Midlands Air Ambulance Charity rated as outstanding

Crews were rated outstanding for being safe, responsive, effective and well-led

The Midlands Air Ambulance (MAA) has been rated 'outstanding' in its first inspection by the care watchdog.

The charity's bases in Shropshire and Staffordshire were both given the top score by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after visits in August and September.

Services were commended for being safe, responsive, effective and well-led.

The care offered by staff at the RAF Cosford headquarters and Tatenhill near Burton-on-Trent was rated as good.

The charity's crews serve a population of around six million people across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Birmingham, the Black Country and the surrounding areas.

'Kindness, respect, and dignity'

CQC inspectors said the services "always met agreed response times" and feedback from people was continually positive.

Patients and their relatives told inspectors that they were treated with kindness, respect, and dignity and 45 compliments had been received with special thanks being offered to staff.

Andy Brand, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "We were impressed to find two extremely well-led services that went above and beyond to ensure people were responded to quickly and effectively in emergency situations."

"It was also positive to see that Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is open to learning and continuous improvement, and the service also reported areas of excellence so staff could learn from events that had gone particularly well. This helped staff to continuously improve and boosted morale and wellbeing."

In April 2022, clinical operations were combined with the headquarters office (previously known as Cosford airbase) bringing both clinical and administrative teams under the same roof for the first time.

"This fantastic achievement highlights our commitment to the patients we treat within the communities we serve, providing the best pre-hospital care to those in critical need," said Hanna Sebright, chief executive of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.