Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance awarded 'outstanding' rating
Care Quality Commission rated the charity 'outstanding' in their inspection
Hampshire and Isle of Wight's Air Ambulance service's been awarded the highest possible rating by the Care Quality Commission.
The service has been rated 'Outstanding' with inspectors saying the service treated people with "kindness, empathy and compassion".
This is the first time the CQC has rated Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance service.
Nick Gray, Paramedic Clinical Lead at the service, said: "We are very happy and very proud.
"I'm very proud of all our staff and both clinical and non-clinical charity staff who have worked really hard for not just the last few years, but actually, we've been a charity for around 19 years now.
"It took a huge amount of effort and pioneering spirit for those original people to get us off the ground and relied on the generosity of our donors, which is still true today.
"We hope we've represented them well and we've done them proud by spending their money as wise as we can and keeping our standards as high as we can to achieve this outstanding rating from CQC."
The service, which is funded by HIOWAA Charity and run in conjunction with University Hospital Southampton (UHS), has been rated ‘Outstanding’ following a comprehensive inspection by the independent regulator in October 2025.
Inspectors praised the service, noting “evidence showed an exceptional standard in how the service treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion, and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity.”
The regulator added that the crews “go above and beyond to anticipate people’s needs and take steps to ensure preventable discomfort, concern or distress for people”.
They said patients and their families feel “overwhelmingly positive” about the service and “staff listened to them and kept them informed about what was happening throughout their care.”
The CQC describes the quality of care using four ratings: outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate. Inspectors assessed the service on five key standards: ‘Safe’, ‘Effective’, ‘Caring’, ‘Responsive’ and ‘Well-led’ – awarding the service outstanding in all categories.
The inspector went on to add: “The service was exceptional at making sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices… Patients said staff helped them feel at ease and ensured that they were comfortable. Families told us how they felt that the care their loved one had received was excellent.”
Dr Simon Hughes, HIOWAA clinical lead and critical care consultant at UHS, said: “It is an exceptionally proud moment for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to receive this rating and recognition.
"Every decision we make has our patients’ best interest at its core and we continually strive to improve and enhance our service.
“This report is testament to the immense dedication of the crew and our support staff who continually go above and beyond to provide our patients and their families with truly exceptional critical care 365 days a year.”