BASHH denounce NHS England’s decision to abdicate responsibility for the commissioning of PrEP
02 June 2016
Following a second review NHS England have announced once again that it does not consider itself responsible for the commissioning of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
Dr Elizabeth Carlin, President of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) said:
This is a devastating and disappointing decision by NHS England not to commission PrEP and represents a significant blow to all those who could benefit from this remarkable intervention, which reduces the risk of acquiring HIV infection by 86%.
Whilst the commissioning debate about PrEP continues, 17 people a day are diagnosed with HIV in the UK and the number of people living with HIV continues to increase, particularly amongst at-risk groups.
PrEP is one of the best evidence-based actions available to help reverse this trend and provides a real chance of halting the HIV epidemic in the UK. It should be available to those most at risk and we will continue to press the Department of Health to enable PrEP to be implemented on an equitable basis for all those in need.
Dr Elizabeth Carlin, BASHH President