News / King’s Fund issues warning over HIV

Commissioning and funding arrangements for
HIV care are fragmented, hampering progress in meeting patients’ needs, according to the King’s Fund.

It said NHS England, local NHS organisations and local authorities are responsible for delivering services and this made it more difficult for local areas to make co-ordinated changes.

A report, The future of HIV services in England, said the Health and Social Care Act 2012 had created a fragmented system. The confusion last year over which bodies could fund pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) demonstrated this, it said. 

The report added that prevention and social support services were beginning to feel the impact of local government budget cuts.

Alex Baylis, King’s Fund assistant director of policy, said: ‘Healthcare for people with HIV in England is among the best in the world and that is something we should be proud of. 

‘However, this report is a warning that the labyrinthine structures created by the Health and Social Care Act make it harder to keep the focus on meeting people’s needs and represent a real threat to future quality of care,’ he added.