An extra £11 million is to be spent by the UK government on sexual health and HIV in England and Wales this year. The announcement of the additional funding comes in a detailed response to a MP’s report on sexual health published in June that said that the UK was facing a sexual health “crisis.”
Almost half the new funding will go towards reducing waiting times, and the government is setting a maximum 48-hour target wait for an appointment for sexual health services. New tests for chlamydia will swallow another £5 million. The currently used tests are regarded as suboptimal as they unable to identify the infection immediately.
There is little new money for HIV services, but £400,000 is to be allocated to HIV-prevention campaigns targeted at the communities most affected by HIV in the UK, gay men and Africans.
The UK government recently launched its National HIV and Sexual Health Strategy, and has expressed confidence that it is the best framework to tackle the recent increase in diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections.
However, Baroness Gould, who chairs the government’s Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health, called for more money. “The additional funds for this year…are welcome”, she said, adding “ investment in these services needs to be increased and consistent in future years if it is to improve facilities and services.”
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UK’s sexual health in crisis, say MPs - news story