Explosion of sex infections overwhelms health service in England…
Soaring rates of sexually transmitted infections are overwhelming the NHS and threatening the health of a generation of young people, according to a committee of MPs.
An inquiry into the NHS sexual health service by the Commons Health Select Committee has concluded that it is in crisis, with a shortage of resources, facilities and staff. Waiting lists are growing and delays in treatment are putting partners of infected people at increased risk, it found.
Specialists say the service has a 90 per cent shortfall of consultants and that the IRP47.5m set aside by the Government is inadequate. A plan to introduce national screening for chlamydia in women under 25 would cost twice that sum.
One specialist said: “The 10 per cent prevalence rate for chlamydia is absolutely horrendous. Some of us feel on that basis the Government should be rolling out a national screening programme. But the Health Department has not allocated the money, so it is running 10 more pilot schemes.”
One of the biggest threats is the growing incidence of HIV, with 70 per cent of heterosexual cases contracted abroad. Modern drug treatments mean patients are surviving longer at an annual cost of about IRP15,000. Taking account of the risk of passing on the infection, the saving to the country of avoiding a single case of HIV is put at between IRP500,000 and IRP1m.
Explosion of sex infections overwhelms health service in England…
Soaring rates of sexually transmitted infections are overwhelming the NHS and threatening the health of a generation of young people, according to a committee of MPs.
An inquiry into the NHS sexual health service by the Commons Health Select Committee has concluded that it is in crisis, with a shortage of resources, facilities and staff. Waiting lists are growing and delays in treatment are putting partners of infected people at increased risk, it found.
Specialists say the service has a 90 per cent shortfall of consultants and that the IRP47.5m set aside by the Government is inadequate. A plan to introduce national screening for chlamydia in women under 25 would cost twice that sum.
One specialist said: “The 10 per cent prevalence rate for chlamydia is absolutely horrendous. Some of us feel on that basis the Government should be rolling out a national screening programme. But the Health Department has not allocated the money, so it is running 10 more pilot schemes.”
One of the biggest threats is the growing incidence of HIV, with 70 per cent of heterosexual cases contracted abroad. Modern drug treatments mean patients are surviving longer at an annual cost of about IRP15,000. Taking account of the risk of passing on the infection, the saving to the country of avoiding a single case of HIV is put at between IRP500,000 and IRP1m.