Sexual Health Services At Tipping Point

This is not a claim from the Keep Blanche Heriot Unit Open campaign it is a quote from a press release issued yesterday (3 August) by the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents local authorities – including Surrey County Council – throughout the country. The LGA report that central government cuts to local authorities’ public health budgets have left sexual health services struggling to cope with a 25% rise in patients seeking help for sexually transmitted infections over the last five years. The number of people attending sexual health clinics in England grew from 1.94 million in 2012 to 2.46 million last year – up almost 27%. But the government cut £200 million from the money it was due to give councils in 2015/16 for public health and is cutting another £331 million by 2020-21. The LGA speaks for all Local Authorities so the BHU patients caIl on Surrey CC to confirm that they support the view of the LGA and to explain why they made the funding problem in Surrey worse by loading all of the 2015 centrally imposed cut in their public health allocation on to the sexual health, HIV and GUM service contract thereby cutting the budget for this service by over a third? That is the key reason for the closure of the Frimley Park Hospital GUM Clinic and that is why the Blanche Heriot Unit, with over 15,000 attendances per annum and 405 HIV patients, is facing closure. Neither Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals Trust or Frimley Park Hospitals NHS Trust were prepared to bid for the contract at such a low level of funding. Only Central & North West London NHS Trust bid for the service which it can only provide within the funding level set by Surrey County Council by reducing the number of community clinic premises at which contraceptive and sexual health services are provided across Surrey, and closing the hospital clinics at Frimley Park and St Peters. Time for a rethink Surrey County Council! Listen to the patients – listen to local GPs and other health professional - review the options – halt this crazy, dangerous closure!