Baby Grows Scan Clinic Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

At our last assessment we rated this key question Inadequate, at this assessment the rating has changed to Good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm. The service had undertaken work to ensure they met the health and safety requirements for the service. They had met the required standards for safeguarding and infection control which had been a requirement from the last assessment

This service scored 62 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learned to continually identify and embed good practice.

The registered manager was able to demonstrate a clear knowledge of reporting, investigating, and the process of sharing incidents with staff and understood their responsibility to report any notifiable incidents.

Any incidents and complaints would be discussed in the team meetings, although there had been no incidents, this was routinely included on the agenda. The service had not had any adverse incidents over the last 12 months. They had received one complaint which they had reflected on and changed practice.

The service sonographer had clinical supervision with another sonographer through their NHS network.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services.

The sonographer made it clear to women that scans completed at the service were in addition to those provided as part of their NHS maternity care pathway and they still needed to attend their NHS care.

The service used the ‘Paused and Checked’ checklist devised by the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) and Society of Radiographers. The sonographer completed the checks during scans, which included confirming the woman’s identity and consent, providing clear information and instructions.

The service had a clear pathway for early pregnancy referrals to support should they find an anomaly during pregnancy scans. Staff were clear on the referral process.

Women were advised to attend their local NHS early pregnancy unit or hospital and were provided with a scan report detailing the sonographer’s findings. The service supported women by giving them the contact information of the local NHS service, they would make an appointment for them if they had been given permission to do so.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They concentrated on improving people's lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The service shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

The registered manager was the safeguarding lead and trained to level 3, there was a safeguarding policy in place which was in date and reflected national guidance. Staff were trained in safeguarding level 2, they knew how to make a safeguarding referral and how to access the local authority if required. All staff had completed safeguarding training and the staff we spoke with knew how to make a safeguarding alert

Staff ensured that children who had accompanied a family to the service were to be supervised by an accompanying adult. Staff we spoke with knew how to identify adults and children at risk of, or suffering, significant harm. This included working in partnership with other agencies.

People accessing the service aged 16-18 had to bring a named person aged 18 or over with them. Identification was checked when they accessed the service. The registered manager told us that up to now any women who had accessed the service in this age range had been accompanied their mother.

The service made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people's individual needs.

The registered manager was the only sonographer and therefore clinics only took place when they were available. Following the previous assessment the service manager ensured there were robust and safe recruitment practices to make sure that all staff had the correct employment checks in place prior to starting in their role.

The service had improved their mandatory training system since the last inspection. All staff had received and were up to date with appropriate mandatory training, the registered manager had a tracking system in place to monitor mandatory training. All staff had received resuscitation training. All staff had received an appraisal and had clinical supervision.

The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly.

There were several infection control concerns at the last inspection, and these had all been addressed.

The service was situated on the first floor in a shared building, stairs were clear. The service shared toilet facilities within the building and the service regularly checked this area for cleanliness and documented them.

The waiting room was clean and situated adjacent to the reception and scanning room. The rooms were visibly clean, staff cleaned equipment as per manufactures guidance. Furniture was well maintained and clean.

Cleaning records were completed.

Staff were bare below the elbows and washed their hands before and after each scan. Personal and protective equipment such as latex-free gloves and antiseptic wipes were available for staff to use at the service.

Staff adhered to infection control policies, there were handwashing facilities in the scanning room, which had been installed following the previous inspection. Staff had received handwashing training and there were NHS handwashing posters on the wall. Hand gel was in place in appropriate dispensers for people to use.

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment and equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.
The equipment used was appropriate for the ultrasound procedures provided. The manufacturer provided the maintenance and servicing of the ultrasound machine. The service records for the equipment showed us the scanner was maintained regularly.

Staff handled waste and disposed of it in a way that kept people safe.

The service had a first aid and spill kit located in the scanning area. The contents of both were checked and in date.

There was sufficient storage for equipment, which were stored appropriately. Staff had access to equipment such as gloves, aprons, hand gel and ultrasound gel. All ultrasound gels were in small non-refillable manufacturers bottles as recommended in the previous inspection, in date and bottles were dated when they had been opened.

The premises had clearly marked fire alarm points, we saw evidence that staff had all received local fire safety and evacuation training. Fire extinguishers were accessible, stored appropriately, and were all up to date with their services. The registered manager had undergone health and safety training and was responsible for overall risk management in the clinic. There was a health and safety policy in place which was a requirement from the previous assessment.

We did not look at Medicines optimisation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.