The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

BPAS Taunton Central

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Millstream House, Castle Street, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AS 0345 730 4030

Provided and run by:
British Pregnancy Advisory Service

All Inspections

During an assessment of Termination of pregnancy

Date of assessment: 6, 7 and 27 August 2025. We carried out this assessment in line with our routine assessment priorities and to review the service’s previous rating of requires improvement. We assessed the 5 key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. During our assessment we spoke with patients, observed staff delivering care and looked at patient records. We reviewed policies and performance information. We also spoke with all grades of staff and the leadership team.

BPAS Taunton Central provides early medical abortion and surgical abortion under local anaesthetic or conscious sedation. It also provides counselling and contraceptive advice. Services were provided by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) at this location.

The service was rated overall as requires improvement at our last assessment. At this assessment the rating has improved to good. In our assessment we found women were kept safe and protected from avoidable harm. The service had a positive culture with capable leaders. There were effective processes to monitor the quality and safety of the service and ensure women could access the service. However, the service was working on data improvements regarding the auditing and analysis of service users’ outcomes.

During an assessment of the hospital overall

Date of scheduled assessment 6, 7 and 27 August 2025. BPAS Taunton Central is operated by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). The service provided termination of pregnancy.

BPAS Taunton Central offered consultation, medical assessment including ultrasound scanning, early medical abortion for women with a pregnancy of less than 10 weeks gestation and surgical abortion under local anaesthetic or conscious sedation for women with a pregnancy of less than 18 weeks gestation. Treatment options were determined by the gestation of pregnancy and patient choice. As part of the care pathway, women were offered sexual health screening and contraception.

The service was rated overall as requires improvement at our last assessment. At this assessment the rating has improved to good. In our assessment we found women were kept safe and protected from avoidable harm. There were effective processes to monitor the quality and safety of the service and ensure women could access the service. The service had a positive culture with capable leaders.

06 January 2022

During a routine inspection

BPAS Taunton Central is operated by British Pregnancy Advisory Service and was inspected on 6 January 2022 as part of CQC’s comprehensive inspection programme. The service has not been inspected since a change in registration in 2017.

From January 2021 to December 2021, the service completed 641 early medical abortions and 89 surgical abortions.

Prior to the inspection, inspectors reviewed monitoring and ongoing information about the service.

This location had not been rated previously. We rated it as requires improvement because:

  • People could not always access the service when they needed it and often had to wait too long for a consultation. Waiting times were not in line with national standards.
  • The service did not use a specific paediatric early warning score tool for use with children under the age of 16 years undergoing surgical terminations of pregnancy.

However:

  • The service had enough staff who had training in the key skills needed. Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
  • Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and supported them to make decisions about their care.
  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
  • The service treated concerns and complaints seriously, investigated them and shared lessons learned with all staff.
  • Leaders ran services well. Staff understood the service’s vision and values. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.