Baby Moments

On this page

• 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has improved to good.

Patients felt well supported, cared for and staff treated them with dignity and respect.

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.

Patients we spoke with described Baby Moments staff as kind and caring. One patient described the sonographer as “a gem” and said all staff made them “feel at home”.

Staff spoke quietly to each other and to patients to maintain confidentiality. The service had no more than 2 patients in the clinic at one time. If a patient was in the waiting area whilst another patient was being scanned, the administrator increased the volume of the background music in the waiting area.

Staff used simple language when explaining scan results and allowed time for patients to ask questions. Staff felt empowered to speak up with concerns or new ideas.

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.

Patients told us staff allowed plenty of time for appointments and they “never feel rushed”. The sonographer ensured they explained every step of the scan, especially with nervous and anxious patients. Patients said if scan results indicated problems, the sonographer allowed extra time and was empathetic and kind.

Patients told us they felt informed about next steps. For example, if they required referrals to other services.

One patient advised they came to this clinic before their NHS scan because they received a more friendly and empathetic service.

We scored the service as 2. The evidence showed some shortfalls. The service did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

The service did not have information adapted for people with additional needs, for example for people with a learning disability. Staff did not always take steps to engage with people as individuals as they told us, in some circumstances, they would rely on the person accompany them to help them understand and consent. Staff advised they had not come across this situation, but they would rely on accompanying people to help the patient understand and consent. This would not be considered best practice or a caring approach as they were not making an effort with the individual.

Patients could choose whether they wanted to see scan images during the procedure. The sonographer could switch the screen on or off depending on patients’ wishes.

Staff gave patients the report from the scan, with photos if appropriate, during the appointment and explained the findings. Leaflets were available to help inform people about decisions they may need to make during pregnancy.

The service saved scan images electronically. They told us patients did not always want pictures at the time of the appointment. However, if patients changed their mind in the future, staff could provide the pictures at any time.

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 sonographer took their time to understand patients’ individual situations. They were prepared to support patients immediately if they found something problematic on the scan and did so with kindness, empathy and understanding.

As there was mostly only one sonographer, patients were treated by the same person every time. Patients told us they valued this as the sonographer knew their history and responded to their immediate needs with understanding.

Patients told us they were pleased to receive their scan report immediately.

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.

Baby Moments was a small service with 4 members of staff. Two members of staff were always present in the clinic. It was clear staff respected each other and felt valued for the work they did.

Staff advised us they could speak up with concerns or ideas at any time without fear of repercussions. It was obvious staff wanted the business to succeed and worked together to offer a good service to the community.

Staff used team meetings to raise anything relating to the business or their working lives. All work-related aspects were recorded in team minutes. We reviewed 3 sets of minutes and saw a variety of discussion regarding annual leave for staff, social get-togethers, and improvement ideas for the business.