This part includes data on sterilisations and vasectomies taking place at SRH services and in NHS hospitals. NHS hospitals data is extracted from NHS Digital’s Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). See Appendix C for a full list of sterilisation and vasectomy HES procedure codes. 

A female sterilisation is an operation which necessitates a stay in hospital, and so all data relates to NHS hospitals.

Vasectomies may be performed as operations requiring a hospital stay, or as procedures in outpatient departments and SRH services clinics. Most are performed as day cases in hospital outpatient departments.

The latest year of HES data shown (2018/19) is provisional. Finalised data is not available until after this report has been published, but will be included in the following years report. The difference is expected to be small.

Sterilisation procedures¹ by year² (NHS Hospitals)

The number of sterilisations performed in NHS hospitals has fallen from 17,562 in 2008/09 to 12,918 in 2018/19, a decrease of 26%. The figure in 2018/19 was 5% lower than in 2017/18 (13,723).

Vasectomy procedures¹ by year² (SRH services and NHS Hospitals)

Prior to 2015/16 there had been a long term decline in the number of vasectomies performed, with the number falling by half (50%) between 2008/09 (22,156) and 2014/15 (11,113). Since then the number has remained at around 11 to 12 thousand per year.

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^{1. Either as a primary or secondary procedure.}    

^{2. Latest year of HES data (2018/19) is provisional. Finalised data is not available until after this report has been prepared, but will be included in the following years report. The difference is expected to be small.}

For more data relating to this section: