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Written question asked by John Hayes (Conservative) on Thursday, 20 April 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 April 2023. It was answered by Maria Caulfield (Conservative) on Thursday, 27 April 2023 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

British Pregnancy Advisory Service: Standards

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) inspection processes at (a) the BPAS Bournemouth clinic following its recent rating of requires improvement and (b) other BPAS clinics in the previous year; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring BPAS clinics that do not meet the CQC's standards to close until the requirements have been implemented.

Answer

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Bournemouth in June 2022, rating the service ‘Requires Improvement’ for several reasons, including risks to patient safety and governance. In February 2023, CQC conducted a focused follow-up inspection to check on improvements, particularly those highlighted in the Section 29 warning notice, issued as part of the 2022 inspection, as requiring significant improvement. CQC also reviewed progress where breaches of regulation were identified. They found that systems and processes had improved and that the service was making progress against their action plan where breaches of regulation were identified.

CQC continues to monitor the service closely, working with system partners where concerns are identified. Departmental officials also have regular meetings with the CQC to ensure women continue to receive a safe and high-quality abortion service. CQC has a range of enforcement powers which it uses on a proportional basis to keep people using services safe. This includes the ability to close services in the most serious of cases. The following table shows BPAS clinics’ ratings within the last 12 months.

BPAS clinic

Rating

BPAS - Basingstoke

Requires improvement

BPAS - Birmingham Central

Good

BPAS - Birmingham South

Requires improvement

BPAS - Doncaster

Requires improvement

BPAS - London East

Good

BPAS - Luton

Good

BPAS - Merseyside

Requires improvement

BPAS - Middlesbrough

Requires improvement

BPAS - Norwich

Requires improvement

BPAS - Oxford Central

Good

BPAS - Portsmouth Central

Good

BPAS - Sandwell

Requires improvement

BPAS - Stratford upon Avon

Requires improvement

BPAS Leicester City

Good

BPAS Northampton Central

Good

BPAS Reading

Requires improvement

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
181879
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Clinics Inspections Standards Care Quality Commission British Pregnancy Advisory Service
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk