Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 November 2020
200. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if he will consider offering psychological supports and counselling to women who have had abortions and to doctors and medics who have performed abortions, given the findings of a study (details supplied). [38952/20]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that a range of supports in this area are already well established.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has funded the provision of post-termination counselling services since 2008. All women who have had a termination of pregnancy are entitled to these services, which are provided free of charge in a range of locations across the country.
The HSE’s ‘My Options’ freephone counselling helpline became operational on 1 January 2019. The My Options Information and Counselling service is available from 9am-9pm Monday to Friday as well as Saturday 10am-2pm and is staffed by Counsellors. The telephone nursing service is available 24/7 and is staffed by nurses and midwives. My Options can provide an interpreter for 240 different languages and the ‘My Options’ leaflet has been translated into six languages.
In addition to other support services available, the HSE published the National Standards for Bereavement Care following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death in 2016. The purpose of the standards is to enhance bereavement care services for parents who experience a pregnancy loss or perinatal death. These standards cover all pregnancy loss situations from early pregnancy loss to perinatal death, as well as situations where there is a diagnosis of foetal anomaly that will be life limiting or may be fatal.
Since then, Bereavement Specialist Teams have been established in all 19 maternity hospitals/units across the country, to assist and support parents, families and professionals dealing with pregnancy loss. The teams are supported in their work by staff including social workers, palliative care teams and chaplains.
As part of the implementation of the National Standards, a national website is available for use as a resource specifically for parents bereaved through pregnancy loss and perinatal death, and the healthcare professionals who care for them. It includes information and contact details for Bereavement Support Teams in each maternity hospital/unit across the country, as well as other support services and resources for both parents and staff. The website is accessible at: https://pregnancyandinfantloss.ie/
