Window To The Womb

Window To The Womb is a CQC-registered diagnostic and imaging centre based at 94 The Parade in Watford, within the East region. The registered provider is New Beginnings South Ltd, the legal entity accountable to the regulator for the quality and safety of care delivered here.

A diagnostic and screening service carries out the tests that answer clinical questions: imaging such as X-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI; physiological measurement such as ECGs and echocardiograms; and screening programmes from blood tests to endoscopy. Window To The Womb operates under CQC registration, with imaging additionally governed by IR(ME)R — the regulations controlling every use of ionising radiation on patients in the UK.

The sector spans NHS community diagnostic centres, hospital outpatient departments and independent clinics offering self-pay scans. The practical differences are speed and referral route: NHS diagnostics are free but scheduled by clinical priority, while independent centres like many in this category offer scans within days for a fixed fee — often with a GP or specialist referral still required for clinically appropriate imaging.

The location is administered by Hertfordshire in the East region, in a city with 146 registered healthcare providers of all types. Anyone pursuing council-funded care or community referrals will deal with services organised at this local-authority level.

The CQC's most recent recorded check of this location took place on 15 February 2019. Inspection reports are public documents, and the official record for this location is linked in the registration section below — reading the latest report is the single most reliable way to understand how the service performs day to day.

Diagnostic providers register for defined service types and populations. The CQC record for Window To The Womb lists:

Caring for children (0 - 18yrs)

A children's registration brings its own regulatory expectations: paediatric-trained staff, enhanced safeguarding arrangements aligned to children's legislation, family-centred care planning, and premises and equipment appropriate to children and young people rather than scaled-down adult services.

Caring for adults under 65 yrs

Registration for working-age adults signals a service oriented around different goals than elderly care: maintaining employment and family roles, rehabilitation and independence, and care plans built around an active life rather than primarily around frailty management.

Use these declarations actively: they tell you which providers are even eligible for your situation, and they give you the vocabulary for sharper questions. Needs that span more than one group deserve special attention — ask any prospective service how the care plan will address both together, and listen for specifics rather than reassurance.

Because the regulator inspects providers against their declared specialisms, this list is a dependable starting point for the questions you ask before choosing care.

Exact availability varies by location — treat this as the typical scope of a diagnostic and imaging centre and confirm specific treatments directly with Window To The Womb before attending.

X-ray (plain radiography)

Fast imaging of bones, joints and chest — the workhorse test for fractures, chest infections and joint disease.

Ultrasound

Radiation-free imaging of soft tissues, abdomen, pelvis, vascular flow and pregnancy, performed by sonographers or radiologists.

MRI scanning

Detailed cross-sectional imaging of the brain, spine, joints and soft tissues without radiation — the definitive test for many musculoskeletal and neurological questions.

CT scanning

Rapid cross-sectional imaging used for trauma, cancer staging, and chest and abdominal diagnosis, using carefully justified radiation doses.

Blood tests and pathology

Phlebotomy and laboratory analysis from routine profiles to specialist panels, with results returned to the referring clinician.

ECG and cardiac diagnostics

Resting and ambulatory ECGs, echocardiography and blood-pressure monitoring for palpitations, murmurs and hypertension.

Health screening packages

Structured check-ups combining bloods, imaging and physiological tests — useful when targeted at personal risk factors rather than bought off the shelf.

Reporting and second opinions

Consultant radiologist reporting with defined turnaround times, and second-opinion reviews of existing imaging.

To contact Window To The Womb directly, call 01923241516 or use the enquiry route on its website (linked in the contact section above).

For NHS diagnostics, your GP or specialist refers you and the service contacts you with an appointment — you often have a legal right to choose where that referral goes, so you can name Window To The Womb if it holds an NHS contract for the test you need. For self-pay imaging, contact the centre directly; most independent providers can scan within days.

Even privately, expect to need a referral for most imaging: IR(ME)R requires clinical justification for anything involving radiation, and responsible providers apply the same discipline to MRI and ultrasound. Many self-pay centres offer a short screening consultation that generates the referral where appropriate — factor its cost and time into your comparison.

Before you book, confirm three practical points: whether the price includes the consultant's report (not just the scan), the turnaround time for results, and how images are shared with your GP or specialist — a scan without a competent report and an onward plan is money poorly spent.

