St John Ambulance commissioned a survey from Island Global Research earlier this year. Some 1,500 people responded.
96% of people who used the emergency ambulance service in the past year rated their overall experience as good, very good or excellent.
97% of people were highly complementary of the level of respect and dignity they experienced, while 98% rated the professionalism of ambulance crews as high or very high.
The survey also highlighted the way that ambulance crews involved patients in the decisions around their care, and the satisfaction about the treatment and advice received.
The non-emergency patient transfer service, which transports patients to and from medical appointments also scored highly in the research, with 93% of users rating their overall experience as good, very good or excellent.
A similar number reported a high or very high standard of care.
‘The results of the survey reflect a high-level of care and compassion shown by our ambulance crews, both in the emergency and non-emergency services,’ said Dean de la Mare, head of operations.
He said that patients responding to the survey had highlighted ‘exceptional compassion, kindness and respect’ and described the paramedic team as highly professional.
There were also positive comments from those who had seen the way the team supported vulnerable patients, those with mobility issues and those in severe pain.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank our ambulance crews for the exceptional service they deliver to our community every day,’ he said.
The survey was last carried out four years ago and results were said to be very similar.
‘Overall approval for the non-emergency patient transfer service has gone up while support for the emergency ambulance service remains very high,’ said Mr de la Mare.
‘There will always be areas of improvement and the results and the comments will help us develop the service and look at any areas that need addressing.’
The public was also asked about the annual ambulance subscription scheme. 96% of members said they would recommend it to others and 86% of people agreed or strongly agreed that the subscription was good value for money at £71 per person, particularly considered against the standard charge for an emergency call-out at £585.
Mr de la Mare said that awareness of the subscription scheme had improved and the vast majority of members and non-members felt it was value for money, though some said it was still too expensive.
‘But the cost of a subscription is much lower than a single ambulance call-out and we do offer a monthly payment option,’ he added.
The survey also requested feedback on the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre, which answers all 999 calls. 90% of respondents said their experience of JESCC was good to excellent, with 91% happy with the speed of answering and 92% praising the professionalism of the call-handler.
Other key results showed 22% of respondents said they were experiencing a life-threatening emergency when they called the ambulance, while 75% said their call was an emergency but not life threatening.
Most people who were experiencing a non life-threatening situation said they did not consider phoning their GP first. 90% of patients who were treated at home or discharged at the scene said they were satisfied with the decision.
St John Ambulance last underwent a full review of its services a decade ago, at a time when it was struggling financially and its future was under serious review.
Earlier this year it part-merged the emergency service and its charity arm under a new management team in an internal reshuffle.
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