James Wharton
Conservative, Stockton South
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are in place to ensure the minimum clinical standards which the NHS requires for treatments provided in house are maintained by those organisations to which the NHS contracts out the carrying out of abortions.
Anna Soubry
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health
Termination of pregnancy is regulated and all providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission and meet essential standards of quality and safety. Regulation 20 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 also sets out a number of requirements relating to a termination of a pregnancy and independent sector providers.
The Abortion Act 1967 requires that any treatment for a termination of a pregnancy outside of a national health service hospital may only be carried out in a place approved for that purpose by the Secretary of State for Health. The Secretary of State's continuing approval requires that all providers ensure compliance with all legal requirements, provide the best quality of care for women and have in place sound management, organisational and clinical governance arrangements. These requirements apply equally to all places the Secretary of State for Health approves, regardless of whether they hold contracts with the NHS or not.
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and it is responsible for developing and consulting on its methodology for assessing whether providers are meeting the registration requirements.
