NORTH West Ambulance Service has been rated as ‘good’ following its latest inspection by health watchdog, after receiving ‘requires improvement’ two years ago.

The Care Quality Commission inspected the service in June 2018 and resulted in an overall rating of ‘good’ as well as ‘good’ ratings for three of the trust’s core services; urgent and emergency care, emergency operations centres and resilience teams.

The report, published on Tuesday, November 27 noted that "All staff we spoke with told us they were proud of their profession and felt that this was reflected in them providing good quality care.

"We observed ambulance crew holding the hands of patients who were scared. We noted one crew member covering a

patient with blankets and reassuring them they would be seen to soon as they were waiting for handover."

It added that the service has highly effective working relationships with partner agencies such as the police and fire service.

Interim Chief Executive, Michael Forrest, said: “We are delighted with a ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission which we feel reflects the way we deliver services for patients and values the dedication of our hardworking staff who work under ever increasing demand.

“CQC said that our staff are proud to work for the organisation, and we’re extremely proud of them too.

"We are thrilled CQC noticed the high levels of care by our frontline staff, where patients were treated with respect and compassion.

"“We are particularly happy with improved ‘well-led’ and ‘safe’ ratings, and that CQC noted staff were engaged with our strategic vision to do the right thing for every patient, every time.

“There’s still a lot of work to do to achieve our aim of becoming the best ambulance service in the country, but this rating assures us, and the people we serve in the North West, that we’re heading in the right direction.”

CQC said NWAS should improve systems to ensure vehicles are safe, clean and ready to go, ensure consistent performance measurement and monitoring and standardise care for patients with mental health issues.