Inspectors at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have rated NHS 111 services in Dorset as ‘Good’.

Following a recent inspection, the service, which is run by South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) was found to have improved, and is now rated as ‘Good’ across all five domains.

The Trust provides a 24-hour telephone-based service to a population of 1.3 million people living in Dorset who need non-emergency medical advice over the phone.

The service is free and is supported by highly trained advisers as well as experienced nurses and paramedics.

As a result of the latest inspection, in May 2018, the service has now been rated ‘Good’ for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services with the service overall being rated as ‘Good’.

During the inspection, which took place on May 2, inspectors found that there was a clear management structure was in place with proactive engagement and involvement of front line staff to influence and participate in improvements and change.

It was also noted that was continued positive feedback from patients while there was a continued low number of complaints and no outstanding adverse incident reports.

Inspectors also found strong evidence of appropriate support, auditing and monitoring of staff to demonstrate they had the necessary skills and knowledge to undertake their roles which, the report noted, was partially down to the continued implementation of staff recruitment and induction

Ken Wenman, chief executive of South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted that our NHS 111 service in Dorset has been rated as ‘Good’ across the board. This is a fantastic achievement and is the result of a lot of hard work by everyone involved in delivering this service. Particular thanks must go to all NHS 111 staff and the Urgent Care team. Congratulations to you all on this excellent result and thank you for the excellent care that you give to our patients in Dorset.”

Ruth Rankine, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice, added: “People who call the NHS 111 service are entitled to quick and easy access to healthcare advice and information, or access to urgent attention when that’s appropriate.

“This inspection saw some excellent examples of good practice and improvements that were now fully embedded into the running of the NHS 111 service.

“I am pleased that South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust has continued to build on the progress that we had identified in our previous inspections and have now achieved a ‘Good’ rating."