Do Not Believe What Nigel Farage Tells You About ‘Health Tourists’ And HIV Services In The UK. #UKIP

Farage was on TV again last night quoting from a letter he claims to have in his possession from a 30 year old HIV patient who who states NHS treatment is slipping because of ‘health tourism’.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nigel-farage-defends-hiv-comments-5613396

So, a friend of ours wrote to a local HIV/AIDS charity and asked for some information. (Their funding was cut to zero a year or two back. )

This was his reply.

“Here is a link to the info from BHIVA (copy attached) about the changes to
public health commissioning and the requirement for LA’s to retender
services such as sexual health and HIV care. These changes have resulted in
much confusion and consequently disruption to service delivery as new
providers take over contracts for services. Some tendering situations have
resulted in real problems with HIV care being left behind as providers
cherry pick the services they wish to take on or commissioners not
including aspects of care in their tender documents resulting in some parts
of HIV care being left in limbo.

Level 3 HIV care in one county was a prime example of this, the trust taking
over sexual health services apparently not wishing to take on this aspect,
or it not being part of the original tender, resulting in a hiatus whilst
the error is corrected with another tender to take place next year and, as
a result, the current provider who took over this year is not likely to
invest significantly in the service as they are awaiting the outcome of the
next tender! As they didn’t want this aspect of the service anyway it is
probably likely that they will not wish to take it on next year.

All of these changes have had an impact on the service provision and thus
the perception of the end user is that the service has changed and probably
not for the best. Of course change brings some disruption and this is to be
expected, but anecdotal reports of other situations like the ones we are experiencing have been received from other parts of the country, with some private providers handing back services or otherwise being terminated as a result of the inability to provide an adequate service level or other tender or capability related issues.

http://www.bhiva.org/…/120…/Contracts-Narrative-Combined.pdf

Also a link to the BHIVA consultation about the proposed changes where many
highlight service fragmentation and potential perils to service delivery
here;

http://www.bhiva.org/…/consultations/140212Reports140116.pdf

and more here;

http://www.bhiva.org/…/P…/Access-and-Service-Delivery/P2.pdf

And this review by the President of BASHH about the good, bad and ugly
parts of the changes here;

http://www.medfash.org.uk/efeature

Rather a mess you will agree but the issues illustrated by the UKIP email
being circulated at present would seem to be more to do with the disruption
caused by the changes in health and social care than a dramatic influx of
health tourists!”