South East Coast Ambulance Trust rating has been downgraded from good to requires improvement by the Care Quality Commission.

An inspection by the CQC in August looked at Secamb’s urgent and emergency care, and its resilience teams. In June a CQC report found bullying had become “normalised” at Secamb.

Following the latest report, the trust said it has an improvement plan in place, which includes improving learning from incidents, further recruitment and greater retention of staff and reducing hospital handover delays.

The trust’s individual rating for caring remains rated as good.