Archived: BPAS - Basingstoke

Updated 25 July 2022

BPAS Basingstoke is operated by British Pregnancy Advisory Service. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service was established as a registered charity in 1968 to provide a safe, legal abortion service following the 1967 Abortion Act. BPAS Basingstoke moved to their current premises in 2015.

The BPAS Basingstoke clinic undertakes early medical abortion up to ten weeks (EMA). The service was not providing surgical termination of pregnancy (SToP) at BPAS Basingstoke. Women requiring late surgical abortions were signposted to other BPAS clinics in the local area. The clinic also offered pills by post, contraception service and sexually transmitted infection testing, as part of the termination of pregnancy treatment.

BPAS Basingstoke clinic was last inspected in August 2015 and met the quality standards it was assessed against. The service was not rated as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was not required to rate such services at the time.

The location is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
• Family planning
• Diagnostic and screening procedures
• Termination of pregnancies.

Under these regulated activities the service provided:

• Pregnancy Testing.
• Early Medical Abortion (EMA)
• Consultations
• Scans
• TTO Appointments
• Contraception service

The service has a registered manager in post.

Updated 25 July 2022

We rated this location it as requires improvement because:

• The service did not manage emergency equipment safely.
• The service did not have a robust process for checking the emergency drug boxes to ensure they contained the necessary medicines and in line with resuscitation council requirement.
• The number of staff who had completed the intermediate life support training was low.
• Women at times waited for longer periods for access to interpreting services which the provider was trying to resolve.
• Women did not always receive care in a timely way to meet their needs.

However:

• Staff had a variety of training which included how to recognise and report abuse. The service-controlled infection risk well. Staff kept clear and up to date records of patient’s care and treatment.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave women refreshments, 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 women, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• Staff completed safeguarding assessments and risk assessments for women thought to be at risk of self-harm or suicide and escalated them appropriately.
• Staff supported patients to make informed decisions about their care and treatment. They followed national guidance to gain patients’ consent. Staff now recognised and assessed a patient’s possible lack of mental capacity to make decisions and documented this.
• Staff treated women 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 women.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of women’s individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of women receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.

Updated 25 July 2022

We rated this service as requires improvement because it is effective, caring and well led although safe and responsive requires improvement.

We had not rated this service previously.

The service saw 598 patients in total for early medical abortions (EMA).

516 patients had TOP EMA- Patients collected pills on site.

81 patients received TOP EMA- Pills by post.

One patient had TOP EMA as tablet to take home

The service held a current Department of Health licence to practice under the Abortion Act.

• Zero patients were transferred out to another hospital from March 2021 to April 2022.
• No incidences of hospital acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Methicillin- susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Clostridioides difficile (C.Diff).