New prevention clinic and drug as doctors tackle rise in NI HIV cases
Department says part of drive to improve health and social care here
Last updated 11th Sep 2018
A new clinic opened today (Wed) in Belfast as doctors deal with a rise in the number of new HiV cases.
And as part of a major new illness prevention package, the HIV drug PrEP will be made available.
This is a drug that is targeted at those who are at high risk of getting HIV.
The Department of Health said the measures were part of its drive to improve health and social care here.
It said the new regional HIV Prevention clinic, based at the Belfast Trust, will “truly transform the way that HIV services are delivered for local people.”
Services at the clinic will include a comprehensive process of testing for sexual transmitted infections; behavioural interventions aimed at reducing unsafe sex and access to PrEP which “can reduce the risk of contracting HIV in high risk populations by up to 86%.”
In Northern Ireland, approximately 100 new cases of HIV are diagnosed every year. Numbers of new diagnoses continue to rise in Northern Ireland, whereas they are falling in the rest of the UK, with the lifetime treatment costs for one person with HIV currently standing at approximately £380,000.
Dr Michael McBride, Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland said: “To truly transform and improve health and social care in Northern Ireland we must look at how we can deliver services which are preventative, dynamic and which put people at the heart of all that we do. This new HIV prevention clinic is all of these things. It has the potential to help us tackle the rise in new diagnoses of HIV in Northern Ireland and I look forward to celebrating its successes.”
The pilot clinic will run for an initial two years and will see an investment of £450,000 in 18/19 from the health and social care system’s transformation fund. It is hoped that the investment in this clinic will prevent new cases of HIV. Anyone who wishes to access this prevention package should attend their local GUM clinic and will be assessed, advised and referred appropriately to the prevention clinic which currently operates in Belfast GUM.
Dr Carol Emerson, the lead clinician for HIV at Belfast Trust, and who is heading up this new service added: “This is a very exciting development for GUM provision in Northern Ireland. It is so important to empower people to protect themselves from acquiring HIV."