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All the latest breaking news on the AIDS charity National AIDS Trust. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on National AIDS Trust.

  • Daily Mail columnist schooled over PrEP inaccuracies

    The National AIDS Trust just had to school one Mail Online columnist over a story published in which he peddled “misinformation, myths and stigma” over PrEP usage.

    PrEP pills
    (C) marcbruxel Depositphotos

    In the article, Mail Online columnist Ross Clark, reveals that after a recent visit to his GP for a suspected hernia, the doctor was unable to refer him to have an operation or to a specialist due the fact that he wasn’t in pain and didn’t have any heavy lifting in his job, the GP told him he “wasn’t bad enough to qualify for funding under new NHS guidelines”.

    However, later on in the article, which the Terrence Higgins Trust has blasted as fuelling misinformation, myths and stigma, he draws comparisons between what the NHS could pay for and what they couldn’t. PrEP and transgender surgery was, it seems, central to his argument.

    He wrote, “There is the £22 million a year being spent on transgender surgery, at a cost of £20,000 per patient. There is £730 million a year being spent pumping drug addicts full of Methadone — a heroin substitute which is supposed to help wean people off that drug, but which is itself addictive.

    “The NHS has started, too, to prescribe PrEP — a drug which cuts the risk of HIV transmission in gay men who have sex without a condom.

    “It is prescribing the drug —which costs £400 a month for a single patient — in spite of warnings that it will be encouraging risky behaviour, and it could increase other infections such as syphilis and gonorrhea [sic], against which PrEP offers no protection.”

    “Not One Thing accurate”

    Well, the Twitter team at National AIDS Trust had to put him right – and point out exactly why his article is so wrong.

    “Trying to create a Twitter storm”

    The columnist Ross Clark then accused the National AIDS Trust of trying to start a “Twitter Storm” saying, “You are trying to create a Twitter storm based on something I haven’t written, knowing that most who retweet won’t actually bother to read the piece”.

    Losing Advertisers

    Recently the MailOnline lost a number of high-profile advertisers when companies started to pull out of contracts with the publication after a successful awareness campaign by pressure group, Stop Funding Hate. Eventually, the newspaper removed advertising from many of its columnists including Richard Littlejohn.

     

     

  • UK’s Biggest AIDS charity prepares to defend historic win against NHS England on PrEP

    NAT (National AIDS Trust) prepares to defend historic win against NHS England on PrEP

    (C) marcbruxel Depositphotos

    The charity has launched a crowdfunding appeal in order to raise vital funds to cover their legal costs for the appeal. NHS England is appealing the ruling that said they unlawfully cut PrEP, the drug which prevents HIV transmission, from their commissioning process.

    PrEP could be the beginning of the end for HIV – a condition more than 6,000 people a year are diagnosed with in the UK – but NHS England says it doesn’t have the legal power to pay for it because it’s a prevention drug. However in August, following Judicial Review by NAT, Mr Justice Green ruled that they are wrong and there is no legal impediment to them funding PrEP.

    Despite the strength of the ruling against their stance, NHS England is forcing the case to go back to court. NAT is now aiming to raise at least £15,000 by 22 September in order to support the costs of the case. The hearing for the appeal will take place on 15 September at the Royal Courts of Justice.

    Deborah Gold, CEO at NAT, said,

    “We are very disappointed to be having to go to court again to ensure that the NHS can’t just shut the door on PrEP.

    “By unlawfully and suddenly removing PrEP from their commissioning process, NHS England denied the rights of those who need it to have the case for PrEP heard in a fair and impartial way. We can’t stand back and allow poor decisions like this to go unchallenged.

    “The truth is that PrEP not only works – it is cost-effective. We will continue to fight for PrEP to be made available on the NHS because it is the right thing to do and it makes financial sense for the country.”

    Ian Green, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust which supported the crowdfunding campaign with a £3,000 donation, said,

    “We are extremely grateful to NAT for taking on NHS England in the High Court, as part of the ongoing effort to see PrEP made available to those at risk of HIV.

    “PrEP – alongside condom use, treatment and testing – could be the final piece of the jigsaw in stopping HIV transmission in the UK.  This is a cause worth fighting for.

    “We stand united with NAT and the HIV community in continuing the fight for this game-changing preventative treatment, and have been pleased to be able to provide a donation from Terrence Higgins Trust towards the charity’s legal costs.”

    Deborah Gold added,

    “We want to thank everyone who has so far contributed to our legal costs throughout this part of the fight for PrEP as well as those who would like to now.  You have enabled us to stand up for the rights of people whose voices may otherwise not be heard.”

