Sexual well being companies are “at breaking point” attributable to a devastating mixture of funding cuts and hovering calls for – notably from the over 65s.
The Local Government Association (LGA) warned with out extra funding there could possibly be a rise in undesirable pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Meanwhile, sexual well being companies might battle to cope with conditions such because the outbreak of monkeypox instances.
It stated whereas sexual well being companies working locally are serving to extra individuals than ever earlier than, budgets for public well being spending have been “slashed”.
The LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, has revealed a brand new report titled Breaking level: securing the way forward for sexual well being companies, which states there have been greater than 4 million sexual well being companies appointments in 2021 – an increase of 36% since 2013.
It additionally highlights in 2021, there have been nearly two million diagnostic checks for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and HIV delivered by sexual well being companies – a rise of 19% in comparison with 2020.
It additional reveals:
- An growing variety of girls are utilizing sexual well being companies for long-acting contraceptives, together with implants and the coil
- More than 300,000 new STIs have been detected in 2021
- The variety of widespread STIs caught among the many over 65’s elevated by 20% in 2019.
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‘Perfect storm’
The LGA stated the rise in want comes after the general public well being grant to native authorities used to fund sexual well being companies decreased by greater than £1bn between 2015/16 and 2020/21.
It is now calling on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to decide to assist the rise in demand for sexual well being care within the fiscal assertion on Thursday.
David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, stated the “perfect storm” of elevated demand for companies alongside continued cuts to funding was “unsustainable” and “risked a reversal in the encouraging fall in some STIs and potential increases in unwanted pregnancies”.
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He stated the one solution to fight this was with “long-term increases in the public health grant” within the assertion.
“Cuts to spending on sexual health, as with other areas of public health expenditure, are a false economy,” he stated.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated greater than £3.4bn had been offered to native authorities in England this yr to fund public well being companies, together with sexual and reproductive well being.
“Local authorities are responsible for providing open-access sexual and reproductive health services, including free and confidential HIV and STI testing, condoms, provision of the HIV prevention drug PrEP, vaccination and contraception advice,” they added.
Source: information.sky.com”