Window To The Womb

Updated 12 August 2019

Window to the Womb - Bexleyheath is operated by Cocoro Group Limited. The service opened in 2014. It is a private clinic in Bexleyheath, in the London borough of Bexley. The clinic primarily serves the communities of South East London. It also accepts women from outside this area.

The clinic has had a registered manager in post since October 2015. At the time of our inspection, a new clinic manager had been appointed following the previous manager’s resignation. An interim registered manager was also in post pending completion of the new manager’s probationary period, training and registration with the CQC.

The clinic provided baby scans including early pregnancy scans, well-being checks and growth and presentation scans.

Updated 12 August 2019

Window to the Womb - Bexleyheath is managed by Cocoro Group Limited. The clinic operates under a franchise agreement with Window to the Womb (Franchise) Limited. The service provides diagnostic obstetric ultrasound services for pregnant women from six weeks to full term. The service consist of a reception/waiting area, a scan room, staff kitchen and a rest room.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out a short-notice announced visit on 31 May 2019. We gave staff one working days’ notice that we were coming to inspect to ensure availability of relevant staff.

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.

We rated the service as Good overall.

• There were effective systems to protect people from harm. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

• Staff kept detailed records of patients’ care and treatment. Records were clear, up-to-date and stored securely.

• Staff provided evidence based care and treatment in line with national guidelines and local policies. There was a program of local audits to improve patient care.

• The service made sure staff were competent for their roles. Managers appraised staff’s work performance. There was effective multidisciplinary working between staff within the clinic and across the franchise.

• Feedback from women and their families about the service was positive. Staff respected the confidentiality, dignity and privacy of women.

• Services were developed to meet the needs of women and their families. Women could access the service when they needed it.

• The service treated concerns and complaints seriously, investigated them and learned lessons from the results, and shared these with all staff.

• The service had a vision for what it wanted to achieve and plans to turn it into action. Managers promoted a positive culture that supported and valued staff.

  However;

• We were not assured staff recognised incidents and reported them appropriately.

Nigel Acheson

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (London and South)

Updated 12 August 2019