Meet The Baby

Updated 8 August 2022

Meet The Baby in Warrington (the clinic location) is operated by Meet The Baby Limited. The clinic provides self-referred, privately funded pregnancy scans. The clinic has one scan room, a reception area/waiting room and an area where women can choose their photographs and keepsakes. It is located in central Warrington on the ground floor of a building close to the rail station and is fully accessible. The clinic is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Diagnostic and screening procedures

The clinic offers a range of ultrasound scans from six to 32 weeks gestation. Scan options include early pregnancy reassurance scans, conducted by a qualified sonographer; early gender scans from 15 weeks, 3D and 4D gender scans, 4DHD live bonding scans and 2D gender scans. The service states that it does not carry out any diagnostic scans.

The service provides keepsake pictures and DVDs to people who use the service as well as other optional keepsakes such as heartbeat bears and gender reveal balloons and cannons. The clinic employs a registered manager who acts as an ultrasound technician, a receptionist and a sonographer who is able to carry out early reassurance scans, as well as gender identification and bonding scans. The registered manager has been in post since February 2021.

We had not inspected or rated this service before.

Updated 8 August 2022

We have not inspected this service before. We rated it as requires improvement because:

• Staff had training in key skills but the provider did not have details of what ongoing arrangements were in place to deliver annual mandatory training.
• The service did not control infection risk well.
• The service did not always assess risks to women and act on them.
• The privacy and dignity of women was not always maintained when findings were being relayed to NHS services by telephone.
• Leaders operated governance processes but there was no formal governance framework in place and there were gaps in the system for reviewing policies and procedures. Governance processes could be improved by having a written strategy and ensuring that all policies and procedures had a review date.

However:

• The service had enough staff to care for women and keep them safe, understood how to protect women from abuse, and managed safety well. Staff kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of women and supported them to make decisions about their care.
• Staff treated women with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity (except on one witnessed occasion when telephoning NHS services), took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to women, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of women’s individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it.
• Leaders ran services using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and mission statement and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of women receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with women and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 8 August 2022

We have not inspected this service before. We rated it as requires improvement. See the summary above for details