HIV warning over cash shortfall
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/health/6716021.stm Version 0 of 1. HIV infections will rise because money intended to tackle the problem is being spent elsewhere, a leading sexual health doctor has warned. Consultant Dr Colm O'Mahony from Countess of Chester Hospital said services across the country were stretched beyond capacity. He said £300m intended for sexual health was not ringfenced, and not all was being used for the right purpose. Dr O'Mahony said some trusts are using the cash for debts or other services. Government promises of more money have not been met, he added. 'Doesn't fit' Dr O'Mahony told BBC News: "The funding issue is personally very painful. Basically the sexual health strategy looked good, there was £300m assigned to it. Unfortunately it wasn't ringfenced. We're still supposed to cope with the massive increase in HIV and STDs that we're seeing Dr Colm O'MahonyCountess of Chester Hospital "That money has actually been sent out to primary care trusts all around the country and many of them are only using some of the money and some of them are using none of the money." He added: "Yet we're still supposed to cope with the massive increase in HIV and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) that we're seeing. So it just doesn't fit." Advertising campaign A £300m campaign to tackle a growing sexual health crisis in the UK was launched in 2004. Clinics were to receive £130m for modernisation while £50m was to go on an advertising campaign for under 25s. Last year, a survey suggested much of the money was not reaching the frontline. The report by the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV found much of the cash had been used to cover local NHS debts. In response to the study, the Department of Health said it was up to local NHS organisations to decide how to manage their budgets to deliver services to best meet local needs. Figures published last year showed the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) rose by 3% to 790,387 from 2004 to 2005. |