NAT responds to King’s Fund report on the future of HIV services in England
The King’s Fund have today released a new research report, The Future of HIV services in England: Working in partnership, leading across systems.
Deborah Gold, Chief Executive at NAT (National AIDS Trust) said:
“The HIV care pathway was one of the earliest and most striking casualties of the fragmentation caused by the Health and Social Care Act. NAT is pleased to see the King’s Fund highlighting this issue. Our fight to find a commissioning home for PrEP has been the most prominent of a much broader range of challenges which the NHS reorganisation in England has created for effective HIV services.
HIV treatment in England is world-leading. NHS and community providers of HIV care have pioneered the sort of person-centred approach which is now at the heart of NHS England policy. But just as the value of these support services is being highlighted, the same services are facing cuts.1
People affected by HIV deserve a health system which actively seeks improvements in prevention, treatment and long-term care, not one which struggles to maintain the assets we already have and to accommodate genuine innovation.2 We need the Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England, alongside local authorities and others to rise to the challenge of providing accountability and leadership at every level of the health service.”
Notes to editors:
- In England there was an average cut of 28% in expenditure for HIV support services between 2015/16 and 2016/17. The regional variation in cuts is enormous, with some areas entirely losing support for people living with HIV. http://www.nat.org.uk/press-release/exposed-huge-national-cuts-hiv-support-services
- For World AIDS Day 2016, NAT released a vision for HIV in the future NHS: http://www.nat.org.uk/sites/default/files/HIV_futureNHS_Dec16_0.pdf
About NAT
NAT (National AIDS Trust) is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to transforming society’s response to HIV. We provide fresh thinking, expertise and practical resources. We champion the rights of people living with HIV and campaign for change.
Shaping attitudes. Challenging injustice. Changing lives.