The establishment of a centralised referral service leads to earlier abortion

In 1988 a centralised referral service for termination of pregnancy was established in Edinburgh. This has led to a significant reduction in the time women who have requested termination wait to see a gynaecologist (mean 4.7 days) and in the time it takes before suction termination of pregnancy is undertaken (total wait 10.2 days). In 1988 only 40% of induced abortions in Edinburgh were carried out at 9 weeks gestation or before while in 1989 that figure had risen to 60%. In 1989 less than 10% of pregnancies were terminated at or after 12 weeks gestation, compared with 21% in 1988. Reasons for delays in obtaining an abortion are multifactorial but rapid referral once a woman has made the decision to seek help will be essential if she is to avail herself of the advantages of medical termination--only available until eight weeks of pregnancy.