‘Exceptional’ ambulance service celebrated in latest survey

The region’s ambulance service has been called ‘very helpful’, ‘excellent’, and ‘professional’ in its latest patient survey.

In a questionnaire completed by more than 90 people; 100% were fairly satisfied, satisfied, or very satisfied with the care they received from staff at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) in December; the same figure recorded in November’s report which was up from the October report result of 95.5%

A respondent from Bedfordshire said: “I was in the ambulance service for five years. All I can say on behalf of my wife and myself was that the ambulance service has been exceptional.”  

In total, 97.7% of respondents would describe the overall service as either satisfactory or very satisfactory with the same amount describing their expectations as being met either reasonably, as expected, or exceeded.

A patient from south east Essex said: “We would like to thank all the staff assisting me that night as I would not be here if it wasn't for them.”

Similarly, 97.6% found that the handling of their call was either acceptable or very acceptable with one patient from Cambridgeshire saying: “[They] put me at ease and were good at explaining what they were doing and what was going to happen next.”

Rob Ashford, EEAST Interim Director of Service Delivery said: “It is encouraging to see that time and again our staff are being credited for their constant levels of high quality care and work. It is something that is a priority for the Trust moving forward in the times that follow.”

In addition, 100% of respondents described the attitude of staff as being very professional, that their appearance was either fairly acceptable or acceptable, and the cleanliness of the interior of the ambulances was acceptable. However, almost 8% did say that their journey in the ambulance was either uncomfortable or very uncomfortable.

Chief Executive Robert Morton added: “I’d like to thank all of my colleagues for the constant high levels of effort and care that they put in on a daily basis which is clearly reflected by these extremely positive results and comments. Feedback is something which is invaluable in this line of work which helps us to improve on the service we deliver throughout the East of England.”

To read the report in full, visit: http://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/Performance/Patient%20Experience/Patient%20Experience%20Reports%202015/Patient%20Experience%20Report%20-%20Emergency%20Services%20December%202015.pdf