I found everyone really supportive, and I felt throughout that I wasn’t being judged by my decision but helped through the process which really made the treatment easier. Thank you again for the work you do, it really does have a positive effect on individuals who go through this treatment.
BPAS has been providing services to the NHS for over 55 years. We are commissioned to provide services by the Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) within England. We also work with all the Health Boards in Scotland and Wales and continue to support women from Northern Ireland.
Governance and quality assurance is at the heart of our service provision. The safety and welfare of children, young people and adults at risk is of paramount importance to BPAS and we recognise the statutory duty to ensure that all clients are adequately safeguarded. This includes safeguarding the wider family and those around the client, whether an abortion is completed or not.
Innovation, choice, accessibility: Pioneering end-to-end online booking
BPAS is the first abortion care provider in the UK to offer patients a fully end-to-end online booking pathway. The majority of patients can complete a secure online form, view the earliest available appointment that meets their clinical needs, and confirm their preferred appointment immediately.
This streamlined process improves access to care by reducing delays and simplifying the self-referral booking pathway. It accelerates the contact-to-appointment journey while offering a more discreet option, protecting the privacy of patients who wish to keep their treatment confidential. By lowering barriers to care, the system enhances accessibility for vulnerable individuals and those who may find phone-based booking challenging.
Patients still have the option to book via phone, but the online pathway provides an additional, convenient option that improves timely access to abortion services.
The online system allows patients to book a consultation and medical assessment with a nurse or midwife and then, if they choose to continue to treatment, will be offered the choice of attending for an in-clinic appointment or, if clinically suitable, receiving abortion medication by post.
The BPAS online system is fully secure and confidential. BPAS is both ISO 27001 certified and Cyber Essentials accredited, ensuring high standards of data security and information governance.
Easy to make appointment online. Phone call consultation was very good, nurse was clear supportive and was thorough with questions to make sure I was safe to have treatment at home. Medication was delivered quickly and to my home, so I didn’t have to attend a clinic at all. All information given by nurse and in package was clear and lots of numbers for help if needed. Overall, very helpful service.
Telemedical early abortion care
We are proud of how we worked with our NHS colleagues to ensure the introduction of Pills by Post was successful throughout the UK. This change in regulation, which was driven by our advocacy and research teams, enabled BPAS to provide telemedical abortion to clients in the early stages of their pregnancy. Telemedicine provides accessible, safe, and effective abortion care, and enables us to support some of the most vulnerable clients who were previously unable to access in-clinic care.
Telemedical early abortion care has further enhanced our service delivery, adding more flexibility for clients. We are committed to delivering real local choice and high-quality care for our clients while also providing excellent value to our commissioners.
Central Booking Service (CBS)
BPAS currently provides central booking services for 4 ICBs. A CBS is beneficial in areas where NHS termination of pregnancy is available from multiple providers included in a shared contract or ‘Any Qualified Provider’ (AQP) arrangement.
CBS provides a single point of access for termination of pregnancy services. Patients or referrers contact a dedicated telephone booking service to make an appointment - choosing from a selection of local, NHS and agency abortion providers. Appointments are offered on the basis of the patient’s medical history, gestation and criteria determined by the ICB. The caller chooses whichever timely, convenient and appropriate appointment they prefer.
This service confers tangible benefits:
- maximising patient choice
- improving access and minimising delay to treatment
- reducing duplicate bookings with multiple providers
BPAS have invested in bespoke IT solutions to assist with managing and reporting this process. We are the sector’s preferred CBS provider for ICBs that commission this service. Careful consideration has been given to ensure that the service meets Information Governance compliance requirements. The service is staffed by pro-choice staff (trained in safeguarding), whose primary concern is to provide your patient with the best possible appointment irrespective of which organisation is booked.
We have a high regard for the way in which the central booking service is operated by BPAS and confidence that the clients engaging with the CBS are offered appointments in an equitable, timely and professional manner. The service is delivered in an innovative and seamless manner for the client and the provider of the services.
Additional services
Examples of additional services BPAS can offer:
- We are an expert provider of late gestation terminations, currently undertaking two thirds of all late terminations in the country.
- We also provide specialist surgical Termination of Pregnancy for Foetal Anomaly in conjunction with multiple local trusts throughout the country.
- We provide sensitive, compassionate miscarriage management up to 12 weeks gestation.
- We collaborate with Women’s Health Hubs to ensure client's can access one-stop holistic services.
- We can offer standalone contraception services and have recently launched the BPAS Mobile clinic to support local access.
The BPAS mobile clinic has been a valued intervention to reduce the local LARC waiting lists. It is also an example of collaborative working across organisations.
If you are interested in discovering how BPAS can work with your organisation or to discuss your commissioning requirements, please email development@bpas.org or call 07710 735475.