Ambulance checks 'lacking'

metman

Ambulance staff checks 'lacking'


By June Kelly, BBC News Home Affairs correspondent

A top hospital has suspended a contract with a private ambulance operator after a BBC investigation found shortcomings in staff vetting and training. Birmingham Women's Hospital said it was suspending the contract immediately, while it investigated the allegations. But the city's Children's Hospital, which has a contract with the same company, is to continue to use the firm while it looks into the claims. The Department of Health said effective safeguards should be in place locally.

A BBC researcher recently got a job with an ambulance firm in Birmingham. He was equipped with a hidden camera. Our researcher is medically trained and licensed to drive an ambulance, but when he told the company this, they did not ask for any proof of his qualifications. They never saw his driving licence, and did not do a criminal records check on him. He could have been a convicted paedophile, but he was allowed to work inside Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Prison sentence
Our researcher recorded another ambulance man describing how he should not have been working there because he had served 18 months in prison for threatening to kill someone. There is absolutely no system in place to ensure that the people doing the work are fit for purpose. The same individual is seen driving with no hands on the wheel while on blue lights, using his mobile while driving and shouting abuse at other motorists. After two weeks in the job our researcher attended one half day first aid session. Another driver said it was the first training he had had for three years and there was barely any when he started. The youngest member of staff is 16. He told our man that he did two weeks training with St. John Ambulance when he was at school. Staff also discuss the long hours, saying they can do up to 15 hours a day.

"I have done 20, well 21," says one.

"Twenty-three-and-a-half is the most I have done," replies another.

The long hours are clearly taking their toll: one of the men is filmed asleep in the back of the ambulance with a patient.

Since NHS hospitals became trusts in the early 1990s some ambulance work has been put out to tender to private operators. One ambulance man said he had served a prison sentence. They do not do 999 calls, but they do transport patients and organs, including urgent transfers on blue lights. We discovered the company employing our researcher had been sub-contracted to do work for another operator - Health and Community Ambulance and Patient Transport Lid, which is based in Birmingham. It has contracts with two of the city's main hospitals - the Women's and the Children's. Without permission and in breach of its contracts, it had sub-contracted the work. Both hospitals told us they were unaware this had happened and so they did not know that the sub-contractor was employing a man with a criminal record.

Investigations
As a result of our investigation the Women's Hospital told us it had decided to suspend its contract with the company while it investigated the allegations. It said it wanted to reassure the public that no patients had come to any harm while being transported by the company. The Children's Hospital is continuing to use firm while it awaits their detailed response. But it said it took these issues very seriously and it had not identified any patients who had been harmed. In a statement it said: "Health and Community Ambulance and Patient Transport carries out approximately 21,000 journeys per year on behalf of Birmingham Children's Hospital.

"There are a limited number of these specialised and licensed providers who could provide a benefit a this level and it is, therefore, imperative that such a service is maintained for the benefit of our patients."

Uncontrolled and unregulated
Private ambulance operators are used throughout England, but they are not used at all in Wales and only rarely in Scotland and Northern Ireland. We are a reputable company which endeavours to provide services of the highest possible standards. Health and Community Ambulance and Patient Transport Sam Oestreicher, of the health union Unison, said privatising services was always going to cause problems. He said: "Private sector providers, their priority is profit not the patient. We are seeing the growth of an uncontrolled and unregulated industry as far as the NHS is concerned. They are dealing with out most vulnerable patients, children, elderly, people who are chronically sick and they are getting access to their houses and there is absolutely no system in place to ensure that the people doing the work are fit for purpose."

We presented our allegations to the ambulance company which was sub-contracting without permission. In a statement Health and Community Ambulance and Patient Transport said: "As soon as we became aware of the allegations against those members of staff we have taken immediate steps to review our procedures and the use of that particular business. "We are a reputable company which endeavours to provide services of the highest possible standards. We were, therefore, very concerned about the allegations that independent contractors used by our company may have fallen short of these standards. We are working with all concerned to ensure that these high standards are always met in the future."

