The year 2016 has seen a slight increase from 15‚352 to 16‚736 in the number of legal abortions performed in Gauteng public hospitals and clinics‚ according to Gauteng MEC for Health‚ Dr Gwen Ramokgopa.
Of these‚ 10‚700 were done at hospitals‚ while clinics performed about 6‚036. She disclosed this while announcing that‚ in a bid to decrease the demand in unplanned pregnancies‚ the Department plans to increase promotion of contraceptive services and post-abortion care.
She said this would be done through intensive training of all professional health workers on Long Acting Reversible Contraception. “The first trimester terminations are available in the Community Health Centres and communities are aware of these services.
The challenge is the limited number of doctors trained to perform second trimester termination of pregnancy at hospital level‚” said Ramokgopa.
The MEC also said the Department was planning to train more doctors to provide second trimester termination of pregnancy to increase the number of hospitals providing the service.
Providing an update on a range of issues affecting her department‚ she announced that burglar bars have been installed and extra security has been placed on a 24-hour basis at ward entrances at the Bheki Mlangeni Regional facility‚ that admits acute mental health patients.
This is after three incidents involving a 34-year-old psychiatry patient who died after jumping out of the bathroom window in July 2016‚ a 13-year-old patient sustaining wrist injuries from jumping out of the balcony on 24 December 2016 and a 23-year-old patient sustaining head injuries after storming out of the ward towards the second floor balcony in January this year.
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