Ms Marie O'Shea:

I hear what the Senator is saying, but in our model of care the GP is the gatekeeper for all early terminations of pregnancy. If a person who approaches the GP is over nine weeks plus six days, or if the three-day wait takes her over nine weeks plus six days, the GP will claim for only one consultation because he or she then has to refer the woman to the hospital services to complete the procedure. The patient is given the termination drug at the hospital and she must then come back 72 hours later, I think, to take medication to get rid of the products of pregnancy. In those circumstances, there would be only one claim by a GP, yet the termination of pregnancy would have continued its full course. However, we do not have the figures. I have mentioned in the report, under monitoring and evaluation, that we should have the figures. When a person does not re-present to a GP, we should try to have some understanding as to why that is so. It is difficult to know.