     

    This article was written by NATIONAL AIDS TRUST, but is not a paid for piece of content.

  • Legal Breakthrough for PrEP in England

    Historic win for NAT as the High Court overturns NHS England refusal to consider PrEP

    PrEP

    NAT (National AIDS Trust) is delighted by the judgment passed down in the High Court today that NHS England acted unlawfully in withdrawing PrEP, a game-changing drug preventing transmission of HIV, from its decision-making process.

    When, after 18 months of preparation, NHS England suddenly abandoned its work on PrEP, NAT considered it had no option but to challenge this through judicial review.  Today the court heard that NHS England’s interpretation of the law was incorrect.

    PrEP is urgently needed and has been shown to be cost-effective. NAT has always believed that there is no legal impediment to PrEP being commissioned by NHS England and the court agrees.
    Deborah Gold, Chief Executive of NAT, said,

    “This is fantastic news. It is vindication for the many people who were let down when NHS England absolved itself of responsibility for PrEP.  The judgment has confirmed our view – that it is perfectly lawful for NHS England to commission PrEP.  Now NHS England must do just that.

    Over 4,000 people are getting HIV every year in the UK – we desperately need further prevention options to add to condom use.  PrEP works.  It saves money and it will make an enormous difference to the lives of men and women across the country who are at risk of acquiring HIV.  The delay to commissioning PrEP is both unethical and expensive.”

    In his judgement Mr Justice Green wrote,

    ‘No one doubts that preventative medicine makes powerful sense. But one governmental body says it has no power to provide the service and the local authorities say that they have no money.  The Clamant is caught between the two and the potential victims of this disagreement are those who will contract HIV/AIDs but who would not were the preventative policy to be fully implemented.’

     

    He goes on to conclude that in all the possible scenarios that were explored in the judicial review, NHS England does have the power to commission PrEP.

    It is enormously disappointing that NHS England has decided to appeal this judgment, especially given the wide ranging and well-reasoned arguments it contains. The appeal will further delay clarity in this area, and mean that any potential commissioning of PrEP will not take place for months.

    Following this decision, there will now be a 30-day public consultation on PrEP, which should start almost immediately, and an NHS England committee will consider the case for commissioning it, but final announcements and actual commissioning will be contingent on the outcome of the appeal.

  • NHS “Washed Its Hands” On Providing PrEP For Gay And Bisexual Community

    NHS England has come under intense criticism after it announced it was removing the anti-HIV drug known as PrEP from the official commissioning process.

    CREDIT: tashatuvango-bigstock

     CREDIT: tashatuvango-bigstock

    NHS England is facing a backlash from sexual health groups and HIV charities after it confirmed its decision to remove PrEP from the official NHS commissioning process, meaning that the anti-HIV drug will be inaccessible to people at risk of HIV.

    Both the National AIDS Trust (NAT) and the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) blasted the decision. With the NAT saying it was considering further legal action against NHS England.

    PrEP is an HIV prevention drug, proven to be effective in stopping HIV transmission in almost every case if taken properly. The decision by NHS England not even to consider commissioning PrEP came after 18 months of hard work from an NHS working group (comprising clinicians and experts from across the HIV sector) which demonstrated the need, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of PrEP.

    Deborah Gold, Chief Executive, NAT, said,

    “NHS England is sitting on something that could be the beginning of the end for the HIV epidemic – if only it were made available.  The refusal to commission it for all those at significant risk is astonishing.   Seventeen people are being diagnosed with HIV every day. Weare extremely disappointed and we will now be looking at our options, including further legal action.”

    Terrence Higgins Trust called the decision “shameful” and said that NHS England had “washed its hands” of one of the most stunning breakthroughs in HIV prevention which disproportionately affects the gay and bisexual community in the UK.

    Ian Green, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said,

    “Today is a shameful day for HIV prevention. This country used to lead the way in the fight against the HIV epidemic, but today, our national health service has washed its hands of one of the most stunning breakthroughs we’ve seen; a pill which, if taken correctly, is almost 100% effective in preventing HIV.  A pill which is already available in America, Canada, France, Kenya and soon to be Australia.

    “How did it come to this? It defies belief that, after 18 months of false hope, delays and u-turns in the battle to see PrEP made available on the NHS to people at high risk of HIV, today we are in a worse position than when we started.

    “It is a mess, and the people who will feel the effects are the 2,500 men who have sex with men who will be needlessly infected with HIV each year in the UK. This figure has not changed in a decade. Who will claim responsibility for the life-long impact this will have on people’s lives?

