Speeches

Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, at how many (a) NHS hospitals, (b) NHS agencies and (c) approved private sector places abortions were able to take place in each year since 2009-10.

Nicola Blackwood

Comprehensive and comparable data is not collected centrally on waiting times for abortions performed in both the National Health Service and independent sector. Information on the average time between the two medical practitioners’ signatures is also not collected centrally.

Because of the way information is stored the number of places where abortions took place in England and Wales is only available from 2013 to 2015 and is shown in the table below. All independent sector places perform abortions under contract from the NHS (previously known as NHS agency).

Table: The number of clinics at which abortions took place, by clinic type, England and Wales 2013 to 2015

Year

Total number of clinics

NHS Hospital

Independent Sector

Private Hospital

2013

348

234

97

16

2014

354

223

117

14

2015

385

220

151

14