WILTSHIRE Ambulance Service has vowed to brush up its act after an independent report highlighted low staff morale and out dated communication equipment.

The Commission for Health Improvement issued the report after a week-long investigation into the Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust in January.

The trust received the lowest rating in each of seven areas, and staff reported low morale and alleged bullying.

Chief executive Dennis Lauder said an action plan had already been drawn up and work was well under way to tackle the problems identified.

"I think this report has been helpful," he said. "We will focus on the issues that affect us.

"I am confident the people of Wiltshire are getting a good service, but we need to improve the internal structure of the organisation."

A team of ten inspectors and a manager drew a fine-toothed comb through the organisation during the inspection, analysing six months' data, interviewing staff and stakeholders, and checking out procedures and policies.

Their findings were made public last week and the CHI recommended the management team needed to make changes to create an open, just and supportive culture for staff.

Ambulance crews were described as dedicated, enthusiastic and committed to good quality care for their patients but outdated communication equipment was criticised.

"The trust's radio system is inadequate. This affects response time reporting and limits the ability of ambulance crews to communicate with the control room in an emergency," the report said.

"The trust lacks an automatic vehicle locating system. This means the trust has no way of knowing accurately the nearest vehicle to an accident."

The current communication system is 15 years old and Mr Lauder said it does not include electronic data transfer, enabling the time of an ambulance response to be automatically recorded.

He said the system is due to be replaced in the next two years, which will enable the trust to gather more accurate information about how well the ambulance service is operating.

The assessment of systems for staffing and management criticised the lack of a human resources department and the low morale within the organisation, saying staff did not feel valued.

"Staff feel that management in parts of the trust is autocratic and CHI received some reports of bullying," the report said.

"A number of staff do not feel valued or supported."

Mr Lauder said this issue had cropped up in a number of ambulance trusts.

He attributed the allegation of bullying to a management style within the uniformed service.

"Sometimes management can be a bit heavy-handed," he said.

"When the bell goes off there is no time to discuss whether someone can finish their cup of tea."

He said some people, not identified in the report, had complained they were picked on by their managers.

"We will investigate and deal with this," Mr Lauder said. "I know where some of the concerns come from. The trust board will not wish to be associated with this kind of behaviour."

He plans to improve communication among the trust's 300 staff, as well as working on equality of opportunity, training and career development.

"Managers are also under a lot of pressure and may forget to say when a job is well done," he said.

"The trust handles around 250 emergency and urgent calls a day in the county, and some of the jobs are really difficult."