The sub-contractor said the driver with a criminal record was an excellent employee, and his conviction went back seven years. As for our researcher, they said that all required checks on him were put in motion by their operations manger who "unfortunately had a week off work". They described this as a one-off episode. In a statement, the Department of Health said that it was down to local health officials to have effective safeguards in place to ensure the highest level of clinical standards and best value for money for local people.
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Reassuring isn't it? :rolleyes:

Bang Bang

metman wrote: »

Reassuring isn't it? :rolleyes:

I can assure you that the HSE Ambulance Service here in Ireland carry out full background checks on ALL potential recruits with the assistance of the Gardai.

metman

As do the likes of London Ambulance or other regional NHS ambulance services.

The point here was that, as per usual, where private companies are brought in to do the job of a public service, corners are cut to facilitate profit making.

Bang Bang

metman wrote: »

The point here was that, as per usual, where private companies are brought in to do the job of a public service, corners are cut to facilitate profit making.

A valid point taken there metman. I apologise if it appears I was getting at you.

The HSE awarded contracts to three private operators over Christmas holidays last year, like they were hoping nobody would notice!!
This awarding of contracts came even though Ambulance service personnel voted against the proposed contracts to private operators. The HSE then pulled the plug on the contracts but were successfully challenged in the High Court recently.
Another waste of many millions of € that many of the public don't know about.

Part of the negotiations between the HSE and Ambulance personnel was that strike action would be carried out if those contracts were honoured.
The country's sick and injured await the outcome.....

metman

Bang Bang wrote: »

A valid point taken there metman. I apologise if it appears I was getting at you.

No worries. One of the many unifying factors for emergency services worldwide is the lack of appreciation shown for their training, skill, professionalism and experience by central government. The powers that be would privatise the lot of us tomorrow if they thought they could get away with it :rolleyes:

Speaking of despicable practices....from LAS's site.

Paramedic crash helmets become target for crime
25 November 2008

Paramedics’ motorcycle crash helmets are increasingly becoming the victim of theft and vandalism in London.

On four occasions in the last month, ambulance bikers were left unable to respond to 999 calls for up to four hours after their helmets were stolen or damaged while they were treating patients.

In one example, Paramedic Joe Phillips’ helmet was taken while he was treating a baby at an address in Islington. Joe said: “When I came out of the house a teenager was wearing my helmet. When he saw me he laughed and ran away. I reported it to the police, but the most annoying thing was that I wasn’t able to respond to 999 calls until I got a replacement a few hours later.”

In Lisson Grove, Paramedic Jim Marr returned to his bike after a treating a man with a serious head injury, to find his helmet mindlessly thrown over a fence and cracked. He was unable to respond to 999 calls for three hours while arranging a replacement and speaking to police.

Motorcycle Response Coordinator Shaun Rock said: “As a motorcycle paramedic you’re there to get to the patients in the most serious condition first and begin assessing them. For the most part people respect our equipment, but recently our helmets have been stolen or wilfully damaged while we’re treating patients.

“This is unacceptable for two reasons. Firstly, it means our staff are not able to respond to patients in a life-threatening condition while they wait for a replacement. Secondly, it costs £600 to replace the helmets because they are custom-fitted with radio equipment.

“The radio equipment only works with our ambulance radios, so they are useless when not used with the bikes. I urge the people doing this to respect the work of ambulance staff and keep your hands off our helmets.”

- Ends -

Tango Alpha 51

Shocking story to say the least. I know some people who work for the private ambulance companies in Ireland & they are ok. What concerns me is two non nationals working on a "private" ambulance who don't even have basic english. I know of one pt who travelled to Dublin via a certain private company & the two "paramedics" in question couldn't assemble the pt's nebuliser.
Typical of the HSE to renege on the whole contract issue. Whilst I voted for strike action at the time, it wouldn't be in any pt's best interest if we did. Hopefully it won't come to that but its only a long list of stupid s*** that the HSE NAS management are coming up with/doing to us. Rant over

TheNog

I have the perfect solution to this. Intel contract out alot of their work here in Ireland and part of the contract is that Intel knows exactly what each empolyee earns against the cost of the contract to Intel. Intel also puts great interest into the contract complany employees to ensure they are not messed about. Intel is the only company in Ireland that I know that do this.

It would stop unauthorised sub-contracting and cut out low employee wages against the cost of the contract.