Women struggling to access contraceptive healthcare in Scotland

That’s exactly what Emily Cleal-Bramley, a 22-year-old university student, had to do.

Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) is available on the NHS and can take many forms, such as the implant, the hormonal and copper coil, and the injection. However, due to budget restraints and staffing issues, many services are struggling to meet demand.

Cleal-Bramley (below), based in Glasgow, had an implant inserted in her arm which is due to expire within six months.

However, because she is moving to a rural area in England which has limited access to sexual health services, she decided she wanted to get it removed early.

“I know that the NHS is strapped and that there are very few appointments available, but also that it’s meant to be marginally more accessible in Scotland than England,” she told the Sunday National.

Three months after initially contacting the sexual health clinic at Sandyford in Glasgow, Cleal-Bramley still has the implant in her arm, and has had to resort to writing to her MSP to access an appointment.

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The first appointment she managed to get in May was cancelled at short notice due to staff absence, and she was given a phone number to call to reschedule.

But when she tried the number she was given, her calls kept bouncing and she couldn’t get through.

“So I tried, like everyone else, to go online and to book through their system, but it didn’t recognise the reference number they gave me,” she told the Sunday National.

“I tried pencilling in a new appointment, but there was none near me. Since I can't drive, it was an issue.

“I also have quite high anxiety, so I don't really like having to get the bus to Edinburgh or Ayr, but I’d be happy going to Glasgow.”

'Women shouldn't have to go to the ends of the internet'

Cleal-Bramley turned to social media as a last resort, sharing her experience on Reddit to see if anyone would know what to do.

“It was a total last ditch effort, I didn't know where else to go,” she said.

“I think it's really wrong that women have to go to the ends of the internet to get the support they need for really basic health care.”

After receiving advice from other women trying to access the service in Glasgow, Cleal-Bramley was finally able to get an appointment.

“But when I got there, they refused to take it out because I was there too early – they told me to wait another six months,” Cleal-Bramley said, adding that she could have been made aware of this through a phone call without having to travel.

After reaching out to her local MSP, Kaukab Stewart, about her experience, Cleal-Bramley told the Sunday National that Stewart’s team had offered to act on her behalf to reach out to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGCC) and to attempt to get an appointment.

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The team also told Cleal-Bramley that Stewart could write to Jenni Minto, Scottish Government minister for public health and women's health, about the matter.

A spokesperson for NHSGCC said that waiting times for sexual health services at Sandyford can vary, but “for the most part” patients can expect not to wait more than four weeks to access an appointment.

Appointments become available a month in advance, typically on the first of the month, and are reviewed weekly.

If patients are struggling to get an appointment, the spokesperson advised checking with their GP to see if they offer the service – however, this is not available at all GPs.

They added that Sandyford has clinics across NHSGGC, and to visit the website for the locations, although not all clinics offer the same services.

They encouraged anyone trying to access their services to use the online booking system initially to try to obtain an appointment, although patients can also arrange an appointment by telephone.

Another woman told the Sunday National that they had a positive experience of accessing contraceptive services at Sandyford.

“Unless I’ve been incredibly lucky, I received the copper coil as emergency contraception instead of the morning after pill the same day as phoning,” she said.

“I also had the same one removed two days after completing the appointment request form. To be fair, I had to travel to have this done, but that was my choice to access a sooner appointment.”

'I had to wait six months for an appointment'

Elsewhere in Scotland, women are reporting long waiting times to access contraceptive healthcare.

Dawn Barrett was initially told she would have to wait eight weeks for an appointment to get the copper coil removed at Chalmers Sexual Health Centre in Edinburgh, after reporting symptoms of an allergic reaction.

“I went back to the GP to ask for it to be sped up, as the removal was classed as a complex removal – strings were missing and it was going to take eight weeks,” Barrett said.

“They sent me to A&E, and I managed to get it scheduled for the following day.”

Another woman told the Sunday National that she had waited more than six months for a removal appointment, before eventually being referred to St John's Hospital in Livingston after lodging a complaint.

Her contraception was removed two months after the recommended date, meaning it was no longer effective in preventing pregnancy.

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However, some also expressed that they had a good experience with Chalmers, with one woman saying: “I just had a coil inserted and the earliest appointment that was available to me when booking was for three weeks later.

“I thought that was a little bit of a long wait but for a free service I didn’t really have any issues with it.”

The NHS East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership was contacted for comment.

Another woman told the Sunday National that she had struggled to access an appointment in the Highlands.

“I waited four months for an implant removal appointment in Caithness. I couldn’t get an appointment at all for three months for a replacement, but circumstances change and I was trying for pregnancy and suddenly there was an available appointment,” she said.

A spokesperson for NHS Highland said that waiting times for implant appointments averaged at around five weeks, whereas patients could be waiting between six and 12 weeks for a coil appointment depending on demand.

Appointments are released up to six weeks in advance and can be booked online either by using the online form or phoning between 9am and 5pm on a weekday.

A daily clinic takes place in Inverness, a weekly clinic in Invergordon and monthly clinics in Fort William and Caithness.

For more information on LARCs, visit the NHS Scotland Inform website here.