Improvements must be made to Norvic says Care Quality Commission

Posted 23/05/2012

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has visited Norvic, a private ambulance service that is a leading provider of independent ambulance services in the East of England, and has found that it was not meeting six essential care standards.The inspection found that people using the service were not adequately protected from the risks of infection as the standard of cleanliness was lacking. Arrangements also to manage controlled drugs were insufficient and recruitment procedures did not ensure that staff employed were fit to perform their roles, nor were they appropriately checked to work with vulnerable adults or children.Norvic is contracted to provide daily support to the East of England Ambulance Service and is an independent supplier to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. It also supplies services to a number of other hospitals in the Eastern region such as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn and the James Paget Hospital.Sharon Allison, a Medical Injury Lawyer from Ashtons Legal says: “It is encouraging that the CQC are reviewing standards of private healthcare providers as well as NHS run establishments. The Director of Norvic has said that it is not a case that they are not already doing these things, but it is more a point of how they are reported in documentation. Consistent documentation between private and NHS run healthcare providers is essential as this will give greater transparency of care standards that all have the right to expect.”