Elite Community Ultrasound

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

We looked for evidence that people were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. We checked that people’s privacy and dignity was respected, that they understood that they and their experience of how they were treated and supported mattered. We also looked for evidence that every effort was made to take people’s wishes into account and respect their choices, to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.

This was our first assessment of this service. This key question has been rated good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

Staff were deeply committed to treating people with kindness, compassion and respect. We observed caring and professional interactions, with staff communicating clearly and discreetly to protect people's privacy and dignity. Staff recognised the emotional impact that diagnostic investigations, including suspected miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy findings, could have on people and responded with sensitivity and support.

The service provided care which was personalised to meet individual needs, and flexible appointment arrangements helped improve people's experience of the service.

Feedback from people using the service was consistently positive. People were encouraged to ask questions, raise concerns and take an active role in decisions about their care, and staff took time to ensure they felt informed, supported and reassured throughout their appointment.

We have not awarded this service a score for Caring.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Caring.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

The sonographer, who was also the registered manager, was deeply committed to providing[GF1] a service that prioritised kindness, patient support, and clear communication. They took time to make sure patients felt cared for and fully understood the outcomes of their scans or tests.

We observed 4 ultrasound examinations during the assessment and saw that staff interacted with patients in a discreet, respectful and compassionate manner. Staff provided appropriate support, reassurance and information throughout appointments and responded to patients’ individual needs in a timely and person-centred way.

Staff were attentive to patients’ emotional wellbeing and recognised when individuals were anxious about their procedure. They took appropriate steps to provide reassurance and reduce anxiety, making sure patients felt supported and informed throughout the examination. This promoted a positive patient experience and demonstrated a caring, person-centred approach to care.

While there was no formal standard operating procedure for referring patients to other services, staff were able to describe occasions where they had signposted or supported patients to access appropriate services when required. For example staff told us they directed patients to the early pregnancy unit at the local NHS trust when scan findings indicated a possible miscarriage.

The service did not routinely collect patient feedback and instead relied on reviews submitted through online platforms. We reviewed feedback from 2 online review sites and found the majority of reviews were positive. Patients described staff as friendly, kind and welcoming, and commented on the professional and calming environment. Comments included, “staff were so friendly and kind”, “the receptionist was so lovely and welcoming”, and “fantastic service from start to finish”. This feedback was consistent with our observations during the assessment.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff understood and respected patients’ personal, cultural, social, and religious needs and considered how these may impact care and treatment. The provider offered a range of teddy bears as part of its gender reveal package. Recognising that some people may not identify with traditional gender stereotypes, the registered manager had introduced a multi-coloured bear alongside the blue and pink options to better meet the preferences of individual patients.

Feedback was mainly gathered through online review platforms. Reviews indicated that patients felt their individual needs were understood and respected, and the service used feedback to understand patient’s experiences.

Staff recognised and responded to patients’ individual needs. They knew how to support patients at risk of sensory overload or experiencing mental ill health. Staff allocated additional time, or appointments were scheduled to a quieter part of the day, to promote a positive patient experience.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

The provider promoted people’s independence, by making sure people had choice and control over their own care and treatment.

Staff provided reassurance throughout appointments and explained procedures and findings in a way patients could understand. Chaperones were encouraged to speak with the patient and sonographer to engage a conversation around the images and what they meant. During an observed appointment, the sonographer made sure the patient understood what would happen during the scan and encouraged questions throughout.

Staff adapted appointments to meet individual preferences and needs. A comment from a review platform stated, “I wasn’t rushed, he explained everything to me.”

For those patients experiencing heightened anxiety, staff offered flexibility around appointment times and who could accompany them, providing choice and control. Feedback from patients supported this approach, with comments including, “I got an appointment the same day 2 hours after I rang.”, and “We cannot thank you enough for staying later due to fitting us in after closing hours.” This demonstrated that staff supported patients to make choices about their care and experience of the service.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

The registered manager described the approach they take when communicating unexpected or distressing findings to patients. They told us that discussions are always conducted in private, with sufficient time allocated to ensure patients do not feel rushed. The registered manager explained that they offer reassurance and condolences where appropriate, listen carefully to patients' concerns, and provide opportunities for them to ask questions and discuss next steps.

During our assessment, we observed the registered manager interacting with patients during scanning appointments and found their approach was consistent with the examples described. They communicated with patients in a compassionate, respectful and supportive manner, allowing time for patients to express their concerns and responding sensitively to their needs.

We scored the service as 3. The evidence showed a good standard. The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff spoke positively about their work and felt supported in their roles. A receptionist told us they enjoyed their job and working at the service.

Staff understood when to seek support. They told us they would escalate concerns or complex situations to the registered manager where necessary.

The registered manager had set up a group communication app to enable staff to maintain regular contact and share information in a timely manner. This supported effective communication across the service and helped ensure that relevant updates, information and operational matters could be shared quickly and consistently with all staff members.