Useful COVID-19 Resources Available on BSACP Website
It is BSACP’s aim to keep members updated with recent advice and official documentation pertaining to COVID-19, and to this end the COVID-19 section of the ‘Resources’ section on the BSACP website accessed via the hyperlink below will be updated regularly. This information is ’open access’ and so is available to all visitors to the website and not just BSACP members.
https://bsacp.org.uk/resources/covid-19-advice/
MHRA Letter for Supply of Medicines for Medical Abortion During COVID-19 Pandemic
4 April 2020
One of the challenges in implementing early medical abortions (EMAs) has been the interpretation of the regulations of packing medicines into suitable quantities when these are not immediately available. The regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has cleared guidance (see link below) with their own legal team and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and it can be implemented with immediate effect. The MHRA still expect good medicine’s management, and so any drugs cut down and repacked must have clear instructions, and it must be clear for patients what to take and when.
Hopefully this will give healthcare service teams and providers the reassurance and authority they need to give out the correct medication in appropriate quantities.
MHRA Letter for supply of medicines for medical abortion during COVID-19 pandemic signed
Dr Jonathan Lord (BSACP Co-Chair)
BSACP Webinar on ‘Implementing RCOG Guidance on COVID-19 and Abortion Care (1)’ Now Freely Available
4 April 2020
BSACP is making the webinar on ‘Implementing RCOG Guidance on COVID-19 and Abortion Care (1)’ comprising speaker presentations and a Q&A session that took place on 2 April 2020 publicly available and free of charge to help services stay up to date with COVID-19 issues that are affecting abortion care and provision in the current climate.
Normally webinars are only available to BSACP members (in the members-only section of the BSACP website); however, we think it is useful to make this webinar more widely available to support health care professionals in light of COVID-19.
The participating speakers were:
Dr Tracey Masters, Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health at Homerton University Hospital
Mr Jonathan Lord, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Royal Cornwall Hospital and Medical Director of Marie Stopes UK
Mrs Joanne Fletcher, Consultant Nurse Gynaecology at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Host: Dr Patricia Lohr, Medical Director of British Pregnancy Advisory Service
The webinar recording is available at: https://zoom.us/rec/share/3JN1Apb88WpIa9Lz7HvRAqNwEYPneaa803MZ86cLyE6DNAkdKgCzLD9OfZEhMPT3
COVID-19 Advice and Documentation Available on BSACP Website
2 April 2020
Copies of the following documents can be found in the ‘Resources/COVID-19 Advice’ section of the BSACP website.
- RCOG/FSRH/BSACP/RCM – ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection and Abortion Care. Information for Health Professionals’ Version 2: Published Tuesday 31 March 2020
- FSRH – COVID-19 Resources and Information for SRH Professionals
- Department of Health & Social Care – ‘The Abortion Act 1967 – Approval of a Class of Places’ (dated 30 March 2020)
- Scottish Government – ‘Abortion – Covid-19 – Approval for Mifepristone to be Taken at Home and Other Contingency Measures’ (dated 31 March 2020)
- Decision Aid for Early Medical Abortion Without Ultrasound
The documents and advice appearing in this ‘open access’ website section will be updated and/or augmented on an ongoing basis.
https://bsacp.org.uk/resources/covid-19-advice/
Wales Approves Home Abortions During Coronavirus Crisis
31 March 2020
Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced that women in Wales will have access to abortion services at home during the coronavirus crisis.
https://gov.wales/wales-approves-home-abortions-during-coronavirus-crisis
The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020
26 March 2020
The new regulations in Northern Ireland announced yesterday will come into effect on 1 April 2020. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/345/contents/made
This BBC News item provides an overview of what these new regulations cover and their practical implications: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-52040694
COVID-19 and Abortion Care Update: Department of Health and Social Care “Error”
25 March 2020
In an unprecedented move, on 23 March 2020 the Department of Health and Social Care liberalised restrictions on abortion care in England only to revoke that decision hours later. This returned the legal position for abortion provision back to that stated in the approval order of the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, in 2018. The 2018 approval order is very clear that remote prescription and provision of abortion medication is unlawful. Women must still attend an abortion clinic in order to access treatment, which is especially concerning given the current COVID-19 emergency.
RCOG/BSACP/RCM Guidelines for Abortion Care During COVID-19
22 March 2020
New guidance for healthcare professionals on coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and abortion care have been published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) and the British Society of Abortion Care Providers (BSACP) on 21 March 2020.
The joint guidelines and associated patient information are at: www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-abortion/
or access them directly here 2020-03-21-abortion-guidance
Government Approval Order Through for England – Mifepristone at Home, Removal of EMA Gestation and Prescribing from Home Now Legal
23 March 2020
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has approved two temporary measures in England to limit the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) and ensure continued access to early medical abortion services:
1 Women and girls will be able to take both pills for early medical abortion in their own homes, without the need to first attend a hospital or clinic.
2 Medical practitioners (doctors) will be able to prescribe both pills for the treatment of early medical abortion from their own homes.
This must be carried out in line with the criteria set out in the document available at:
COVID-19 Resources and Information for SRH Professionals
22 March 2020
Yesterday the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) published advice to support provision of effective contraception during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Full guidance is available at: https://www.fsrh.org/fsrh-and-covid-19-resources-and-information-for-srh/