Pregnancy clinic left abortion remains in store

ABORTED pregnancy remains were left in an unlocked storeroom in breach of regulations at a Sandwell abortion clinic, it has been revealed.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Sandwell, in Glebefields Health Centre, Tipton, has now been given a ‘requires improvement’ rating after an inspection visit by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in March this year.

Despite a ‘good’ rating in several categories, such as safety and care, the inspectors found the NHS-funded abortion clinic had breached its legal obligations twice.

Pregnancy remains were left in a sealed container, also known as a Hermetically Sealed Theatre Container (HSTC), in an unlocked utility room and were not stored appropriately in a freezer.

BPAS policy states pregnancy remains should be put into yellow clinical waste sacks and stored in a secure freezer, or placed into HSTC in a secure storeroom away from clients and the public. Staff could not confirm to inspectors until after the inspection the frequency of collections and said pregnancy remains were collected every two weeks.

The inspectors noted the pregnancy remains “were left at room temperature until the next collection”.

Delays in consultations were also raised by inspectors. Women waited for an average of 9.1 days from their initial contact with BPAS Sandwell to attending their first consultation, in the year to the end of February. The average wait for abortion, according to the CQC report, was 5.7 days. Surgical abortion was a longer 15.5 days.

Managers said availability of appointments had been “impacted with experienced staff leaving and the impact of the pandemic”.