In advance of National HIV Testing Week (which starts 18 November), Liberal Democrat Councillor Chris Gloster, Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being, is seeking a commitment from Oldham Council and the NHS to improve the testing and treatment of HIV sufferers and those at risk of acquiring the condition.

Councillor Gloster has written to the Chair of the Health and Well-being Board, Councillor Susan Dearden, with a ‘wish list’ which – if it is adopted by the Council and its health partners – will help reduce the incidence of infection and lead to the earlier diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

Explaining, Councillor Gloster said: “Not so many years ago, HIV would often inexorably lead to full-blown Aids, which in turn was a death sentence. Now with the effective treatments that are available, people with HIV can lead normal lives and will not pass on the virus to anyone else. But the key to this is early diagnosis and early treatment.”

“Fortunately, Oldham does not have a high rate of HIV with 1.35 persons diagnosed with the condition in every 1,000 of the population, but worryingly we do have a high incidence of late diagnosis in 42.9% of cases. This is not good and we need to do something to tackle it. My ‘wish list’ represents the key aspirations of the World Health Organisation, the sexual health charity The Terrance Higgins Trust, and NICE for the better testing and treatment for people at risk of or living with this condition.”

Councillor Gloster is asking the Council to support the national campaigns of the Terrance Higgins Trust; introduce HIV testing in GP’s surgeries; and promote access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment to those at high risk of HIV infection in the borough.

He would also like the new Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to adopt these measures as part of a campaign across the city region so that people at risk of HIV infection or living with the condition can expect high standards of care wherever they live in Greater Manchester.

The Liberal Democrats are also asking for a commitment to involving HIV patients, their partners and carers in the transformation process.

Councillor Gloster explains: “All too often medical interventions are made to the patient and not with the patient. I believe that we should work, as a Council and as the NHS, to conduct a review of current services in our borough with patients, partners and carers, and with local LGBT groups and health charities and watchdogs.”

“We need services that people will not be afraid to access when they need them and so it is better to design services that are based on the first-hand, lived experience of the people that use them, their partners and carers, and the groups that represent them.  Isn’t that the co-operative model that Oldham Council aspires to?”

The letter reads:

23 October 2017

Dear Councillor Dearden,

I am writing to you in advance of National HIV Testing Week, which starts on Saturday 18 November, about the testing of at-risk individuals in the borough and the treatment and support of residents with this condition.

Undiagnosed, or late diagnosed, HIV infection puts individuals at risk of preventable illness and death, disproportionally contributes to onward transmission and is an unnecessary burden of cost to the NHS. Unfortunately, one in seven people living with HIV do not know that they have it, which means that they cannot benefit from the early treatment which can allow them to lead a normal life and be sure that they do not pass the virus onto anyone else.

Fortunately, Oldham does not have a high rate of HIV with 1.35 persons diagnosed with the condition in every 1,000 of the population, but worryingly we do have a high incidence of late diagnosis in 42.9% of cases.

As part of the borough’s Health and Social Care Strategy, I would like to ask the Health and Well-being Board to:

• Support and promote two core campaigns of the Terrance Higgins Trust ‘It Starts with Me’ and ‘National HIV Testing Week’.
• Support the establishment and promotion of HIV testing services in GPs’ surgeries and other Primary Care services in the borough.
• National HIV testing guidance, that of the national body NICE and advice from the Terrance Higgins Trust recommends testing be made available in Primary Care settings, especially in GPs’ surgeries.
• Support and promote the take-up of, and access to, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment available to those at high risk of HIVinfection in this borough.  PrEP is a medication that can be taken before possible exposure to HIV. Studies including PRoUD and IPERGAY have demonstrated significant protective benefit from taking PrEP both routinely and “on demand”.

The World Health Organisation recommends that PrEP be made available to those at high risk and NHS England is currently running a three year national trial with the PrEP drug Truvada among high-risk patients, including patients in Greater Manchester.

• Conduct a review of the current services available to patients living with HIV in this borough and their carers to identify how these services and the patient/carer experience can be improved.

Such a review I would suggest needs to be in consultation with patients/carers and relevant bodies (such as local LGBT+ groups, the Terrance Higgins Trust, the George House Trust and Healthwatch Oldham).

• Make representations to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr. Andy Burnham, asking him to conduct a review of HIV testing and treatment services across the city region to ensure that they mirror our aspirations in this borough and to identify how best the devolved health and social care budget can be used to support them across the city region.

I do hope that the Health and Well-being Board will be able to take these ideas on board as they will reduce the number of people living with HIV, improve the lives of those who do and ultimately save the NHS money.

Yours sincerely

COUNCILLOR CHRIS GLOSTER

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Shaw Ward, Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Email: chris.gloster@oldham.gov.uk