    “It’s not right that people who know themselves to be at high risk of HIV have to buy PrEP themselves from the internet at considerable personal expense. Many high risk people are living in poverty and they simply cannot afford to protect themselves against HIV. Currently, only those who can afford it are able to access this life-changing treatment, further widening the inequality gap by those most affected by HIV.

    “The battle for PrEP must continue until the day that people at highest risk have access to this groundbreaking pill that will protect them from HIV.”

  • NHS Will Now Reconsider PrEP After Legal Threat From AIDs Charity

    The NHS in England has said it will now reconsider its position on PrEP prescription for gay men and other high risk groups after a legal threat from leading AIDs charity, the National AIDS Trust (NAT).

    (more…)

  • HIV Infections Continue To Rise In The Gay Community

    New HIV infections amongst men who identify themselves as gay or bisexual have continued their upward rise.

    New infections of HIV in gay and bisexual men in 2014 increased by 110 new cases over the 2013 statistics. In total 3360 gay and bisexual men were diagnosed with HIV during the 2014 period. Despite being a small minority in the UK’s population gay and bisexual men account for 54% of new HIV diagnoses.

    New diagnoses are higher in 2014 than they were than at the height of the AIDS crisis during the late 80s and early 90s.

    In the period of 2012-2013 new HIV infections increased. The rise of HIV in the gay community has risen from 2450 in 2004 to 3360 in 2014. The National AIDS Trust estimates that there are nearly 110,000 people living with HIV in the UK and around 26,000 living with undiagnosed HIV.

    For the 150th issue of FS Magazine, the magazine published by sexual health charity GMFA, a survey found that around a third of gay men did not use a condom the last time they had penetrative sex.

    Seventy-one per cent of gay men said they would use PrEP immediately if it were available on the NHS. PrEP is a medicine when taken daily is extremely effective in stopping the transmission of the HIV virus.

  • UK HIV Prevention Funding Saved For Another Year

    The National AIDS Trust (NAT) has today welcomed commitment from the Minister for Public Health, Jane Ellison MP, to maintain current levels of funding for national HIV prevention for a further year.

    In a letter to fellow Conservative MPs, which was reported in Pink News on Friday, the Minister said: “I want to take this opportunity to make absolutely clear that this Government will protect funding for HIV prevention.”

    This will come as a huge relief to supporters of the investment – over 1400 of whom wrote to the Minister to voice their concerns in a campaign to stop the proposed cut to the fund. NAT initiated the campaign following Earl Howe’s answer to a parliamentary question on World AIDS Day, where he stated that the funding would likely be ‘pared back’, and a public comment from THT CEO, Rosemary Gillespie, confirming that the proposed cut was in the region of 50%.

    Deborah Gold, CEO of NAT, said: “It is great news that the funding will be maintained for next year despite earlier plans for a substantial cut. We now need to use the next year for a proper discussion with all stakeholders and communities about the scope, shape and funding of a new multi-year programme from 2016/17.

    “The Government has heard loud and clear from the public that standing back and doing less on HIV prevention is simply not an option. I want to thank MPs, peers and activists who expressed their concern at any possible cut to the Government. You have made a real difference.”

  • Fifty percent Government cuts will devastate HIV prevention programme

    It was revealed today that the Government is considering to dramatically reduce its funding for HIV prevention schemes by up to 50%.

    The government has come under fire this evening after HIV charities revealed that it was planning to cut HIV prevention schemes, which it has funded since 1996, by 50%, from April 2015, despite a rise in new infections amongst gay and bisexual men. The announcement has been called by campaigners and HIV charities alike as ‘devastating’.

    Both the National AIDS Trust and the Terrance Higgins Trust have decried the move, calling it ‘staggering’ and HIV prevention is at a ‘serious risk of going backwards’.

    Funding will be halved for the year commencing April 2015 and there is as yet no commitment to fund further years of the programme.

    Deborah Gold, Chief Executive of NAT, says:
    “This decision is simply staggering. HIV transmission shows no signs of decline, with the highest number of diagnoses among gay and bisexual men ever last year. Public knowledge of HIV is far too low, and myths about HIV are on the increase. We are at serious risk of going backwards on HIV if national-level investment is not made in HIV prevention. We urge the Government to think again.”

    The current programme, HIV Prevention England (HPE), is coordinated by Terrence Higgins Trust and is focused on the needs of gay  and bisexual men and black African men and women.

    The £1.2million allocated for 2015/16 is equivalent to less than £1 for each person targeted by the programme.

