Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons guidance for doctors completing the HSA4 form states that recording the NHS number is optional when abortion providers are mandated by the NHS Number Programme Implementation Policy 2008 to record the NHS numbers for their patients.

Registered Medical Practitioners (RMP) are legally required, under the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, to notify the Chief Medical Officer of every abortion performed in England and Wales on form HSA4. The forms are used to check that abortions are performed legally and for the compilation of abortion statistics. The recording of the patient’s National Health Service number is not necessary for this purpose. However, the RMP must provide a patient reference number that can identify the patient. This could be the patient’s hospital/clinic number or their NHS number. If a patient reference number is not available, the patient’s full name should be recorded on the HSA4 form.