APPG SRH holds meeting to hear findings from SACHA Study
Date: 23 Mar 2023
Type: All-Party Parliamentary Group on SRH
On 7 March 2023, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health (APPG SRH) brought together around 50 policymakers, clinicians, researchers, abortion care providers and other stakeholders in Parliament – including representatives from Health Education England, the Royal College of GPs and the Faculty of Public Health – to discuss the implications of the SACHA (Shaping Abortion for Change) Study.
During the meeting – chaired by the APPG’s Co-Chair Baroness Liz Barker – the Group heard presentations on different aspects / implications of the Study including the law around abortion care, the need for patient-centred care, commissioning of services and an overview of the team’s proposed changes to abortion regulation and provision.
The findings of the Study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, raise policy questions such as the appropriate location for performing an abortion, the opportunity to extend the roles of nurses and midwives, the support needed by women, and whether changes are needed to the regulation of abortion.
The meeting included presentations from the following members of the SACHA Study team:
- Professor Kaye Wellings
- Rebecca French
- Professor Sally Sheldon
- Ms Jennifer Reiter
- Professor Sharon Cameron
A number of issues were raised by attendees during the session, including the stigma experienced by providers and women (such as in the work environment) and information online being out-of-date, with young people turning to social media platforms such as TikTok for medical advice. The need for national policy leadership in this area of healthcare was also discussed; multiple attendees noted the apparent shelving of the Government’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Action Plan.
You can read a summary of the event here.
If you have any questions about this event or the work of the APPG SRH please get in contact via appg@fsrh.org.