David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all people diagnosed with HIV have access to (a) pre-exposure prophylaxis and (b) other treatments.

Jane Ellison

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new use of HIV drugs which has shown clinical effectiveness in research trials at preventing HIV in people at high risk of getting HIV such as men who have sex with men and people with HIV-positive partners. PrEP would not be suitable for people who already have diagnosed HIV. However, in July 2015, NHS England approved a significant new investment in a ‘Treatment as Prevention’ programme whereby HIV drugs are offered to all newly diagnosed patients whatever their CD4 count. Previously, treatment would begin when the CD4 count has declined to 350 cells/mm3 or less. This will significantly decrease the chance of HIV transmission between individuals and also reduces the risk of illness in the person with HIV.

The National Health Service continues to deliver excellent HIV treatment and care for people with HIV with referrals into services within two weeks of diagnosis.