Marie Stopes UK – Abortion Services in Dorset

Marie Stopes UK has been helping people with their reproductive health options for over 40 years, providing NHS-funded and self-funded abortion care through a network of 60 local clinics all over England.

Marie Stopes are commissioned by the CCG to provide termination of pregnancy (TOP) services across Dorset and it is important health service providers are aware our services are fully open during the current Covid-19 crisis.

Marie Stopes UK key updates for C-19:  

• Abortion treatment is an essential clinical service, and it is vitally important that women are as able as ever to access our services during this pandemic.
• Our telemedicine service is fully operational – patients who are eligible for this service can choose to have their medication delivered via post, or can collect it from one of our clinics.  Patients who not eligible for this service (i.e. those with safeguarding or complex clinical needs) will still be able to receive face-to-face care at a clinic of their choosing. This service is available for all of our patients, free of charge.
• Our clinics are open and running as normal, offering medical abortions up to 9 weeks and 6 days and surgical abortions up to 23 weeks and 6 days. We are observing social distancing within our clinics, keeping our patients and staff as safe as possible.
• The first step is to call and talk to one of our team, on 0345 300 8090. Our telephone line is open 24/7 and is free to use. Patients can call this line to talk through their options, book treatment or receive specialist clinical advice from our nursing team.
• Patients do not need a referral from their GP to access our services. Patients can self-refer for treatment by calling our team directly.
• We aim to provide initial consultations within 48 hours, and have capacity to provide treatment in our clinics in Poole, Westbury and Bristol.
• We are CCG funded, which means that patients can access our treatment free of charge. A full list of our clinic locations can be found here: https://www.mariestopes.org.uk/find-us/

Marie Stopes want to make sure community pharmacies, particularly those providing emergency contraception, are aware that if a patient presents to a pharmacy asking about abortion care, customer-facing staff know patients can self-refer to our services without the need to book a GP appointment to proceed with their treatment. This is particularly important at this time to reduce pressure on GP practices.

The following page has been set up specifically for Pharmacies:

https://www.mariestopes.org.uk/pharmacy-advice/

Please click HERE for the Marie Stopes UK poster for pharmacy.