Robin Swann says it is not clear for how long abortion services will be paused in Western Trust due to staffing issues

However, it is unclear when the service will be back up and running. The Western Trust announced a suspension of EMAs in April due to staffing shortages.

Green MLA Claire Bailey asked the Health Minister Robin Swann about the matter, claiming the Department of Health has ‘not implemented, has not funded and has not established any services at all’.

Mr. Swann said: “This issue is cross-cutting and controversial and is not a decision for me and my Department to take but is actually one for the Executive to take.

“At this point, it is not known how long services will be paused in the Western Trust.

“It is my understanding that efforts are ongoing to put additional staff in place as soon as possible to resume the provision of an EMA service with minimum disruption. My Department continues to monitor that situation. In the meantime, and in the event of a prolonged pause, it is likely that women residing in the Western Trust area will be referred to the central contact point, which remains available to women from NI and is managed by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.”