The cuts, overseen by the local NHS Primary Care Trust, have reduced spending from £437,000 in 2002/03 to £307,380 for this financial year and total more than 30% of the budget if inflation is included. There has also been a 10% cut in support services to help people with addiction problems.
The cuts follow a change in government policy over the past four years to reflect a national increase in HIV/AIDS among women and children with a greater concentration of resources to meet their needs. However, Brighton and Hove, which is home to a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community of about 30,000 people, bucks the national trend.
The annual increase in HIV/AIDS in the city's gay community is 12%. According to a recent report released at the International HIV Conference in Toronto, Brighton and Hove has the highest prevalence of HIV infection in the UK.(1)
Last year 920 clients used the services of groups supported by the programme. The groups include Brighton Body Positive, which provides help and support to people newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Sussex Beacon Day Care and the Terrence Higgins Trust, which offer practical support to people with the condition and the organisations that work with them. The programme also funds the social work element of the city's integrated HIV/AIDS team.
"Labour's NHS cuts are a serious threat to the welfare of those with HIV/AIDS in Brighton and Hove," said Green health scrutiny councillor Bill Randall.
"It's only the fantastic efforts of the public and voluntary sector workers involved that keep the programme going. Any further cuts could prove disastrous. Like the Terrence Higgins Trust and others, we are deeply concerned at Government plans to scrap the funding altogether in two years time.
"We'll be urging councillors of all partys on the council to join us in lobbying the Government to restore and maintain the allocation for HIV/AIDS work in the city. This will not be at the expense of women and children who need support, but in an expanded and funded programme."
Substance Misuse budget cuts
The local NHS has also reduced the city's substance misuse service budget for 2006/07 by 10%. The cut of £267,000 in a city that has been described as the "drug capital of the UK" means three major projects have been shelved:
- A support scheme for young parents with alcohol and drugs problems.
- New work with 'dual diagnosis' patients who have both mental health and drug use problems.
- A new communicable disease initiative that would have focused on Hepatitis A and C among substance users.
Notes to editors
For more information: please contact Councillor Bill Randall on 01273 602 249 or Geoffrey Bowden Brighton and Hove Green Party Press Officer on 07958 682 683.
1. Williamson L et al. HIV prevalence and undiagnosed infection among community samples of gay men in the United Kingdom: five city comparison. Sixteenth International AIDS Conference, Toronto, abstract MoPe0517, 2006.
The city with the highest HIV prevalence was Brighton, where one in seven (13.7%; 95% CI, 10.6%-17.5%) of the men who agreed to anonymous HIV antibody testing were found to be HIV-infected.
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