Guide
Ambulance and patient transport CQC compliance: policies, procedures and guidance
The care happens in a vehicle, often far from base, with crews working to tight clinical and road-safety limits. This guide gathers the policies, procedure checklists, regulations and articles a service has to get right, in one place.
What CQC weighs in ambulance and patient transport
Ambulance and patient transport services are inspected under the same five key questions as every CQC-registered service, but the care happens in a vehicle, often far from base, with crews working to tight clinical and road-safety limits.
The weight falls on controlled drugs and vehicle medicines, clinical scope and Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) competency, crew welfare and driving hours, the transfer of care and patient handover, and vehicle roadworthiness. The materials below are organised around that evidence trail.
Start with the guidance
Reads that frame what inspectors actually look for in a transport service.
CQC controlled drugs 2025
What CQC controlled drugs 2025 means for provider evidence: prescribing, storage, vehicle medicines, communication and governance review.
CQC for ambulance and patient transport
What CQC expects from ambulance and patient transport services, from controlled drugs to crew competency and vehicle safety.
From safety alert to standing audit
A worked example for patient transport: how a single equipment safety alert becomes an assessment, a fleet-wide action, and a recurring audit.
Policies for ambulance and patient transport
5 sample policies written for ambulance and patient transport services. Each is a starting point to adapt to your service, roles and local arrangements, not a document to adopt unchanged.
- Ambulance
Controlled drugs and vehicle medicines policy (ambulance)
Controlled drugs and vehicle medicines under CQC Regulation 12 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. A Verivius sample template to tailor, not a ready-to-use policy.
- Ambulance
Crew clinical scope and JRCALC competency policy (ambulance)
Defining crew clinical scope and JRCALC and HCPC competency under CQC Regulation 18. Shape this Verivius sample template to your service before use.
- Ambulance
Crew welfare, fitness for shift and driving hours policy (ambulance)
Crew fitness for shift, fatigue and driving-hours limits where CQC Regulation 18 meets working-time law. Adapt this Verivius sample, not a set policy.
- Ambulance
Transfer of care and patient handover policy (ambulance)
Handover from crew to a receiving clinician, framed by Regulation 12(2)(i) and Regulation 17. A Verivius sample template to adapt, not an off-the-shelf policy.
- Ambulance
Vehicle defect, MOT and roadworthiness policy (ambulance)
Road Traffic Act 1988 and CQC Regulation 12 applied to vehicle defects, MOT and roadworthiness. Adapt this Verivius sample template to your fleet.
Checklists
Audit and readiness checklists to self-check a single area before an inspection.
- Reg 12
CQC medicines management audit checklist
A cross-sector medicines audit checklist for CQC-regulated providers, focused on records, storage, administration, controlled drugs, incidents and audit.
- Reg 12
Business continuity and emergency preparedness procedure checklist
A business continuity and emergency preparedness checklist for small CQC-regulated providers, focused on planning, roles, service recovery and testing.
The general checklists (incidents, safeguarding, staffing, training) apply to transport services too. Browse the full checklist library.
The regulations that carry the most weight
The standards a transport service is most often tested against, each with the duty quoted from the primary source.
Regulation 12: safe care and treatment
Safe care: controlled drugs, clinical scope and equipment.
Regulation 13: safeguarding
Recognising and referring safeguarding concerns in transit.
Mental Capacity Act decisions
Capacity and best-interests records for conveyance decisions.
Regulation 17: good governance
The living records that show the service is well-led.
Regulation 20: duty of candour
Being open and honest with patients when something goes wrong.
Statutory notifications
What CQC has to be told about, and when.
See the ambulance setup in your service
The policies and checklists are free to download and adapt. Verivius loads the ambulance and patient transport content into your account from day one, so controlled drugs, crew competency, handover, vehicle checks and CQC notifications sit in one structured trail. A Verivius consultant (an ex-CQC inspector) can also work through any of this with you against the live regulation and your service shape.
Free to start, no card. A 14-day trial when you subscribe.
Last reviewed 14 July 2026