Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence her Department assessed prior to the decision to update the HSA4 electronic form to note that for medical abortions, abortion providers should use the dates that they supplied the medication to the patient, rather than the dates the provider advised the patient that they should take them; and what steps are being taken to ensure complications arising from the same early medical abortion are recorded, given that complications would be unknown prior to the pills being taken.

The Abortion (Amendment) Regulations 2022 updated the notification requirements for medical abortion. When both pills for medical abortion are taken in the clinic, providers are required to record the date of treatment. When one or both pills are to be self-administered at home, providers are required to record the date on which the early medical abortion pill was due to be taken by the patient, in accordance with the medical practitioner’s instructions.

The Department is aware that complications may be less likely to be recorded where one or both pills are taken at home. We are currently identifying additional sources of information to complement data on complications from notification forms and review and improve the reporting of serious incidents.