The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

Baby Grows Scan Clinic Limited

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Prospect Business Park, 1st Floor, Valley View Leadgate, Consett, DH8 7PW 07535 971210

Provided and run by:
Baby Grows Scan Clinic Limited

All Inspections

During an assessment of Diagnostic imaging

The service was assessed on 3 June 2025. The service was previously assessed on 10 February 2021 and was rated overall as inadequate. We carried out a full assessment to determine how the service had addressed the improvement requirements from the previous report since the previous inspection. We visited the clinic as part of the assessment, and we rated the service as Good overall. The service had made improvements and is no longer in breach of regulations. There was a comprehensive health and safety policy in place and the registered manager had undergone health and safety training which included waste management. Infection control precautions were in place, including new handwashing facilities. The service ensured staff had the correct employment checks in place, and staff had completed mandatory training and had access to clinical supervision. The service had employed more clinic assistants which reduced incidents of lone working. The registered manager had developed a clear clinical assessment document, and the booking system had been redesigned which enabled the service to ensure women and birthing people met the clinic assessment criteria.

During an assessment of the hospital overall

Baby Grows Scan Clinic Ltd was a service providing ultrasound scans to pregnant women and other people who give birth from 6 weeks gestation through to term. We refer to women in this report, but we recognise that some transgender men, non-binary people and people with variations in sex characteristics (VSC) or who are intersex may also use services and experience some of the same issues. 

 The aim and purpose of the service was to provide women and their families with reassurance and early bonding opportunities with their unborn baby. The service operates in the Leadgate area of Consett, County Durham. The service had a registered manager in place since November 2021. The registered manager was also currently a registered midwife and sonographer. The service offered flexible appointments to meet individual’s needs. The service provided a range of ultrasound scans including early pregnancy, 2D reassurance scans, gender scans and 4D scans for young people aged 16 to 18 and women aged 18 upwards. It was registered to provide the regulated activity of diagnostic and screening procedures 

 

10 February 2023

During a routine inspection

We had not previously inspected this service. We rated it as inadequate because:

  • The service did not provide or monitor mandatory training. Facilities were not designed to meet the needs of all women. Equipment was not always used appropriately to keep women safe. Staffing was not always enough to meet the needs of women. Care records were not detailed. Staff did not assess risk to women including infection risk was not always controlled well. The service did not have processes in place to identify and record incidents.
  • The service did not provide good care and treatment. Managers did not monitor the effectiveness of the service or make sure that staff were competent.
  • The service did not always take account of individual needs.
  • The service did not meet the needs of all people because of the location. The service did not make it easy for people to follow a complaints process.
  • Managers did not run services well because detailed policies were not available and there were no systems for outcome monitoring.

However:

  • Staff knew what to do in an emergency.
  • Staff worked well together for the benefit of women, explained information clearly and provided information through the website on how to lead healthier lives.
  • Staff treated women with compassion and kindness and respected their privacy and dignity.
  • The service offered appointments at times to suit women. They made it easy for people to book appointments at short notice.
  • The service received positive feedback from those who used it.

Following this inspection we served the provider a Warning Notice under Section 29 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The warning notice told the provider they were in breach of Regulations 12 and 17 and gave the provider a timescale to make improvements to achieve compliance. The principles we use when rating providers requires CQC to reflect enforcement action in our ratings. The warning notice identified concerns in the safe and well-led domain. This means that the warning notice we served has limited the rating for safe and well-led to inadequate.