Contraception in pharmacies
Thursday, 13 Dec 2007 11:15
Pharmacists could soon distribute the contraceptive pill
Contraception will be provided in pharmacies during pilot trials as part of a strategy to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.
The health minister Lord Ara Darzi said the trials will run next year as the government believes pharmacies could be the "easiest route" for patients to obtain contraception, including the contraceptive pill.
During a debate in the House of Lords, the peer maintained standards would be met during the trials and said appropriate training would be given to ensure contraception is distributed correctly.
According to the Department of Health, 186,400 abortions in resident women were performed in England and Wales in 2005, with the highest abortion rate in women aged between 20 and 24.
Despite teenage conception rates falling, the percentage of conceptions leading to abortions has risen since 1998.
Under the teenage pregnancy strategy the government aims to halve the under-18 conception rate by 2010, with improved access to contraception seen as one of the factors to achieve this.
Health campaigners have therefore welcomed the contraception-in-pharmacies trials as being a potential way to increase the use of contraception.
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