Window To The Womb Stoke

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that women and communities were always at the centre of how care was planned and delivered. We checked that the health and care needs of women and communities were understood, and they were actively involved in planning care that met these needs. We also looked for evidence that patient could access care in ways which met their personal circumstances and protected equality characteristics.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.

This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

We have not awarded this service a score for Responsive.

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

The evidence showed a good standard. The service made sure women were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with women, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

The service was designed for women’s needs and staff told us how important the parents and babies wellbeing were to them.

Leaders made sure staff, women and families had access to a laptop which they used for those whose first language was not English. The laptop was used to interpret and could be taken into the scanning room if needed. Staff were able to give us an example of when they had used this and how it had a positive outcome.

The clinic was accessible by wheelchair and step-free access was provided. The reception area and the waiting area had a seating area, toilet and baby changing facilities. The car park was close to the entrance. There was sufficient space in the waiting areas and the scanning room for women to bring family with them.

Leaders told us how they had given all mothers who visited them on Mother's Day a bouquet of flowers.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service understood the diverse health and care needs of women and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The service planned and provided care in ways which met the needs of local women, and the communities served. They worked with others in the wider system and local organisations to plan care where relevant. For example, leaders told us how they had partnered up with several other businesses. They also worked closely and had a good relationship with the local hospitals.

The service had a wide variety of appointments to suit different needs. From Monday to Wednesday the service was open from 11.30 am to 6.30 pm, on Thursday it was open from 4.30pm to 9pm and at weekends it was open from 9am to 5.30 pm.

Women were told about and knew all the planned costs. When a woman was responsible for paying the costs of their care or treatment, they were provided with terms and conditions in respect of the services to be provided, including the amount and method of payment of fees. They paid a deposit and then the outstanding amount on arrival.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The service made information available that advised women around pregnancy health related conditions and provided guidance and advice via information leaflets in the clinic. Women were provided with an information pack when they came for a scan, on their scan report as well as on the website.

There were television screens in the waiting area that provided pregnancy and health information to waiting women and their families on health and wellbeing.

Staff had an allocated laptop available for those whose first language was not English. They would use the laptop to utilise an online translation service. Staff were able to give an example of when this had been used with a patient and how they had been able to communicate effectively as a result. Booking systems had a section where information such as that around consent could be translated.

We saw detailed information leaflets detailing advantages of a transvaginal scan over a transabdominal scan. There was a ‘meet the team; notice board in the waiting area with staff photographs and names. It also had information on the best time regarding weeks of gestation to go for a scan.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

Learning from complaints and concerns was seen as an opportunity for improvement. The service and staff made it easy for women to share feedback and ideas or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They were involved in decisions about their care and were well informed about the scanning process.

Women, their family, and carers could feel confident that if they complained they would be taken seriously and treated compassionately. The service had not had any recent formal complaints, leaders told us when they did have issues raised it usually related to image quality. When issues were raised staff recorded this as soft intelligence electronically for ongoing learning.

Staff were able to give an example of an issue a client had raised with the service which had been recorded as an incident. The registered manager told us how they had called the client and managed to find a solution preventing an official complaint. We saw this had been discussed and documented in the team meeting minutes.

There were feedback forms on display in the clinic which also explained what to do if the service had not met expectations. There were processes in place for complaint escalation if needed. Staff attempted to manage expectations for example by ensuring information was provided such as making them aware they could not guarantee full face shots.

Women were also able to leave feedback on their social media channels where they had received lots of positive feedback about the service and staff.

The evidence showed a good standard. The service made sure that women could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Over the last 12 months, Window To The Womb Stoke saw 4214 people of which 3698 were pregnancy scans, 266 gynecological scans, 218 blood tests, and 32 general scans. Blood tests were sent off site for processing.

Women told us how they had been able to access the service when they needed to and received the right care promptly. There was no waiting list for the service.

Leaders told us how 1 woman had returned to the service to provide the staff with a bunch of flowers to say thank you.

The staff managed the patient flow well. On the day of the inspection there were no delays and women were seen promptly. Staff told how delays could sometimes occur if a woman was to receive bad news and needed some additional time in the scanning room. Staff told us on such occasions they aimed to keep anyone waiting updated.

Women we spoke with during the assessment did not raise any concerns about the length of time they were kept waiting for their appointment.

We did not look at Equity in experiences and outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

The evidence showed a good standard. People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future.

Women were supported to make informed choices about their care and plan their future care, with the support and involvement of their family or carer if they wished.

Staff discussed health lifestyles. They reinforced key information and gave written advice based on current best practice.

Women were provided with information about how they would receive results and from whom.