Emergency and urgent care, the emergency operations centres, resilience, urgent care, and the patient transport services were all rated good following inspections between April and July.

Catherine Campbell, CQC deputy director of hospitals, secondary and specialist care for the South-West, said: ‘When we inspected South Western Ambulance Service, we found people were receiving safe and effective care across the board, with significant improvements in both urgent and emergency care and the patient transport service.

‘Whether they were in an ambulance, attending the urgent treatment centre, or speaking to call handlers in the emergency operations centre, people said staff treated them with kindness and dignity which made all the difference in distressing situations.'

Dr John Martin, chief executive, South Western Ambulance Service, said: ‘I would like to thank our people for this fantastic achievement, especially those who supported the inspections. Their hard work, compassion and commitment was evident throughout.   

In our strategy, we said that we wanted to be recognised as an improving organisation. These results are another important sign that we are beginning to see the impact of the significant time, effort and focus that has gone into making that ambition a reality. 

‘The reports recognise the progress we have made since our previous inspection. That progress has involved listening to feedback, strengthening our services, improving the way we work and maintaining a clear focus on quality, often in challenging and demanding circumstances. 
 
‘There is still work to do, and the CQC feedback will help us continue to learn and improve. But for now, there is plenty to be proud of.'