Baby scan service ordered to improve due to concerns over how it ‘manage risks to women and their babies’

A baby scan service has been ordered to improve after a watchdog raised concerns over how it ‘manages risks to women and their babies’.

Baba Scans, in Rochdale, offers a variety of scans – including early pregnancy and gender/sexing –  ‘for bonding purposes, reassurance and peace of mind throughout pregnancy’.

A recent inspection by the CQC found that staff ‘treated women with compassion and kindness, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions’.

They also provided emotional support to women, families and carers.

But officials have ordered the Reed House clinic to improve after finding it ‘did not always assess risks to women and act on them’.

A new inspection report reads: “We were not assured that the service had appropriate arrangements in place to assess and manage risks to women and their babies.

“Women were not asked to bring their NHS pregnancy notes with them to the scan to check how many weeks pregnant they were and when they last received an ultrasound scan to allow them to make an informed decision about whether to receive additional non-clinical exposure to ultrasound. “

The Hunters Lane centre’s records showed when a woman had last received a scan there. But they were not asked to complete a pre-scan questionnaire about their pregnancy history –  for example, previous miscarriages, stillbirths or abnormalities. 

And while scans are only available to over-18s, women were not asked to bring proof of identity or age with them – although a date of birth was asked for at booking and on the consent form.

Inspectors were also ‘not assured that all staff knew what to do in the event of a medical emergency’.

The report adds: “The manager told us that a suspected ectopic pregnancy would be a medical emergency.

“However, we were told they would not call an ambulance to transfer the woman to hospital for immediate treatment and would advise the woman to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

“In the event of concerns about the pregnancy being suspected, women had to travel to a neighbouring town to receive further assessments.”

There were further concerns that ‘staff did not always follow infection control principles including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)’.

“Masks were not always worn correctly by the staff and were not disposable,” the report notes. And while surgical gloves were available in the scanning room, the manager ‘did not follow infection control principles on being bare below the elbows’.

The clinic was also ordered to ensure arrangements were in place for all staff to undertake mandatory training. 

On a more positive note, however, staff did share key information to keep women safe when handing over their care to others.

The clinic also had an ‘adverse outcome procedure’ in the rare event that a foetal abnormality or other concerns such as no heartbeat were suspected.

While the service was rated ‘good’ in terms of how caring it was, all other areas – including safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership, were deemed to ‘require improvement’.

A spokesperson for Baba Scans said: “Baba Scans Ltd has reviewed the report and whilst we feel that there are certain areas of the report that seem contradictory and not reflective of the dialogue we had with the inspector during the visit, we fully respect the findings and we are committed to continued focus on the areas that require improvement.

“We look forward to building on the feedback and guidance received and demonstrating tangible improvements on the next visit cycle.”

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporting Service