staff within the ambulance trust. But it is vital that we also hear the views of the people who have used the trust’s services, or anyone else who wants to share information with us. This will help us plan our inspection, and so help us focus on the things that really matter to people who depend on this service.

“This is your opportunity to tell me and my team what you think, and make a difference to NHS services in the local area.”

A full report of the inspectors’ findings will be published by the Care Quality Commission later in the year. The trust will be one of the first to be given one of the following ratings - Outstanding, Good, Requiring improvement, or Inadequate.

Anyone who wishes to give their views to the inspection team can do this by visiting http://www.cqc.org.uk/share-your-experience-finder, emailing [email protected], writing to CQC, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA or calling 03000 61 61 61.