Baby Scan Studio Ashford

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

The key question Well-Led meant we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. We assessed 7 quality statements, and we found there had been significant improvement within this key question since our last assessment. The rating in this assessment has changed to Good.

Leaders had a shared vision for the service, they had managed their resources well to deliver improvements needed. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively, and they did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

This service scored 75 (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 shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The service was focused on providing safe and high-quality care. The service did not have a written vision for the service in place. However, the registered manager was focused on providing a safe and client centred service to women and birthing people.

Staff demonstrated a positive, compassionate, listening culture that promoted trust to women and birthing people using the service.

It was clear following the previous assessment the service manager had worked hard to improve governance; staff learning and strive for improvement. There was a clear procedure in place to complete staff employment checks, all policies and guidance related specifically to the service, were in date and reviewed. Staff had completed in-house training and there had been guidance and training introduced on Equality and Diversity and Mental Capacity Act.

There are plans in place to move the service to a larger building directly opposite the current premises. This premises would offer accessibility to all women and birthing people as well as a separate waiting area for women and birthing people waiting for their scan appointment. The service was also in discussion of sharing the rental of the property with a group of local midwives who provided private antenatal services.

Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The registered manager was also the owner of the business and held overall responsibility for regulatory compliance. The registered manager had oversight of the everyday running of the service, as well as the supervision and appraisals of all sonographers and scanning assistants.

The registered manager told us they kept up to date with the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) and we saw evidence of up-to-date current guidance on the service’s website, policies and posters on information boards around the service.

Staff felt the registered manager was supportive, visible, and always approachable.

Staff felt confident they could raise concerns with the registered manager and told us there was a supportive culture within the team.

Staff we met were friendly, welcoming, and confident. Staff told us they felt supported, respected, and valued. Staff enjoyed coming to work and were proud to work for the service, they spoke positively about what they do and demonstrated pride in their work.

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

The service used feedback from clients to improve service provision and quality. The service encouraged women and birthing people to provide feedback through online reviews or emails.

The registered manager told us after a scan, women and birthing people would get a reminder via email to leave feedback. Online reviews were monitored and the service manager responded to them.

We saw the registered manager engage positively and very well with staff.

Staff told us they were given the opportunity to feel involved in the running of the service and were able to give feedback and suggestions.

The service worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

Following on from the previous assessment the service had put in place an Equality and Diversity policy, and all staff had completed equality and diversity training.

Staff used a team mobile chat service to engage with each other and to keep the team updated regarding any changes, updated information, learning or incidents.

The service manager was keen to move to a larger premises to be able to offer a more inclusive service which would be accessible to all women and birthing people.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

The service manager had worked hard to improve the governance within the service since our last assessment. We found effective governance processes, throughout.

Staff at all levels were clear about their roles and accountabilities and had regular opportunities to meet, discuss and learn from the performance of the service.

The service manager had overall responsibility for the governance processes and quality monitoring. We saw evidence of this clearly through staff meeting minutes, policies and during discussions with staff. Team meeting minutes showed staff were given updates, training and regularly informed of guidance changes.

The service had introduced transvaginal scans to early pregnancy scans. It was clear through discussions with staff that there had been a lot of work put in place to support the introducing transvaginal scans. All staff were fully trained, there was a specific transvaginal scan policy in place and there had been training and guidance in regard to the disposing of clinical waste.

The service had policies and procedures for the operation of the service, which were available to staff in a folder in the clinic. All policies were up to date, reviewed annually and were specific to the service. The registered manager carried out regular audits and provided feedback to the team.

Women, birthing people and their families were able to access and read the service policies which were placed in a folder within the waiting room. The service manager was keen to be transparent and open with women and birthing people who used the service.

The service had indemnity insurance which covered the service and all staff working there.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

Staff were open and transparent, and they collaborated and had good relationships with local NHS trusts including early pregnancy units. Sonographers used referral pathways to ensure women and birthing people received timely on-going care, such as when they identified foetal deformities or a miscarriage.

Staff supported women and birthing people through the referral process to local NHS trusts via a referral letter and a copy of their scan report. The registered manager would follow this up the next day with the woman, to ascertain whether they attended or if they need further support.

The registered manager monitored the demands of the clinic and planned opening hours accordingly. The service provided flexible opening times, which were mostly evenings and weekends.

The service focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The service made effective use of peer reviews, and learning was shared during team meetings to make improvements to the service. The clinic used customer feedback to help improve the service.