Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the response to the covid-19 outbreak on access to (a) contraception services and (b) abortion services; and what progress has been made on the development of (i) remote and (ii) digital access to those services.
The Department and Public Health England (PHE) are working with local commissioners, the National Health Service and professional bodies including the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, to discuss emerging issues on sexual and reproductive services, including contraception, during the COVID-19 pandemic. PHE is also seeking to establish a national framework for online sexual and reproductive health services that local areas can choose to commission for their residents.
The Department is carefully monitoring the impact of home administration of both sets of abortion medication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials have regular meetings with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), the Care Quality Commission and abortion service providers to discuss the impact and any issues arising. The RCOG has issued clinical guidelines for healthcare professionals on ‘Coronavirus infection and abortion care’.