A baby clinic has been issued a warning notice after it failed to meet safety and leadership requirements following an inspection.

Healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), inspected the Baby Ultrasound Clinic Limited in Bolton in June in response to specific areas of concerns raised, which were not rated.

Their satellite clinic in Blackpool was also inspected on June 25.

However, key lines of enquiries were looked at, and when it came to the safety and whether it was well-led, the CQC found that several expectations were not being met.

Although the service provided some mandatory training in key skills to all staff, this was not completed consistently according to the report.

After a focused and unannounced inspection, the report stated: “Not all staff providing care or treatment to service users had the qualifications, competence, skills, and experience to do so safely as staff had not received all relevant training.

“The service did not keep comprehensive mandatory training records and ensure all staff had completed the relevant training.

“The service did not ensure that staff had the appropriate safeguarding training at all levels.

“We could not be assured that staff would be able to identify safeguarding concerns and report them appropriately.

“The service did not always ensure the safety of their premises and equipment within it.

“The service did not have suitable facilities at all the locations to meet the needs of women and their families.”

A spokesperson for The Baby Ultrasound Clinic said: “We have been alerted to a few concerns that the CQC team have raised.

“All changes have now been put in place in line with this feedback to improve our service.

“There are several comments in the report that are a little misleading and contradict other points in the report.  

“However, when raised with the CQC we have been informed they use generic wording within their reports that cannot be changed, just slightly amended.” 

At Bolton, the service was located on the ground floor and was accessible for people in wheelchairs or babies in prams.

The reports states that there was a reception area where women and their families were greeted, a waiting area with multiple single seats, a scanning suite, staff kitchen, a toilet, and a storeroom.

But that the area behind the reception areas was cluttered with various items stored underneath the reception desk.

Some other safety concerns which were raised highlighted that "effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services" was not provided.

The report added: “Staff did not always recognise and report incidents and near misses.

“The service did not maintain secure records in relation to persons employed in the carrying on of the regulated activities regarding their competency and suitability to perform their roles.

“They did not always identify and escalate relevant risks and issues nor take action to reduce their impact.”

The inspection also found that the manager “did not always understand and manage the priorities and issues the service faced”, and that plans were not in place to “cope with unexpected events”.

However, some of the positives which were found included leaders being visible and approachable, and staff feeling respected, supported, and valued.

The service did not always control infection risk well, but the provider kept equipment and the premises "visibly clean".

The service was last inspected in January 2019 and was rated as "requires improvement" overall, with safe and well-led being rated as "requires improvement".

The clinic was issued a warning notice under Section 29 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The notice has outlined a list of significant improvements that should be actioned in the clinic's processes to ensure the quality and safety of services provided, which are all required by law.

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