A schoolgirl from Northern Ireland/The North was left traumatised after being wrongly sent to England for an abortion that could have been carried out locally, her mother has said.
The 18-year-old had been around 18 weeks pregnant when she sought medical help and was referred for a termination procedure. However, due to a mistake by the booking provider responsible for arranging the appointment, she was sent to London instead of being treated within Northern Ireland/The North.
Her mother said the teenager had already been going through an extremely stressful situation and the administrative error made the experience significantly worse.
According to the family, the young woman travelled to England for the procedure believing that treatment was not available closer to home. After the termination took place, she was forced to remain in the airport waiting for a return flight while suffering bleeding and severe cramping.
Her mother said the teenager had been left physically unwell and emotionally distressed during the journey home, describing the ordeal as traumatic.
She said the mistake should never have happened because abortion services are available in Northern Ireland/The North for pregnancies at that stage, meaning the teenager should not have been required to travel to England.
The case has raised questions about the systems used to arrange abortion care for patients in Northern Ireland/The North, particularly where services exist locally but patients are still being directed to clinics in Britain.
Healthcare authorities are now understood to be examining the circumstances surrounding the referral and the booking process that led to the teenager being sent abroad unnecessarily.
The girl’s mother said she hopes the case leads to improvements so that other young women do not have to endure the same experience.
She said the situation had been “traumatic” for her daughter and the family and should serve as a warning about the consequences of administrative mistakes in sensitive healthcare cases.
