Doctors receiving abortion care training
Pilot programmes to train doctors in abortion care are already underway at undisclosed locations, modelled largely on the training provided in Britain, according to the first female chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (IOG).
Cliona Murphy, who takes up the chain of office today, told the that the institute is “actively involved in setting up training courses at the moment with the HSE so that women can have the service that they need, that they want, and that they voted for”.
Dr Murphy, from Ballincollig, Co Cork, said the IOG had looked at the training provided by the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in Britain and that training for Irish doctors would be “something similar”.
She said she does not wish to pinpoint where the pilots are taking place but that they are “out of clinical areas”.
Dr Murphy said abortion care will be integrated into a doctor’s training course — the institute is the national professional and training body for obstetricians/gynaecologists in Ireland — and would include practical skills and counselling skills.
Education in abortion care will be extended to both young doctors in training and older consultant obstetricians/gynaecologists who need to upskill.
“It’s about quality and safety and we need to train people,” she said.
Asked if she believes in a need for exclusion zones around facilities providing abortions, Dr Murphy said they may also be necessary around family planning clinics to avoid women being stigmatised.
During the referendum campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution — which has effectively prohibited abortion in all bar exceptional circumstances since 1983 — concerns were raised about women being targeted by protesters outside doctors’ clinics and hospitals.
An anti-abortion group last week said it would use the proposed three-day waiting period to target women trying to access terminations in Ireland.
The Cabinet yesterday approved the text of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018, which will provide for access to terminations without restrictions up to the 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Health Minister Simon Harris said the legislation will be published in the coming days and introduced in the Dáil to commence its legislative passage next week.
Approval for legislation to regulate termination of pregnancy in Ireland. Time to legislate and pass the law #repealedThe8th pic.twitter.com/wJHgEi43ft
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) September 27, 2018
He said the text of the bill is “very much in line with the general scheme published before the referendum”.
He said he remains committed to having abortion available from January 1.
The minister said a separate piece of legislation will address safe access zones.
Dr Murphy said the “Government’s heart is in the right place in trying to make sure that the women are not traumatised”.
In relation to the CervicalCheck scandal, Dr Murphy said the institute will do “all that we can” to ensure an audit conducted by RCOG goes smoothly.
The Department of Health and the HSE published the terms of reference of the audit this week.
It will look at cases of cervical cancer that occurred since the establishment of CervicalCheck in 2008, to see if they could reasonably be attributable to errors in screening and reporting of cytology.
A total of 1,856 cases will be reviewed and the women, or their next-of-kin in cases where women are deceased, will be contacted to ask if they wish to take part.
