South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) has been rated as 'good' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following its latest inspection.

This is an improvement on the 'requires improvement' rating it was given in 2016.

The service has retained its 'outstanding' rating for caring and also made improvements in the effective and well-led categories.

Inspectors found staff were 'committed to giving the best care to patients'.

The chief executive of SWASFT, Ken Wenman, said: "I am delighted that our ambulance crews and staff have been recognised for their continued hard work, professionalism and compassion.”

Tony Fox, chairman of SWASFT, said: “This is a great result and we are pleased to see the progress made since the last inspection has been recognised.

There were still areas for the service to improve on and they were again rated as 'requiring improvement for safety.

The report raised issues around infection prevention and control standards as well as security of vehicles and premises. Some equipment and consumables were out of date for use and medicines policies, procedures and legal obligation were not always followed.

The report also stated that staff were not always getting adequate breaks.

The CQC chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said: “SWASFT has achieved a lot in the last two years. I am pleased to see that the team has implemented a number of changes since our last inspection.

However, there is still more work to be done in ensuring a culture of safety exists across the whole of the trust.