Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the compliance with (a) the Abortion Act 1967 and (b) other relevant legislation by providers of telemedicine abortion schemes.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
We have no plans to make such an assessment. The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure abortions, including telemedicine abortions, are only performed in accordance with the legal requirements set down by Parliament in the 1967 Abortion Act.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is required for NHS medical professionals working in abortion provision to ensure that they can (a) identify potential pressure and coercion and (b) understand its impact on informed consent.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for approved independent sector abortion providers in England include the requirement that all abortion providers have effective arrangements in place to safeguard vulnerable women accessing home-use early medical abortion who may be experiencing coercion to end a pregnancy. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse and coercion and know how to respond.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects against all the Department’s RSOPs when it inspects an independent sector provider, and safeguarding procedures are included in the CQC’s Termination of Pregnancy inspection framework as areas to be considered during an inspection.
As commissioners of abortion care, NHS England and integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring abortion providers have appropriately trained staff to meet safeguarding requirements.
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses. Higher Education institutions write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasize the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for abortion.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to (a) practitioners and (b) producers on the use of telemedicine for abortion care.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department has published Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for the approval of independent sector places for termination of pregnancy in England, which set outs the conditions and requirements for all independent sector providers to be approved for undertaking abortion care. The RSOPs include guidance for providers and practitioners on the provision of home-use early medical abortion (EMA) and sets out the expectation that home-use EMA must be carried out in line with clinical guidelines published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The Department has also published guidance to support practitioners to complete the EMA1 abortion form, which must be completed by the practitioner terminating the pregnancy to certify their opinion, formed in good faith, that the pregnancy will not exceed 10 weeks at the time when the first EMA pill is taken.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that telemedicine abortion providers are not able to supply abortion drugs to people over the legal limit for that procedure.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure abortions are only performed in accordance with the legal requirements set down by Parliament in the 1967 Abortion Act.
Home use of early medical abortion pills is permitted if the pregnancy has not exceeded 10 weeks gestation at the time the first medicine in the course is administered. If there is any uncertainty about the gestation of the pregnancy, the woman should attend an in-person appointment.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
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 implications for his policies of the finding on page 4 of the report entitled Every minute counts, published by Parkinson's UK in September 2023, that 42% of patients with Parkinson's who are admitted to hospital get their medication on time every time.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Within secondary care, hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is required for NHS medical staff working in abortion provision to help ensure that they (a) can identify potential pressure and coercion and (b) understand its impact on informed consent.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for approved independent sector abortion providers in England include the requirement that all abortion providers have effective arrangements in place to safeguard vulnerable women accessing home-use early medical abortion who may be experiencing coercion to end a pregnancy. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse and coercion and know how to respond.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects against all the Department’s RSOPs when it inspects an independent sector provider, and safeguarding procedures are included in the CQC’s Termination of Pregnancy inspection framework as areas to be considered during an inspection.
As commissioners of abortion care, NHS England and integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring abortion providers have appropriately trained staff to meet safeguarding requirements.
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses. Higher Education institutions write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasise the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for abortion.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women accessing telemedicine for early medical abortions are not being (a) coerced and (b) otherwise pressured into that procedure.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for approved independent sector abortion providers in England include the requirement that all abortion providers have effective arrangements in place to safeguard vulnerable women accessing home-use early medical abortion who may be experiencing coercion to end a pregnancy. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse and coercion and know how to respond.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects against all the Department’s RSOPs when it inspects an independent sector provider, and safeguarding procedures are included in the CQC’s Termination of Pregnancy inspection framework as areas to be considered during an inspection.
As commissioners of abortion care, NHS England and integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring abortion providers have appropriately trained staff to meet safeguarding requirements.
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses. Higher Education institutions write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasise the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for abortion.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that telemedicine abortion providers are not able to supply abortion drugs to people over the legal limit for that procedure.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
We have no plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of this policy’s operation.
Parliament decides the circumstances under which abortion is permitted. It would be for Parliament to decide whether to change the law on abortion. The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure abortions are only performed in accordance with the legal requirements set down by Parliament in the 1967 Abortion Act.
Home use of early medical abortion pills is permitted if the pregnancy has not exceeded 10 weeks gestation at the time the first medicine in the course is administered. If there is any uncertainty about the gestation of the pregnancy, the woman should attend an in-person appointment. If she does not attend in-person, the doctor would not be able to form an opinion in good faith that the pregnancy is below 10 weeks gestation and therefore would not be able to prescribe abortion pills for home use.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that vulnerable women are protected from (a) coercion and (b) other pressure to have an abortion.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for approved independent sector abortion providers in England include the requirement that all abortion providers have effective arrangements in place to safeguard vulnerable women accessing home-use early medical abortion who may be experiencing coercion to end a pregnancy. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse and coercion and know how to respond.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects against all the Department’s RSOPs when it inspects an independent sector provider, and safeguarding procedures are included in the CQC’s Termination of Pregnancy inspection framework as areas to be considered during an inspection.
As commissioners of abortion care, NHS England and integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring abortion providers have appropriately trained staff to meet safeguarding requirements.
The standard of training for health care professionals is the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses. Higher Education institutions write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators outcome standards. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasise the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for abortion.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an urgent assessment of the adequacy of the operation of the telemedicine abortion policy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
We have no plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of this policy’s operation.
Parliament decides the circumstances under which abortion is permitted. It would be for Parliament to decide whether to change the law on abortion. The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure abortions are only performed in accordance with the legal requirements set down by Parliament in the 1967 Abortion Act.
Home use of early medical abortion pills is permitted if the pregnancy has not exceeded 10 weeks gestation at the time the first medicine in the course is administered. If there is any uncertainty about the gestation of the pregnancy, the woman should attend an in-person appointment. If she does not attend in-person, the doctor would not be able to form an opinion in good faith that the pregnancy is below 10 weeks gestation and therefore would not be able to prescribe abortion pills for home use.