Ultrasound Best

Updated 11 September 2023

Ultrasound Best is operated by an individual, sometimes referred to as a ‘sole trader’. Individuals register in their own name as a legal entity and are directly responsible for carrying on the regulated activity at a service. Where the service provider is an individual, they do not need to have a registered manager unless they are not a fit person to manage the regulated activity, or they do not intend to be in day-to-day charge of how the regulated activity is provided. The individual provider of Ultrasound Best is a trained sonographer and qualified radiographer employed in the NHS, they perform all the scans delivered by the service. The provider employs reception and administrative staff to support the delivery of the regulated activity.

The service registered with CQC in January 2022 and is registered to provide diagnostic and screening procedures. We have not previously inspected the service.

The service is predominantly a private baby scan service but also offers scans to Service users concerned about fertility or pelvic pain. The service’s website allows Service users to book fertility, early pregnancy, reassurance, presentation, and 3D or 4D scans.

The CQC recognises two types of baby scanning service: diagnostic and souvenir scanning. Diagnostic scans are defined as using ultrasound to check the health of a baby and check the pregnancy is progressing as planned. A souvenir scan is defined as using ultrasound to record pictures or videos of the baby to keep as a memento. Souvenir scans are not for diagnosing problems with a pregnancy. During our inspection of Ultrasound Best we found the provider referred to the service, in their terms and conditions, as ‘non-diagnostic’ however the provider told us they gave Service users verbal feedback about their baby’s health and development. The provider also gave Service users a written report and referred them to NHS services if they had any concerns about the pregnancy. Therefore, we inspected the service under our diagnostic imaging framework.

Updated 11 September 2023

We rated the service requires improvement because:

• The provider did not always operate effective governance to ensure staff practice aligned to policies and policies were not always up to date.
• The provider did not always fully identify and consider the risks to service users and staff and did not always collect enough information to safeguard people effectively.
• Staff did not always complete mandatory training on time and the provider did not always check they completed.
• The provider did not always operate robust recruitment processes to ensure staff were ‘fit and proper’ for their role.

However:

• The provider implemented innovative initiatives to support patients at risk of domestic abuse.
• The clinic environment was fit for purpose and a welcoming environment for service users and their families.
• Staff worked well together to support service users and were passionate about delivering good care. Service user’s feedback was consistently positive.
• The service had effective systems in place to refer service users to other services if they needed to.

Updated 11 September 2023

We rated this service requires improvement. See the overall summary above for details.