Revealed: women offered 'lunchtime abortions' on Scots NHS

THE Scottish NHS is introducing controversial "lunchtime" abortions under local anaesthetic in a move it claims will make the procedure safer and quicker for thousands of women each year.

Doctors will begin a pilot next year in which women undergo terminations while fully conscious in outpatient treatment rooms, rather than operating theatres. Health chiefs believe the move could boost abortion safety by reducing the need for general anaesthetics or powerful drugs. It would also free up operating theatres for other patients and save money.

But Church leaders and anti-abortion groups have reacted with fury and disbelief, accusing NHS managers of reducing abortion to something as trivial as a trip to the dentist.

Women in Scotland are currently offered the choice of medical termination, which involves taking tablets that induce a miscarriage over two days, or a surgical abortion under general anaesthetic, which involves many hours in hospital. Last year there were almost 7,000 medical abortions and 5,500 surgical abortions in Scotland.

NHS Lothian will shortly become the first health board in Scotland to offer abortion under local anaesthetic in a controversial move likely to be followed across the country.

A private clinic began offering the local anaesthetic abortions in England nine years ago, saying they "could be quite easily completed during a working woman's lunchtime". They have since been offered by the NHS in England, but never before in Scotland.

Dr Anna Glasier, the clinical director for sexual health at NHS Lothian, confirmed trials would begin in 2007. The procedure will be available to women up to 15 weeks pregnant.

Glasier said: "This pilot is intended to assess whether there would be advantages in offering women the option of using local anaesthetic rather than general for a surgical termination.

"This would only affect the choice of pain relief for women undergoing this procedure, and not any other aspect, such as the timing of the procedure or the number of abortions being done.

"There are many possible advantages in opting for local anaesthetic rather than a general anaesthetic. Using a local anaesthetic is potentially safer."

She added: "It is possible, if some women opt for treatment under local anaesthetic, rather than a general anaesthetic, that there would be less pressure on hospital operating theatres, which could be used for other operations instead, but our main concern is about making the experience of a distressing condition better for our patients."

Abortions under local anaesthetic are also slightly cheaper at around £510 compared with £580 for general anaesthetic.

Vincent Agent, medical director of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said his private clinics in England perform around 5,000 abortions under local anaesthetic every year.

He said: "This procedure is quicker and can be done in an outpatient clinic. Women can come in and go home a few hours later. We carry out a lot of these procedures. It is considered best practice to avoid general anaesthetic."

Dr Kate Guthrie, a family planning consultant from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said:

"There are very small risks associated with general anaesthetic, and because the patient is awake during a local anaesthetic they can talk to the doctor about what's happening.

"They are also up and about very quickly. The other advantage is that there is a certain stigma with abortion and women can leave the clinic without someone having to take them home. They can also take less time off work."

But a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: "The very serious danger with this method is that so little time goes into thinking through the consequences.

"The more streamlined the process becomes, the higher the risk that the woman will not fully consider her options. This will make abortion more convenient and make it less likely the woman will be able to pause for thought."

Margaret Cuthill, national co-ordinator of British Victims of Abortion, said: "This is minimising abortion to the point where it is like a trip to the dentist or the supermarket.

"Many of the women who come for post-abortion counselling with our organisation say they felt like they had been put on a conveyer belt and this new procedure will add to that."