Window to the Womb

Updated 15 October 2019

Window to the Womb Southampton is operated by Baby Bonding Limited.

As part of the agreement, the franchisor Window to the Womb Limited provides the service with regular on-site support, access to their guidelines, policies, training and the use of their business model and brand.

Window to the Womb Southampton opened in 2016 and provides diagnostic pregnancy ultrasound services to self-funding women, who are more than six weeks pregnant and aged 16 years and above. All ultrasound scans performed at Window to the Womb are in addition to those provided through the NHS.

The service was registered with the CQC to undertake the regulated activity of diagnostic and screening procedures.

We have not previously inspected this service.

The service did not use or store any medications.

The group clinic manager was training a senior scan assistant to become the registered manager for the Window to the Womb Southampton location. The group clinic manager was responsible for overseeing seven Window to the Womb locations. At the time of our inspection the group clinic manager was managing the Window to the Womb Southampton.

Updated 15 October 2019

Window to the Womb Southampton is operated by Baby Bonding Limited.

The service provides diagnostic imaging for women aged 16 and above. It is registered to provide the regulated activity of diagnostic and screening procedures.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out a short notice announced inspection on 12 August 2019. We gave staff one working days’ notice that we were coming to inspect to ensure the availability of senior staff and clinics.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Services we rate

We have not previously inspected this service. We rated it as Good overall.

We found the following areas of good practice:

• The service had enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep people safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care. Managers appraised staff’s work performance annually and checked to make sure staff had the right qualifications and professional registration for their roles.
• Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse and the service worked well with other agencies to do so.
• The environment met the needs of the range of people who accessed the service including toys for children to play with whilst waiting for parents’ appointments. The service controlled infection risks effectively.
• Women could access services and appointments in a way and a time that suited them. The service used technology innovatively to ensure women had timely access to ultrasound scans.
• The service provided care and treatment based on national guidance and could evidence its effectiveness. Managers monitored the effectiveness of care and treatment and used the findings to improve them. The service evaluated images to ensure they were of good quality.
• The service treated concerns and complaints seriously. If a complaint received the registered manager would complete a comprehensive investigation and share lessons learnt with all staff.
• The service improved service quality and safeguarded high standards of care by creating an environment for good clinical care.
• Staff were caring, compassionate, kind and engaged well with women and their families.
• The service took account of patient’s individual needs for example if an early scan showed a miscarriage the women could exit the clinic via another exit rather than passing other waiting pregnant women.
• Managers promoted a positive culture that supported and valued staff. Staff reported their team worked well together and staff trusted and respected each other.
• The service collected, analysed, managed and used information to support all its activities, using secure electronic systems with security safeguards.
• The service effectively managed risks and could cope with both the expected and the unexpected.

Dr Nigel Acheson

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (London and South).

Updated 15 October 2019

Diagnostics was the only activity the service provided. We rated the safe as good because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.