Women waiting three weeks for abortions
Services at risk of buckling under pressure after sharp rise in terminations in 2022, NHS chief warns
UNPRECEDENTED demand for abortions has left women waiting more than three weeks for a termination, a senior NHS official has warned. Steve Russell, the chief delivery officer for NHS England, suggested some services were in danger of buckling under the pressure, with some women already facing extremely long waits.
He highlighted problems for those waiting for surgical abortions.
These are typically used when pregnancy is more advanced, with pills to induce miscarriage limited to early pregnancy.
The senior official warned NHS leaders commissioning local clinics that “services are currently under great pressure. Demand has increased to unprecedented levels”, highlighting a sharp rise in 2022 and a failure to meet waiting standards.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines state that patients should get assessment within a week of a request and procedures should be completed within a week of assessment.
“As a result of significant service pressures, providers tell us wait times for surgical abortions [circa 13 per cent of procedures] ... do not meet these standards – often being three weeks or longer,” Mr Russell said.
He also raised concerns about “continuity risks” to keeping services open, with evidence that some contractors, especially those providing surgical procedures, were not gaining adequate funding.
In a letter sent to integrated care boards this week, Mr Russell highlights a sharp rise in abortions in 2022, with a 17 per cent rise seen in just six months, according to latest data. Official figures show record numbers of abortions performed in 2021, with nearly 215,000 terminations carried out.
More than half were performed at home, using the “pills by post” service, which was set up at the start of the pandemic so that women who were unable to see doctors in person could access early medical abortions.
The Office of National Statistics reports that more than one in four conceptions resulted in abortion that year, a record high rate for England and Wales.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service has said the pandemic and cost of living crisis are among the factors fuelling the rise.
Last year abortion provider MSI Reproductive Choices said a rise in demand had been driven by “the economic downturn, the cost of living crisis, and the ability to access good quality contraception” through sexual health services, which have seen cuts.