BPAS Northampton Central

Updated 27 March 2023

BPAS Northampton Central provides a termination of pregnancy (abortion) service to its clients through the Northampton region Monday to Wednesdays and Fridays between the hours of 9.30am and 5.30pm. The majority (99%) of clients are funded by the NHS integrated care board in the local area.

The service provides medical (early medical abortion) treatment for clients of a gestation up to 9 weeks and 6 days. Surgical treatment under local anaesthetic or conscious sedation is provided for clients up to 13 weeks and 6 days gestation.In addition, the service also provides contraception advice and contraception, testing for and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia.. Pills by post were not offered at this service location.

Between April and June 2022, the service treated 720 clients, of this, 10% or 72 were by surgical treatment. Between 1 January and 31 December 2022, the service completed 67 treatments, 49 early medical abortions and 18 surgical abortions of children and young adults between the ages of 14 and 17.

The service has been registered since 2016 to carry out the following regulated activities;

• Diagnostic and screening procedures
• Family planning
• Surgical procedures
• Termination of pregnancy
• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

Since this time a registered manger has been in place. The last inspection that took place at the service was in May 2018. This inspection was not rated and no enforcement action was issued. The link to the previous inspection report can be found at https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-2896561882/inspection-summary

Updated 27 March 2023

The service had not been rated before. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for clients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect clients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to clients and acted on them. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave clients 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 clients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• Staff treated clients 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 clients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of clients individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• 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 clients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with clients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• Written records did not always contain the required client identification details, equipment servicing details were not always available and there had been no risk assessment around the suitability of the recovery area or equipment used within it.

Updated 27 March 2023

The service had not been rated before. We rated it as good.

See the summary above for details.