By Florence Anam1, Cecilia Chung2, Teresia Otieno3, Martha Tholanah4, Alice Welbourn5 As the 23rd international AIDS conference nears, we reflect once more on what it takes to ensure that issues facing women living with HIV are adequately addressed, especially in the context of COVID-19 and increased rates of domestic violence globally. We know how violence […]
Category: Public Health
Signposting patients to sexual health online – don’t forget the health (or the sex)
Dr Julia Bailey, University College London eHealth Unit @juliavbailey The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted an unprecedented shift to remote health services as a response to social distancing for patient and practitioner safety. Sexual health clinic capacity has been cut as staff have been deployed to other parts of the health service, and patients are now […]
Should we all be wearing masks? A community midwife’s view.
by Laura Tugores & Octavia Wiseman During the Covid19 pandemic midwives and other front-line workers challenged PHE’s guidelines which said that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was not needed when caring for asymptomatic patients. In this blog post, two community midwives talk about what this was like for them. Now that guidance has finally been changed […]
Normalising abortion: How do we get there?
By Carrie Purcell1, Fiona Bloomer2, Lesley Hoggart3, Karen Maxwell1, Sam Rowlands4 The COVID-19 pandemic, and current ‘lockdown’ situation in the UK, have seen unprecedentedly fast-paced reorganisation of healthcare services, with many exploring the potential offered by telemedicine. Until this week, abortion care seemed to be an exception to this, with women still being legally required […]
Ensuring personalised care for pregnant women during COVID-19
During a period of lockdown where many of our basic freedoms have been limited, the autonomy and safety of pregnant women can easily be overlooked. In a blogpost last week, Anna Nelson and Chloe Romanis discussed concerns raised about the availability of home birthing during the COVID-19 lockdown. I spoke with Sarah Noble, Head of […]
Limits on gay men’s blood donations reduced in USA
The FDA (Food and Drug Authority) issues guidance on who can donate blood. During the crisis supply has dropped so there is a need to increase donor numbers. In response, the FDA has changed the rules for men who have sex with men. Previously FDA guidance demanded a 12 month deferral period between sex (for […]
Home-Birthing and Free-Birthing in the era of COVID-19
Anna Nelson and Elizabeth Chloe Romanis For many pregnant people[1] due to give birth soon there is considerable anxiety about how COVID-19 will impact birthing plans. Those who have planned for home-births are concerned that their plans will be jeopardised by the announcements from some NHS Trusts that they are suspending home-birthing services. Private home-birth […]
Covid-19 and Abortion Update: Approval Order for England Made
This evening the Department of Health and Social Care issued an approval order enabling women in England to have early medical abortions at home during the Covid-19 crisis. The provisions affect women seeking abortions before 10 weeks, allowing them to take both pills for early medical abortion at home. The approval also allows doctors to […]
Abortion and Covid-19: MPs should beware anti-abortion letters
Nathan Hodson, Elizabeth Chloe Romanis and Jordan Parsons Debate continues this week over whether abortion regulations in Great Britain should be adapted to ensure access for women during the Covid-19 crisis and resulting widespread self-isolation. We have reviewed an email circulated by anti-abortion activists immediately after laws were briefly relaxed (and the changes were revoked […]
COVID-19 and Abortion Care Update: Department of Health and Social Care “Error”
Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Jordan Parsons, and Nathan Hodson In an unprecedented move, yesterday the Department of Health and Social Care liberalised restrictions on abortion care in England only to revoke that decision hours later. This returned the legal position for abortion provision back to that stated in the approval order of the Secretary of State […]