The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

BPAS - Portsmouth Central

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

St Mary's Sexual Health Department, 2nd Floor, Milton Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO3 6AD 0345 730 4030

Provided and run by:
British Pregnancy Advisory Service

All Inspections

9 December 2022

During a routine inspection

This was our first rating of this location. We rated it as good because:

  • The service had enough staff to care for women and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect women from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to women, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed incidents well and learned lessons from them.
  • Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of women.
  • Staff treated women with compassion and kindness and respected their privacy and dignity. They provided emotional support to women and their families.
  • The service planned care to meet the needs of local women, took account of women’s individual needs, and made it easy for women to give feedback.
  • Staff understood the service’s vision and values. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. The service engaged well with women and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

  • Mandatory training completion rates did not always meet the benchmark standards.
  • The service did not ensure women were fully informed of storage arrangements regarding disposal of remains in accordance with Human Tissue Authority guidelines.
  • Women waited longer than five days between initial appointment and treatment which did not meet guidelines.

9 June 2016

During a routine inspection

BPAS Portsmouth Central provided a compassionate, caring and non-judgemental service in line with BPAS values as an organisation. Sufficient staff were available with the skills and training to provide care. BPAS produced policies that took account of best practice policies and evidence based guidelines. For example, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology (RCOG) guidance and the Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOP) guidance from the Department of Health. BPAS also carried out its own research before the implementation of simultaneous early medical abortion up to nine weeks. Risk assessments and audits including how the service was adhering to requirements regarding completion and submission of HSA1 and HSA4 forms were undertaken. This information was reported monthly to head office as part of the organisation’s quality assurance processes. Incidents and complaints were reported, investigated and actions taken to reduce the recurrence. The unit manager recorded risks across the three units they managed in one risk register, which included control measures and review dates. The service had received one formal complaint in 2015 which had been investigated and the client responded to.

All staff were trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and safeguarding children (level 3) and obtained advice from the unit safeguarding leads or national safeguarding leads as needed.

Clear suitability for treatment guidelines were followed. In cases where patients had complex medical needs, suitable alternative placements were identified to respond to their needs. All patients were offered a pregnancy options’ discussion with a client care coordinator as part of their consultation. The service signposted patients to the 24 hours seven days a week after care advice line and post abortion specialist counselling if the need arose. Patients were able to access services in a timely manner. Women in Hampshire had to wait an average of 4.8 calendar days for their first consultation. The percentage of consultation appointments available within seven calendar days was 90%. Patients waited on average 4.4 working days from consultation to treatment.