Dr Sarah Salkeld, Deputy Medical Director (Medical Abortion), and Alanah Cornelius, Strategic Integration Lead, discuss why improving access to reproductive healthcare requires greater investment in workforce education, and how MSI UK’s new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme aims to support that ambition.
“When healthcare professionals are equipped with current, evidence-based knowledge, patients are better supported to make informed decisions about their care.”
Limited pre-existing structured abortion care education
Abortion care is a normal, routine part of healthcare in England, yet many healthcare professionals can receive relatively limited structured education on abortion pathways, contraception after abortion, safeguarding considerations, and aftercare. As a result, patients can experience variation in the information, guidance, and support they receive depending on where they first seek help.
At a time when the NHS is focused on improving women’s health outcomes -demonstrated within the renewed women’s health strategy – we know strengthening knowledge and confidence across the healthcare workforce has never been more important. Access to healthcare is not determined solely by the availability of services. It is also influenced by whether healthcare professionals have the information, confidence, and resources they need to support and signpost patients effectively.
Why MSI is well-placed to deliver a CPD programme
As part of a global charitable organisation operating in 36 countries, we reached more than 24 million people in 2024 alone. In England, we are a leading NHS-funded provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare, and a designated NHSE ‘Hard to Replace provider’. MSI UK delivers NHS-funded abortion care, contraception, and vasectomy services across England from our clinics, rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We see firsthand the opportunities and challenges involved in delivering equitable access to high-quality reproductive healthcare.
A prior example of our commitment to furthering access to abortion care via training and development is our Deputy Medical Director, Dr Yvonne Neubauer’s, innovative free surgical training programme, designed to substantially increase the number of NHS doctors qualified to perform surgical termination of pregnancy. Since the training programme’s establishment, 32 doctors have achieved competencies, and the majority have acquired skills to perform surgical abortion up to the legal gestational limit.
The main barriers to knowledge
Knowledge gaps in reproductive healthcare are rarely the result of unwillingness or lack of commitment by clinicians. Rather, they reflect the reality of an increasingly stretched healthcare system, where professionals are expected to maintain expertise across a growing range of clinical areas. However, when knowledge and confidence vary, patient experiences can vary too.
One recurring theme is variation in understanding. While healthcare professionals are committed to supporting patients to make informed choices, opportunities for formal learning about contemporary abortion care pathways can be limited. Misconceptions about referral processes, aftercare, safeguarding, counselling, and contraceptive options can persist, creating unnecessary uncertainty for both clinicians and patients.
This matters because reproductive healthcare does not exist in isolation. Patients may seek advice from a GP, community healthcare professional, sexual health practitioner, pharmacist, charity worker, or another frontline professional before accessing specialist care. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to provide accurate information, reduce anxiety, and ensure patients can access care without unnecessary delays. This can be especially important in a time-sensitive healthcare service such as abortion care.
Clinical knowledge can also be supported by reproductive healthcare providers’ digital tools. For example, MSI UK’s ‘eligibility checker’ helps people to understand whether MSI UK is the commissioned service provider offering NHS-funded reproductive healthcare services in their area. People can also understand their gestation, and therefore which termination of pregnancy (TOP) options might be available to them, by using our gestation calculator – one of the first of its kind that does not assume that someone would like to continue a pregnancy.
How can we work together to bridge the gap?
Just as investment in facilities, technology (including digital tools), and service provision can improve access, so too can investment in professional development. When healthcare professionals are equipped with current, evidence-based knowledge, patients are better supported to make informed decisions about their care.
This perspective has informed the development of MSI UK’s new national Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for 2026-27, for which we are proud to have been accredited by the CPD Certification Service.
Delivered by MSI UK’s subject matter experts, including our UK Deputy Medical Director for Medical Abortion, Associate Clinical Director for Early Medical Abortion, and clinical leads in aftercare, safeguarding, and contraception, the programme will cover a range of topics, including:
- Abortion and Primary Care: What GPs Need to Know
- Contraception After Abortion: Collaborating to Support Choice
- Safeguarding and Vulnerability in Abortion Care
- Abortion Aftercare: Best Practice and Compassionate Care
The programme also aligns closely with the ambitions of the renewed Women’s Health Strategy for the next decade (launched in April 2026), which recognises the importance of improving access to information, reducing inequalities, and ensuring that women’s health remains a priority across the healthcare system. It reflects growing recognition that abortion and contraception are integral components of women’s healthcare and should be considered within wider conversations about prevention, public health, and patient outcomes.
Importantly, this is not simply about increasing knowledge of abortion services. It is about strengthening the quality and consistency of information available to patients wherever they enter the healthcare system. Better-informed professionals can help ensure patients receive timely signposting, accurate advice, and compassionate support throughout what can be a complex decision-making process.
If we want patients to receive timely, informed, and compassionate care wherever they seek help, workforce development must be treated as a strategic priority. Our CPD programme is one contribution to that goal, and we hope it helps support a more informed, confident, and consistent approach to reproductive healthcare across the country.
If you’d like to sign up to our CPD programme, you can find more details here.
