A House of Lords committee has said that more needs to be done to prevent the spread of HIV in the UK, with greater emphasis being placed on the prevention of infection.
The committee’s report suggests that HIV screening should be a standard procedure for any patient registering with a GP surgery, with the option to opt out. The committee also recommended that home testing kits for HIV be legalised, provided that support mechanisms were in place for those who tested themselves and found out that they were infected.
More effective drugs are extending life expectancy in patients who have contracted HIV.
However, there are now three times as many people in the UK being treated for HIV infection as there were ten years ago, and the cost of treating HIV has risen from £500 million in 2006-2007 to £760 million three years later.
Lord Fowler, who ran the ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ awareness campaign in the 1980s, said that there was a danger of falling into a “false sense of security”, simply because the mortality rates from HIV infection have fallen.
The Terrence Higgins Trust, a leading HIV/AIDS charity, have suggested that a rising cost for treatment of HIV is to be expected. However, they agree that the cost is placing a huge strain on the NHS, and part of this cost could be avoided.
The House of Lords committee, Terrence Higgins Trust and Department of Health agree that sexually active people should always use a condom, and this message should prevail in the prevention of HIV infection.