Sarah Boseley, health editor 

Doctors urge free HIV drugs for all

HIV should be reclassified as a sexually transmitted disease which must be treated on the NHS for free, or there is a risk that its spread will increase, warned four senior doctors yesterday.
  
  


HIV should be reclassified as a sexually transmitted disease which must be treated on the NHS for free, or there is a risk that its spread will increase, warned four senior doctors yesterday.

Brian Gazzard, consultant physician at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London, and three other HIV/Aids specialists say in a report today that there is confusion over who is entitled to NHS treatment for the condition which might lead to people becoming very ill and lead to rising infection rates in Britain.

The furore over asylum and immigration has led to wrong perceptions of the burden which people from other countries with HIV might place on the NHS, their report says. Contrary to most people's assumptions, the majority of patients from overseas with HIV have been in the country for some time on legitimate work permits or student visas.

"The issues about asylum seekers and HIV and health tourism are entirely misleading in the context of HIV," said Professor Gazzard yesterday.

While it costs around £7,000 a year to treat somebody with HIV drugs, the cost dwindles in the face of the burden that can be placed on the NHS by the spread of the infection. The Department of Health's own estimate is that preventing a single onward transmission of the virus would save the NHS between £500,000 and £1m.

The expert group argues that prevention of HIV or its early diagnosis and effective treatment is not only a right for the individual, but represents a responsible use of taxpayers' money.

Treating the estimated 899 asylum seekers living with HIV who entered Britain between October 2003 and September 2004 would save between £500m and £1bn over an average lifetime, they say.

But there is confusion over the rules, which may deter some people from being tested - leading to a risk that they will infect others - and may mean that some who are HIV positive do not get treated by some hospital trusts.

"As medical practitioners the panel maintains that everyone, irrespective of nationality, should be entitled to medical care for HIV while they are resident in the UK and on the grounds of public health we caution against refusing treatment for failed asylum seekers and others of undetermined immigration status prior to their deportation," they say in their report, entitled Treat with Respect.

 

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