We have also launched a self-service online help centre at https://support.doctorsforchoice.mt
FPAS was launched on 1st August 2020 with a mission to help people in Malta access information on reproductive options, including contraception and abortion. In our first year we have had at least 479 clients contact us for information and guidance. This means more than one new person a day made contact with us. Each one of these is a verified unique contact, and spam or wrong number calls are not counted towards this statistic. Our volunteers do all this work from their own free time, and we do not receive any government funds or payments.
Similar to the pattern we saw in the first six months of operation, the most popular method of communication remained online chat, followed by our helpline. We are also contactable on WhatsApp and email, but these accounted for a minority of contacts.
Most clients requested information on abortion. The next most popular topic was emergency contraception, followed by general contraception queries. Other topics that occasionally came up included antenatal screening, termination after an adverse antenatal diagnosis, IVF and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, as well as domestic violence and legal issues.
It is a shame that people in Malta have to rely on the voluntary sector to obtain information, help, and guidance on these critical issues. Not only are essential reproductive services such as abortion and IVF with PGD absent from the Maltese healthcare system, there is also no source of factual information on such topics. This is a failure and abdication of duty of the Maltese state towards its citizens, especially towards vulnerable women with unwanted pregnancies.
Due to the limited number and availability of volunteers, and to manage the ever increasing workload of FPAS, together with Doctors for Choice we have launched an online knowledge base accessible at https://support.doctorsforchoice.mt
This knowledge base is built on our experience of helping people in Malta over the last twelve months, and contains answers to the most common questions put to us by the public. It will help people in Malta get the information they need online at any time, without having to wait for a response from our volunteers. We will regularly update the knowledge base with new information and other questions put to us by our clients.
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