Abortion clinic staff ‘termination for bonus’ claims
One of the country’s largest providers of abortions has been accused of offering bonuses to staff to encourage women to have terminations.
The allegations came to light in a report by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on Marie Stopes International Maidstone Centre.
Staff at the Brewer Street site told inspectors they believed their performance bonus was affected by the number of women who chose not to go forward with treatment.
Investigators also found evidence of a company policy encouraging staff at all 70 clinics to contact so-called ‘Did Not Proceed’ (DNP) to offer them a later appointment.
Marie Stopes UK is Britain’s second biggest termination provider caring for 70,000 patients each year. Last year the Maidstone clinic carried out 5,000 abortions. The organisation also provides a range of sexual health services.
The CQC inspection was carried out in May 2016 but the report was only published this month.
Staff referred to the Maidstone centre like a cattle market with one describing it “feeling like a hamster in a wheel”.
The watchdog concluded staff showed limited empathy for how patients might be feeling and that support from a partner, friend or parent was discouraged.
People who came along to support clients were asked to leave while the procedure took place.
The report states: “Staff were concerned that DNP, the term used when women decided not to proceed with treatment, was measured as a KPI [key performance indicator] and linked to their performance bonus. They felt that this encouraged staff to ensure that patients underwent procedures.”
Later, it adds: “Minutes dated July 15, 2015 recorded a company-wide focus on DNPs. Where a patient of less than five weeks and three days’ gestation had decided not to go ahead with the termination they were being called and offered a later appointment.”
In August 2016, the firm temporarily stopped providing terminations under general anaesthetic, and to under-18s and vulnerable women, following CQC concerns surrounding governance arrangements and patient safety protocols.
Services were resumed last October, after the health regulator said standards had improved. We supply dozens of local traders - Call 01634 843148