Published opening hours for Window To The Womb are not yet held on this profile — the register does not record them, and hours appear here once the provider claims and completes its listing. A quick phone call (01923241516) remains the definitive check, and it is worth making even where hours are published, since bank holidays and staffing can change a given day.

If you have flexibility, avoid calling first thing on Monday, when demand across healthcare peaks; a Tuesday-to-Thursday mid-morning call usually gets answered quickest and gives reception the most room to help.

First visits run more smoothly when you arrive prepared, and preparation for a diagnostic and imaging centre follows a predictable shape.

Bring the paperwork that saves repeating yourself: a list of current medications with doses (a photo of the boxes works), any relevant hospital letters or test results, your NHS number if you know it, and glasses or hearing aids if you use them. If the appointment concerns someone you care for, bring evidence of any legal authority you hold — power of attorney documents change what staff can lawfully discuss with you.

Expect the first appointment to include identity and history checks, a discussion of what you need, and an examination or assessment appropriate to the service. Be direct about two things in particular: everything you are taking (including over-the-counter and herbal products), and what outcome you actually want — clinicians plan differently for "I want to be seen quickly" versus "I want the most thorough option".

Before you leave, make sure three questions have answers: what happens next, who does it, and when. Vague follow-up arrangements are where care most often goes adrift; a specific next step — a booked review, a named referral, a results date with a way to chase it — is the mark of a well-run service, and it is entirely reasonable to ask for it explicitly.

NHS diagnostic tests are free; waiting times vary by test and region, with community diagnostic centres steadily reducing them. Self-pay prices are usually fixed per scan and region-dependent — always compare like for like: with or without contrast, number of body areas, and whether the radiologist's report and a results consultation are included in the quoted price.

If you hold private medical insurance, imaging is normally covered when a specialist requests it — obtain pre-authorisation first, as insurers may direct you to contracted networks. For self-funders, ask about package pricing when several tests are needed; bundled diagnostics are commonly discounted.

The service operates from 94 The Parade,Herfordshire,Watford in Watford — postcode WD17 1AW, within the WD17 district. For turn-by-turn directions, the full postcode is the reliable input for any navigation app — or use the Google Maps link for this exact location.

Planning the journey is worth two minutes at booking time: ask whether parking is available on site or nearby if driving, and use the postcode in any journey planner for buses and trains. If you have mobility needs, say so when booking — services can advise on step-free access and the nearest accessible parking or drop-off point.

Think about journey frequency before fixating on any single provider: a one-off assessment justifies travel, but ongoing care multiplies every mile. With 146 providers of all types across Watford, most neighbourhoods — including WD17 — have credible options within a short journey.

If you use a wheelchair, travel with a carer, or need any adjustment — a quieter waiting area, longer appointment, or interpreter — raise it when booking rather than on arrival. CQC-registered providers are expected to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act, and almost all handle them smoothly given notice.

If this location is not convenient, the nearest comparable alternative is Concepto NIPT, roughly 0.0 miles away — the nearby providers section below lists more options with distances.

Experienced patients ask better questions. For a diagnostic and imaging centre, this shortlist reliably separates strong services from average ones:

1. Who exactly will provide my care, and what is their professional registration?
2. What are the realistic timescales — first appointment, results, and treatment?
3. What will this cost in total, and what could add to that figure later?
4. What are the alternatives, including doing nothing for now?
5. How do you handle problems out of hours, and who do I contact?
6. What should I expect to feel or notice afterwards, and what would be a warning sign?
7. How will you keep my GP informed, and what gets written to my record?
8. If my needs change, how quickly can the plan change with them?

A good service treats this list as routine; defensiveness anywhere on it tells you something the inspection report may not.

CQC registration is the legal baseline for operating a service like this one; the value for you sits in the public record built on top of it — inspection reports, ratings and enforcement history.

The CQC inspects against five questions — is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led — and publishes its findings. For Window To The Womb, the registered provider is New Beginnings South Ltd. The most recent recorded check took place on 15 February 2019. The official CQC record for this location carries the current registration status, ratings where awarded, and every published inspection report.