    Dr Rosemary Gillespie, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “This is not the right time for the Government to pare back spending on HIV prevention. In recent years, we have made good progress in driving down rates of undiagnosed and late-diagnosed HIV. However, tens of thousands of people with HIV across England are still undiagnosed and at increased risk of passing the virus on unwittingly. We have not yet reached the tipping point in our fight against the epidemic, and halving government spending on HIV prevention now would be a regressive step that risks undermining the headway we have made.”

    This decision is in direct contradiction to Simon Stevens’ NHS Five Year Forward View, released in October and welcomed by all main political parties, in which he said:

    “…the future health of millions of children, the sustainability of the NHS, and the economic prosperity of Britain all now depend on a radical upgrade in prevention and public health. Twelve years ago Derek Wanless’ health review warned that unless the country took prevention seriously we would be faced with a sharply rising burden of avoidable illness. That warning has not been heeded – and the NHS is on the hook for the consequences”.

    NAT’s activist network are working to defend the national HIV prevention funding. Please encourage your readers to get involved and join the campaign here: http://act.lifewithhiv.org.uk/lobby/HPE

    A spokesman for the DoH said that negotiations for an extension on their 3-year contract with Terrence Higgins Trust for HIV Preventions, which ends in 2015, were on-going.

  • Rules Surrounding HIV To Be Modernised To Better Protect Public

    ‘Outdated’ Rules surrounding healthcare workers with HIV will be modernised by the government and it will overturn the ban of the sale of at-home HIV testing kits.

    • Chief Medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies announces changes that will affect legality of ‘at home self testing kits’

    • Healthcare professionals will have rules relaxed in certain medical procedures.

    • Outdated rules date back to the 1980s.

    Around 100,000 people in the UK have HIV but according to statistics around a quarter are living with it undiagnosed. Professor Davies has announced today new strategies to help more people get tested and receive the healthcare they need sooner.

    The Department of Health (DoH) will also lift the ban on healthcare workers with HIV undertaking some medical procedures such as dental and surgical work.

    The DoH has also announced that it will remove the ban on the sale of at-home testing kits, which was introduced in 1992, making it easier for people to get tested earlier and embark on the best treatments available.

    Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said:

    ‘Many of the UK’s HIV policies were designed to combat the perceived threat at the height of HIV concerns in the 1980s and have now been left behind by scientific advances and effective treatments. It is time we changed these outdated rules which are sometimes counter-productive and limit people’s choices on how to get tested or treated early for HIV.

    “What we need is a simpler system that continues to protect the public through encouraging people to get tested for HIV as early as possible and that does not hold back some of our best healthcare workers because of a risk that is more remote than being killed by lightning.’
    If a test indicates a positive result people will need to get a follow-up confirmatory test at an NHS clinic. Clear information about how to interpret the result and what to do afterwards will be included with the kit.

    Sir Nick Partridge, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: ‘Advances in medication have transformed what it means to live with HIV, and it’s great to see regulations starting to catch up. People diagnosed in good time can have full, healthy lives, and effective treatment dramatically reduces the risk of the virus being passed on. So long as the right safeguards are in place, there is now no reason why a dentist or a midwife with HIV should be barred from treating patients, or why people who would prefer to test at home should be denied that chance.

    ‘Legislation plays a vital role in shaping attitudes. We hope these changes continue to improve public understanding of HIV and support for those living with the virus.’

    It is hoped by changing the ‘outdated’ rules that the stigma attached to HIV, will mean that people who are reluctant of using existing testing services will be able to take tests earlier.

    Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust) said:

    ‘We welcome these changes to the guidance on HIV positive healthcare workers undertaking exposure-prone procedures and the removal of the ban on self-testing as we believe it is vitally important that policies are based on up-to-date scientific evidence and not on fear, stigma or outdated information.

    ‘Allowing healthcare workers living with HIV to undertake exposure-prone procedures corrects the current guidance which offers no more protection for the general public but keeps qualified and skilled people from working in the career they had spent many years training for. We know people are already buying poor quality self-testing kits online which is why NAT have campaigned for a change in the law. Legalisation is an important step to ensure they are regulated, accurate and safe.’

  • Leveson Report Makes Important Recommendations On Complaints Around Discrimination

    The Leveson Report published today recommends that anyone should be able to make a complaint under the new regulatory system of an alleged breach of the Code of Practice, including ‘a representative group affected by the alleged breach’ (Summary of Recommendations 11). (more…)

  • HIV Infections At A New Record High

    A worrying new report from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) shows there has been a rise in sexually transmitted diseases and significantly new HIV infections amongst gay and bisexual men in the UK. (more…)