Why is there the need to expand on the types of settings providing abortion care services?
It is important that abortion care services are accessible to women who it need most. This includes women in vulnerable circumstances and those from geographically isolated communities across the country. To improve access, services could be made available in local NHS medical settings other than hospitals. The suggestion is for GP surgeries, genitourinary medicine (GUM) and family planning clinics to offer these services, based on local needs assessment. The results from the recently published pilot study by the Department of Health on the provision of Early Medical Abortion (EMA) in primary care settings1 are reassuring .
