Rabu, 25 April 2012

The Pill 'should be given to girls of 13 without a prescription', report says

The Pill 'should be given to girls of 13 without a prescription', report says

By Claire Bates

PUBLISHED: 07:04 EST, 25 April 2012 | UPDATED: 19:20 EST, 25 April 2012

Doctors said there were risks in prescribing contraceptives for the first time to young women without taking a full history

Doctors said there were risks in prescribing contraceptives for the first time to young women without taking a full history


Girls as young as 13 should be given the contraceptive Pill without having to see a doctor, according to an NHS report.

It recommends that high street pharmacists across Britain routinely hand it out to teenagers under the legal age of consent in the hope of reducing unwanted pregnancies.

Normally girls and women can only go on the Pill once they have undergone a thorough consultation with a GP or nurse as it can cause side effects including blood clots.

But in a pilot project, five high street pharmacies in the London districts of Southwark and Lambeth have been handing the Pill to over 16s without a doctor’s prescription.

Now a review of the project, which was reported in the Daily Mail in December 2009, has concluded that it should be expanded ‘across London and nationally’.

The review, carried out by NHS South East London, adds: ‘Consider providing the service to women under 16 years where appropriate. This may help contribute to a reduction in teenage pregnancies.’

Elsewhere the document, obtained by Pulse magazine, specifies girls aged 13 to 16.

Officials at the Department of Health say it is up to individual NHS trusts to decide if they want to adopt similar schemes. They will not be issuing national guidelines.

But a number of chemists in two primary care trust areas have already begun providing the Pill to girls as young as 13 in an attempt to tackle teenage pregnancy rates.

Since November 2010, the Isle of Wight PCT has be en carrying out a trial across ten pharmacies to offer it to girls and women aged 13 to 25.

Girls who go into the chemist wanting the morning-after pill are also offered a month’s supply of the Pill following a consultation with the pharmacist.

If they want additional supplies they will have to see the GP or practice nurse. NHS Manchester began a similar project last year in 13 chemists.

But Professor David Paton, of the University of Nottingham, who specialises in contraceptive policies, said that if young girls knew they could get the Pill without their parents finding out they might be more inclined to have sex.

‘There is clear evidence that it is unlikely to reduce teenage pregnancies,’ he said.

‘All the evidence is that greater provision has no impact on teenage pregnancies.’

Dr Fiona Cornish, a GP in Cambridge and president-elect of the Medical Women’s Federation, said she was ‘uneasy’ about whether pharmacists w ould be able to carry out a proper consultation with girls.

But she added: ‘I’m convinced there is a good case for the over 16s as they are already offered emergency contraception â€" the morning after pill â€" at pharmacists.’

Senior GPs point out that the Pill can cause rare but fatal blood clots so it is essential that girls undergo a proper consultation to ensure they are not at risk.

Doctors, nurses and pharmacists are legally allowed to give the Pill to a girl under the legal age of consent as long as they ensure she is aware of the risks of having sex and of taking the medication.

Due to patient confidentiality laws they cannot tell the girl’s parents.

The contraceptive implant Nexplanon is 4cm long and is inserted under the skin. A parent was outraged after it was implanted in her 13-year-old's arm

The contraceptive implant Nexplanon is 4cm long and is inserted under the skin. A parent was outraged after it was implanted in her 13-year-old's arm

Recently Britain’s teenage pregnancy rate has begun to fall although it is still one of the highest in Europe.

The most recent ONS figures show that births to girls under 18 dropped by 10 per cent last year and are now at the lowest level since 1969.

Campaigners say this is due to increased availability of contraception and improved sex education in schools.

But some of the measures to cut teenage pregnancies have proved highly controversial.

Earlier this year it emerged that schools were providing girls as young as 13 with contraceptive implants without their parents’ knowledge.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

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You speak of under 16s still being children yet many are taking their GCSE examinations from as young as 13. During secondary school, children are forced to grow up and mature in order to be capable of achieving good grades and now that they have, people don't like the fact that they have unavoidably matured in other areas too. You think 13 year olds will still suddenly start having sex? Well here's a newsflash - they already are, and they'll continue to do so with or without protection, so why deny them it? If you want to preserve a child's childhood - stop putting them under so much pressure during their education and preserve away. If not, just accept the fact that if you want mature children with positive things like the capability to adandon childish things to devote the majority of their time coping with the revision and coursework required of todays education, you're going to have to accept the supposedly 'negative' things like relationships and sex.

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Shouldn't these NHS authorities be charged with aiding abetting criminal activities.. In UK sex for under 16 yr old is illegal

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That's insane. They're not Smarties. The pill is medication with potentially serious side effects.

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or maybe 13 year old girls shouldn't be having sex at all. it's gross, they're still kids. - cynic, somewhere, 25/4/2012 17:52 ---------- Agree, but some girls do it anyway. Shall we lecture them on what they should or shouldn't do and close the case knowing some will do it not mater what we say OR give them the opportunity to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy. I think NHS has a point. The pill should be available.

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Savage tribes only. follow what has been .taught them handed down through the ages so called civilised people of this country only follow what has been taught them by .subliminal indoctrination mainly through television and that includes their morality Which society is right SAVAGE OR CIVILISED

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What the hell is going on with Britain....we really have been through a total regime change where our youth have been taken so far away from control it is frightening...porn and drugs and crass tv now this...it is beyond the pale now!!! any child taking any meds needs monitoring. we hand them the gun and scream when they shoot themselves....I truly despair.

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HELLO! Sex under 16 is still illegal! Has everyone forgotten this? 13 is a child!

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A few weeks ago my 13 year old son tried to buy a dvd of Jonny English, which is pg rated. He was refused on the grounds that parental consent was required to purchase it. How topsy turvy this world is

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Watch the STI rate go through the roof!

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Perhaps I led a too sheltered life, certainly there was very little sex education. However, at 13 I had no idea what "sex" was. Maybe it wasn't ideal but at least we had a childhood without the worries and pressures of adult life. I wouldn't swap my lovely innocent upbringing for today's sexualising of our children, which I feel is tantamount to child abuse.

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