Taunton Road Medical Centre in Bridgwater, is operated by Somerset Early Scans Limited. They are based on the first floor in the GP surgery of the same name. This service provides obstetric ultrasound scanning for pregnant women from 18 years of age, scanning from six weeks of pregnancy to full term. They also provide non-invasive pre-natal test and women’s health scans. The service is provided to self-funding women across Somerset.
The service provided the single specialty core service, diagnostic imaging. We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out a short notice announced inspection on 25 July 2019.
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.
This was our first inspection of the service since the service opened in September 2014 and re-registered in 2016, this was due to change in their legal identity. We rated it as Good overall.
We found the following areas of good practice:
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A safe service was provided. Staff had the experience, qualifications and skills, and had completed mandatory training. They understood how to protect people from abuse and report incidents.
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The service had a suitable environment and equipment available. Staff knew how to reduce the risk of cross infection.
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Records of women’s care and treatment were completed, and a clear referral pathway was available to refer on to other services if a scan identified a concern or anomaly.
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An effective service was delivered based on national guidance and an audit programme had been developed to monitor the outcomes for women. Staff followed mental capacity and consent legislation to make sure they were meeting the needs of the women who used the service.
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Staff received induction based on their needs and those of the service. This was to help make sure they were competent in their role and included checks of relevant registration with their professional bodies. All staff had a wealth of knowledge as they worked in similar fields in their other roles in the NHS.
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Staff worked with other healthcare providers when needed.
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A high level of care and support was provided within the service. Staff cared for women and their family/friends with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
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Staff explained in detail and in a language women and those close to them could understand about the scan and outcomes. Women and those close to them had time to ask questions and look at their report and were involved in any decision making required.
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Staff provided emotional support to women and their family/friends to help minimise their distress following upsetting news. They followed up with the women post scan to continue to offer emotional support and signpost them to other organisations that could also offer support and guidance.
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The service was responsive to the needs of women and their families/friends. Women were able to access an appointment when they needed it and information was provided online about the services offered.
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Concerns and complaints were investigated, and the outcome fed back to those who had raised them. Lessons were learned and shared with all staff.
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The service was well-led with strong leadership and a positive culture was promoted and present among staff. The service engaged with women and their families/friends, and staff, to help plan and improve service provision.
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The provider monitored and reviewed service quality to safeguarded high standards of care. There were systems to identify risks and plans to eliminate or reduce them.
However, some areas needed further improvement:
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Evidence of Disclosure and Barring Service checks (DBS) were not always in place before staff started work.
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References for new staff did not always contain information about their conduct from senior staff from their last place of work .
Following our inspection, we told the provider they should make improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.
Dr Nigel Acheson
Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals, London and the South