The rating scale runs Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate — and context matters when reading it. Good is the expected standard, not a consolation prize; Outstanding is genuinely rare and usually reflects exceptional leadership culture rather than better equipment. A Requires Improvement rating deserves a closer look at which of the five questions dragged it down: a responsive shortfall (waiting times, complaint handling) is a different risk from a safe shortfall (medicines, staffing). Some location types are inspected without ratings at all, so an unrated service is not a warning sign in itself.

Reading a report efficiently: start with the well-led section (it predicts everything else), then safe. Look at the direction of travel across the last two inspections rather than a single snapshot, and treat "requires improvement" with a credible action plan differently from the same rating with repeated findings. If anything in a report concerns you, raising it with the service directly is both fair and revealing — well-run providers answer plainly.

Every patient of a CQC-registered service holds a set of enforceable rights, and knowing them changes how confidently you can act when something is not right.

You are entitled to informed consent — a genuine explanation of options, risks and alternatives before treatment, in language you understand, with interpreters provided where needed. You have a right of access to your own records under UK GDPR, free of charge in most cases, within a month of asking. And under the Equality Act, providers must make reasonable adjustments for disability — from step-free access to communication formats — as a legal duty, not a favour.

If care falls short, complain in stages: first to the provider itself (every registered service must operate an accessible complaints procedure and respond within a defined timescale); then, for NHS-funded care, to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman — or for privately funded care, to the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service where the provider subscribes. Local authority-funded social care complaints escalate to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Two further channels matter. The CQC does not investigate individual complaints, but it wants to hear about poor care — reports feed directly into inspection planning, and you can tell it anything in confidence via its website. And if you need help making a complaint about NHS care, every area has a statutory independent advocacy service that is free to use; your council can point you to the current provider.

Watford has 146 CQC-registered healthcare providers in total, of which 6 are diagnostic and imaging centres — so genuine comparison is possible before you commit. The full Watford directory and the local diagnostics & imaging listing let you shortlist alongside this profile.

Among the 6 diagnostic providers serving Watford, quality hides in the reporting rather than the machine. Ask who reports the scans (consultant radiologists, and in what subspecialty), the target turnaround, and whether the centre participates in external quality assurance. For imaging with radiation, accreditation such as QSI (the UK's imaging quality standard) is a strong positive signal.

Where is Window To The Womb located?

Window To The Womb is at 94 The Parade,Herfordshire,Watford, WD17 1AW, in Watford (East region). The full postcode works in any sat-nav or journey planner.

How do I contact Window To The Womb?

Call 01923241516 during opening hours. The practice also runs a website with an enquiry route. For funding-route questions (NHS availability, fees), asking directly by phone gets the current position.

Is Window To The Womb regulated?

Yes — it is registered with the Care Quality Commission (location ID 1-8939280815) under the registered provider New Beginnings South Ltd. Registration is a legal requirement for delivering this type of care in England and brings ongoing inspection.

When was Window To The Womb last checked by the CQC?

The most recent check recorded on the register took place on 15 February 2019. The full inspection history is on the official CQC record linked from this page.

What are the nearest alternatives to Window To The Womb?

The closest comparable providers are Concepto NIPT (0.0 miles), Watford Clinic (0.4 miles), Hey Baby 4D Watford (0.7 miles). Each has a full profile on this site with contact details and registration information.

Do I need a referral for a private scan?

Usually yes — radiation-based tests legally require clinical justification, and reputable centres also require referrals for MRI and ultrasound. Many centres can arrange a brief referral consultation if you do not have one.

How quickly will I get results?

Independent centres commonly report within 48 hours to a week depending on the test; NHS turnaround varies by priority. Confirm the reporting time and how results reach your referring clinician before booking.

Is a health screening package worth it?

Only when tailored: age, family history and symptoms should drive test selection. A targeted conversation with a clinician beats an off-the-shelf bundle — and any incidental findings need a plan for follow-up, so ask how the centre handles them.

Does Window To The Womb treat NHS or private patients?

The public register does not record funding routes, and many providers serve both. Phone the service for the current position — NHS availability in particular changes as capacity fills and reopens, so today's answer beats anything a directory can cache.

Where does the information on this page come from?

Core details — name, address, registration, provider and specialisms — come from the Care Quality Commission register (Open Government Licence v3.0) and are refreshed monthly. Guidance sections reflect how services of this type work across the UK. Always confirm time-sensitive details such as opening hours directly with the provider.