Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria a hospital must meet to be designated as an accredited specialist centre for placenta accreta spectrum disorder; and what assessment process is used to verify compliance with those criteria.

Integrated care boards are leading on commissioning specialised placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) centres within their geographies. Clinicians will advise women under their care on referral routes to PAS centres. There are currently no plans to publish a referral network map for specialist PAS centres.

To ensure effective diagnosis and management of PAS, national guidance is provided within the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Placenta Praevia and Placenta Accreta: Diagnosis and Management (Green-top Guideline No. 27a) guidance, both of which are available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng192/documents/draft-guideline-2

https://www.rcog.org.uk/guidance/browse-all-guidance/green-top-guidelines/placenta-praevia-and-placenta-accreta-diagnosis-and-management-green-top-guideline-no-27a/

No assessment has been made of the gap between diagnosed and actual incidence of placenta accreta spectrum disorder.