Loophole leaves patients at risk of abuse in ambulances

A loophole in the law is leaving vulnerable patients at risk of abuse and sexual assault by unregulated private ambulance staff, The Independent can reveal.

- REBECCA THOMAS

A loophole in the law is leaving vulnerable patients at risk of abuse and sexual assault by unregulated private ambulance staff, The Independent can reveal. While many private ambulance providers are regulated, a small number, such as those providing services at events, those providing first aid, and those who are subcontracted, fall outside the reach of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

This is due to a loophole in the legislation, which means that organisations providing healthcare at events are not required to be CQC registered. The Independent has learned that around 10,000 patients a day are seen by ambulance workers who are unregulated and not part of any registered professional body.

According to a senior civil servant, the NHS is also failing to carry out as many criminal record checks on staff as it should be. Suzanne Smith, director of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for the government, revealed that the NHS had made just 430 DBS referrals in the period covering 2020-21.

Alan Howson, chief executive of the Independent Ambulance Association, said he was concerned about healthcare providers that “operate outside of the scope” of the care watchdog and in “plain sight and unchecked”, leaving patients at risk from staff who might “seek to misuse their power”. His concerns were in response to an internal report by the CQC, completed last year, which identified specific risks around sexual harm in relation to private providers, as well as “inconsistency” in providers’ recording of incidents.