To
members of staff at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS
Foundation Trust,

CQC is the independent regulator of all health
and social care services in England.

We are carrying out an inspection of South
East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust between
Tuesday 3rd May and Friday 6th
May

During the inspection we gather information in
a number of ways. For example, we:

  • Speak with people who use services.
  • Hold focus groups with groups of staff.
  • Hold drop in sessions for staff and for
    people who use services.
  • Work with the Patients Association to carry
    out an analysis of the complaints handling process.
  • Interview individual directors as well as
    staff of all levels.
  • Check that the right systems and processes
    are in place.

We then analyse the information we gather to
make judgements about the following questions:

  • Are they safe?
  • Are they effective?
  • Are they caring?
  • Are they responsive to people’s needs?
  • Are they well-led?

We would like to hear about your
experience of working at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS
Foundation Trust including any particular areas of concern as well
as what is working well. You can do this either online before or
during the inspection, or by meeting with a member of the
inspection team during the inspection.

Before the inspection

If you would like to pass on information to
the inspection team, please contact our National Customer Service
Centre at the email address HospitalInspections@cqc.org.uk,
and give reference number RYD.

Alternatively, you can use our ‘Share your
experience’ form online at http://www.cqc.org.uk/public/sharing-your-experience.
This information will be shared directly with the inspection
team.

During the inspection

You can speak to a member of the trust-wide
inspection team during the inspection at any time. The trust-wide
team will be based at Banstead HQ. Also, you will see members of
the team visiting many of the services and do let them know if you
would like to speak with them.

We are holding focus groups for staff at the
following times. Please be assured that these focus groups are open
invitation and any member of staff who wishes to attend can do so.
If you are unable to attend at the time specified but wish to speak
to us, please contact us by one of the other ways described in this
email.

CQC values the views of staff, people who use
services, their families and carers. After the inspection we will
publish a report on our website. Information will be treated
confidentially – names and personal details will not appear in the
report.

If you would like to contribute, you can also
give us information about the service at any time, as we monitor
all information continuously. There is further information on the
CQC website at http://www.cqc.org.uk/.

Source: Alan Thorne –
CQC Head of Hospital Inspection