MEMBERS OF THE Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have expressed concerns over the roll-out of services to terminate pregnancies in Ireland.

The issues were raised at an extraordinary general meeting of the institute – which is the national training body for obstetricians and gynaecologists in Ireland – this evening, which RTÉ reports was attended by 20 people, around 10% of its members.

The group’s chairperson, Dr Cliona Murphy said a number of its members raised concerns over how prepared the health service was to provide care for those who wished to receive abortions.

A motion which said that terminations should not take place until risks to patient safety were addressed was not voted on.

However, the institute is understood to have stated that implementation of the legislation would require ongoing training and education.

Termination of pregnancy services were introduced on 1 January, after legislation regulating the service was passed in the Dáil last month.

However, only around 200 GPs have signed up to provide the service to date, with about half of these not accepting referrals from the HSE’s MyOptions helpline.