E-zec Worcester rated as GOOD by the CQC

E-zec is delighted to announce that its Worcester Operations have been rated Good by the CQC following an unannounced comprehensive inspection looking into all aspects of the service.

The service was rated as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.

• Staff provided good care and treatment. The service mostly met agreed response times. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent.

• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.

• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.

• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff mostly understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Following the publication of the Worcester report, E-zec’s CEO Craig Smith was keen to reflect on it as another clear step forwards in desire to deliver the very best service to patients: “It is really pleasing to see the positive progression in our latest CQC report. Getting ‘Good’ across all five quality domains is a great achievement and is a clear inflection point of our Quality Strategy. Our core value of ‘Listening, Learning and Adapting’ is instilling a culture of unrelenting pursuit of excellence across the business. We will ensure the feedback received will create clear action plans to support our overall aspiration to deliver the very highest quality of services to our service users.  Well done to the whole team who contributed to the outcome.”

And Fay Downes, Senior Operations Manager for Worcester spoke of her pride for the team she manages:

“I have thanked them for all the hard work, efforts, support and their commitment to the contract, to E-zec and our service users. It really has been a team effort and I am so appreciative of my team.”

E-zec Worcestershire’s fleet includes 38 ambulances and has its main base in Worcester, with satellite bases in Kidderminster and Redditch. 

The CQC’s full report can be found here.

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Employee of the year 2020

After 169 nominations and 18 winners in 2020, our board of directors had the extremely difficult job of picking our employee of the year…

However, after some serious deliberation, we are so proud to announce our winner.

Congratulations to Natasha Norman in our Suffolk contract!

During the early stages of her pregnancy, Natasha, while on duty was first on the scene at a fatal road traffic accident. She supported the other seriously injured patients while waiting for the emergency services to arrive.

Natasha was also praised by her colleagues for her positive, bubbly attitude and consistent hard work.

We are so proud to hear of how you went above and beyond in the community to support at a very stressful and upsetting incident. Natasha wins £1000 and 5 extra days of annual leave. Well done, Natasha!

E-zec Medical partners with Cairngorm Capital

E-zec Medical partners with Cairngorm Capital to optimise its business and accelerate growth

Redhill, Surrey, 10 May 2021: E-zec Medical Transport Services (E-zec), England’s largest independent provider of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS), is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP (Cairngorm Capital) to accelerate its growth and advance its position within the patient transportation sector. Cairngorm Capital is a specialist private investment firm that provides equity capital, strategic advice and management expertise to ambitious UK companies.

Established in 1998, E-zec provides a range of services to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). With a fleet of over 550 vehicles, the company operates patient transport to and from healthcare settings, including specialist high dependency crews and ambulances for critical inter-hospital transfers. E-zec is also a leader in bariatric provision, offering a UK-wide bariatric ambulance service, supporting both emergency services and planned hospital visits. Headquartered in Redhill, Surrey, E-zec employs 1,500 specialist staff across 31 depots and in 2020, achieved revenues of £50m.

E-zec’s decision to partner with Cairngorm Capital was prompted by the retirement of majority owner, Paul Swann. Cairngorm Capital partners with strong, ambitious management teams providing capital, strategic advice and operational best practice to drive transformational growth in their companies. The firm’s investment will enable Andy Wickenden, Managing Director, and E-zec’s executive team to strengthen its data analytics and use the insights to deliver enhanced performance and innovation to commissioners and patients.

E-zec will also benefit from expert strategic guidance and support from across the Cairngorm Capital network. Iain Bell joins as Chief Operating Officer, working with Andy Wickenden, to help the executive team to deliver transformational growth.  The company will receive further support from a strengthened Board led by Mike Kerins, who joins as non-executive Chairman. As the current Chairman of Millbrook Healthcare and the former CEO and President of industrial distribution firm, Cromwell Group, Mike brings invaluable expertise in developing and growing businesses. He is supported by Shepard (“Colie”) Spink, who joins as non-executive director, contributing his extensive investment and operating expertise following a long career with operational consultants and investors Alvarez & Marsal.

Andy Wickenden, E-zec’s Managing Director said, “E-zec is at a really exciting point in its development and is ready to capitalise on numerous growth opportunities. We have ambitious goals to fulfil but E-zec has world-class foundations, with strong investor support, first-rate employees and a well-deserved reputation for delivering high quality and responsive services. I look forward to the next phase of its development.”

Cairngorm Capital’s investment was led by Dr Amit Thaper and Panita Vongkusolkit. Dr Thaper explained, “E-zec is an excellent company that supports service users in accessing health care services, while also ensuring that the NHS is able to operate at the highest level.  In a post-Covid environment, we expect the services that E-zec provides to become even more important. E-zec has exciting growth potential, and is run by passionate individuals. E-zec’s dedication to its stakeholders is present throughout the organisation and we are excited to partner with Andrew and his team.”

Paul Swann, majority owner of E-zec said, “I am extremely proud of all that we have achieved at E-zec to date – we are performing strongly, have established a great management team and are well-prepared for the future. Consequently, I believe that this is the appropriate time for me to step aside and for E-zec to progress with new owners, who will ensure that it fulfils its potential. Cairngorm Capital is the right partner for the management team and will continue to focus on delivering excellent service to all of our key stakeholders.”