NHS urged to treat all HIV/Aids suffers

Monday, 21 March 2005 12:00 AM

An influential committee of MPs has warned that Government rules preventing failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from getting NHS treatment could actually increase the number infected with HIV in the UK.

The Commons Health Select Committee has called for free treatment to be made available to all HIV/Aids sufferers in the UK.

In a new report, New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/Aids Policy, MPs concluded that if free treatment was not available people might be deterred from taking an HIV test, increasing the risk of the disease spreading.

The committee said that they could find no substantial evidence of people coming to this country simply to get free treatment. Free treatment for TB is already offered to everyone, regardless of immigration status, on public health grounds.

The report also insisted that access to sexual health clinics must be improved if the rise in infection rates is going to be tackled.

The committee found that just 38 per cent of people were being seen within the recommended 48 hours of seeking an appointment and suggested that a £50 million education campaign should be postponed until ministers were sure clinics were able to cope with a surge in demand.

Committee chairman David Hinchliffe said: "It is particularly important that sexual health services are able to meet the extra demand that will be generated by the Government's planned health education campaign."

Shadow Health Minister Simon Burns commented on the report: "Labour's failure has allowed the situation to reach epidemic proportions and is yet another example of the money the government is spending on the NHS failing to get to badly needed frontline services."

Public Health Minister Melanie Johnson defended the Government's spending on sexual health.

"We've already put £130m into modernising sex clinics and services throughout the country," she said. "One of the main aims of our sexual health strategy is to relieve the burden on traditional services by providing screening and testing in a range of different settings, such as pharmacies and GP surgeries."

There are currently around 53,000 cases of HIV in the UK, with diagnoses rising by around 20 per cent a year, according to the Health Protection Agency. STI infection rates have soared 11 per cent in two years and the demand for clinics has doubled since 1997.

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