Press Release

Issued by Capital Air Ambulance.

March 24, 2014

Capital Air Ambulance, based at Exeter International Airport in Devon, UK is very pleased to announce a resoundingly successful inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) - the watchdog organisation for checking that English health care organisations meet essential legal standards of quality and safety.

Malcolm Humphries, the ceo and chief pilot, explains: 'The CQC announced a 'no-notice' routine inspection visit on 21st Feb 2014 which proved to be amazingly thorough and strict. However, this was good, in that it has allowed Capital to demonstrate that our services are of the highest quality in terms of patient care, holistic management, safety, quality control, and in the way our flight medical crew are recruited, trained, mentored and supported'.

The report is now on the CQC website and available for all to view. This strategy allows potential users of Capital to see how the government's own health regulatory authority evaluates the service provided. Even though this watchdog only has teeth to regulate English health care systems, there is no doubt that such a thorough inspection can only be viewed as an excellent indicator of quality by those with an interest, in any part of the world.

In the words of the CQC, 'Capital Air Ambulance had a mechanism of patient engagement through its survey and feedback cards and should be proud of the response rate and comments that were received'. Commenting on a random selection of patient evaluation, they quoted, 'Staff are superb', 'Wonderful caring team', 'Doctors and nurses are brilliant', and 'Very professional', 'Kind and considerate'. The medical director, Dr Terry Martin, was pleased by CQC comments after they interviewed staff and looked at feedback from the doctors and nurses who were trained by and work with Capital. They reported 'Fantastic – great organisation', and 'Overall it more than went beyond my expectations.' Dr Martin praised the esprit de corps of his entire team, but especially the nurses, pilots and those that support the day to day operations of the service. He commented, 'No two patients, no two missions, and no two days are the same. Our team at Capital can hold their heads up high. On a daily basis, they show professionalism, compassion, ingenuity and innovation, topped with a 'can do' attitude. This is borne out in the CQC report.'

Malcolm Humphries summed up: 'The bar has now been raised. Capital is no longer the new kid on the block. As we approach the second anniversary of our launch, we are heading towards 750 missions flown, and over 70 doctors and nurses have been through our 4 day training programme. Capital is justly proud to be fast developing and growing high quality air ambulance service - a fact which is now endorsed by the glowing CQC report and compliance with all legal requirements.