Health officials in Nova Scotia have approved the use of an ultrasound machine at the province’s only abortion clinic, a decision a top official says will improve access.
The new machine arrived at the Women’s Choice Clinic at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax last month after a fundraising campaign collected $60,000 from a private foundation and local donations.
But the diagnostic imaging equipment — used to locate and date pregnancies — sat idle after the Nova Scotia Health Authority refused to allow doctors to use it, saying the clinic already had access to ultrasounds performed by registered sonographers in consultation with trained radiologists.
Kim Munroe, director of ambulatory care for the QEII, says the “intraoperative” use of the ultrasound at the bedside has been approved for the clinic, the only facility in the province solely dedicated to performing abortions.
She says physicians will use their clinical judgement in determining if the use of the machine is required, which will improve access as it will be available to use when it is needed urgently.
Lianne Yoshida, the medical director of the clinic, says she’s happy the machine that was funded by so many donors can now be used.