The 2,600 safety flaws at Marie Stopes abortion clinics including doctors going home with women under sedation and foetuses being put in waste bins rather than cremated 

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One of Britain’s largest abortion providers was last night accused of failing thousands of vulnerable women and girls and even exposing them to harm.

The Care Quality Commission has uncovered major safety flaws at clinics run by Marie Stopes International, with more than 2,600 serious incidents reported last year.

Inspectors also found that nurses were failing to explain to women the full consequences of their actions while doctors were ‘bulk signing’ consent forms.

The Care Quality Commission has uncovered major safety flaws at clinics run by Marie Stopes International, with more than 2,600 serious incidents reported last year. Pictured is the Marie Stopes Centre in central London

The provider is the second largest in the country and carries out 70,000 abortions a year, 60,000 for NHS patients and 10,000 private. 

But unless urgent improvements are made to safety and the standard of care, some of its 70 clinics could be closed down.

The damning CQC report exposed how:

• Doctors were going home for the day leaving sedated women in the hands of nurses and healthcare assistants.
• Almost half of nurses had not been trained to do resuscitation.
• Some vulnerable women did not understand the full consequences of what they were about to do.
• Safety incidents including medical blunders and equipment failures had increased by a third in a year.
• Doctors were signing off up to 60 consent forms at a time when they were meant to be making a thorough assessment. One filled in up to 26 in two minutes.
• Foetal remains were dumped in ordinary medical waste bins rather than sealed for cremation.

The CQC was particularly concerned about safety and lack of training, warning patients were not protected from ‘avoidable harm’.

Inspectors visited 12 clinics between April and August and the initial findings were so alarming that Marie Stopes agreed to temporarily halt some abortions.

The CQC has since carried out further spot checks and although there have been some improvements, serious failings remain.

In one shocking case, a woman with learning disabilities was allowed to have an abortion without fully understanding the procedure or consequences.

She arrived alone at the clinic in Sandwell, West Midlands, and became distressed just before the procedure. Doctors went ahead anyway – despite not clearly explaining the procedure – and spoke to her ‘insensitively’.

Concerns over the industry were raised four years ago when doctors were secretly filmed agreeing to carry out gender- selective abortions, although that was not at a Marie Stopes clinic.

Inspectors also found that nurses were failing to explain to women the full consequences of their actions while doctors were ‘bulk signing’ consent forms

Elsewhere, they were found to be illegally ‘pre-signing’ consent forms without knowing anything about the patients’ circumstances.

By law, any woman wanting an abortion must be assessed by two doctors who both sign an HSA1 form to indicate they agree to the procedure ‘in good faith’. But CQC inspectors found that doctors at clinics in Norwich, Buckhurst Hill in Essex and Maidstone in Kent were ‘bulk signing’ batches of forms without properly reading them.

At the Essex clinic, the watchdog found doctors were going home leaving sedated women in the hands of nurses and healthcare assistants. They were not trained to deal with medical emergencies and would not know what to do if women suddenly deteriorated.

Professor Edward Baker, deputy chief inspector of hospitals at the CQC, said they would not hesitate to take further action if necessary to guarantee that Marie Stopes International ‘meets the standard of care we expect and that its patients deserve’. 

Labour MP Robert Flello said: ‘Women are being railroaded through an industry which gets paid for as many abortions as it can perform.

‘Perhaps now the Department of Health will wake up because it has turned a blind eye to things not being done properly.’

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘The CQC requirement has made it very clear the actions that need to be taken to make sure care is safe, high-quality and compassionate for all patients. Clearly, Marie Stopes International has fallen short of those standards.’ 

Suzanne Ash, interim managing director at Marie Stopes UK, said: ‘We have worked hard with the CQC to regain compliance.

‘Since the inspections, we’ve made considerable changes to our management, governance and assurance processes, including extensive training of staff and updating of policies. 

'We have learned from this, and intend to continue our focus on providing the safe and compassionate care that women expect and deserve.’