HIV Diagnosis: Clinical Guidance

Thursday 1st December 2016 Lords Chamber

Question

11:06

Asked by

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the forthcoming review of testing guidelines in 2017, what steps they are taking to ensure new national clinical guidance is adopted by the National Health Service and local authorities to reach people in the United Kingdom still living with undiagnosed HIV.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)]

My Lords, we welcome the new HIV testing guidelines from NICE, which are particularly timely on World AIDS Day. Early diagnosis of HIV through increased testing carries huge benefits. Progress is being made and in 2015 the rate of undiagnosed HIV fell to 13% from 25% in 2010. We will keep working with partners to use the guidelines to encourage people to get tested and fight the stigma associated with HIV.

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his reply. Can he elaborate a little on the Government’s plans for promoting the guidelines to raise awareness—which I hope they will do—and monitoring the use of the guidelines to reduce the 17% rate of undiagnosed HIV and the continuing levels of HIV? The responsibility of government is absolute in making sure that the guidelines are adopted. On the same basis, can the Minister indicate what support or otherwise the Government are giving to ensuring that PrEP is made available to all those who might be at risk of HIV transmission?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, the undiagnosed rate of HIV is not 17%, as the noble Baroness said. That was in 2014. It is 13% now. So there is an improvement here and the trend is in the right direction. We have a whole range of programmes to try to improve the rates of testing, including self-sampling, and 1.1 million people attended GUM clinics last year. There is the HIV Prevention Innovation Fund and all the work being done by the Terrence Higgins Trust. There is a Question on PrEP later. Perhaps I could deal with it then.

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

My Lords, I must declare that I was on the innovation panel for Public Health England.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

My Lords, all those living with HIV, particularly those diagnosed late, require significant levels of care for both their physical and mental health. Does my noble friend agree that specialist doctors and nurses in the NHS provide exceptional care for those living with the virus, and join me in paying particular tribute to the work of pioneering centres, such as the Ian Charleson Day Centre at London’s Royal Free Hospital, which have made a real difference to the lives of thousands of patients?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I am very happy to do that. It is extraordinary how healthcare has changed a fatal disease into a chronic disease in just 20 years. I have a quote from the PHE report that was produced today, from a white lady who has HIV. She says:

“Just a few words from someone who has been living with HIV for nearly 20 years: it’s not that bad and there are times when you forget you have HIV. Eventually, even when you remember you’re positive, it’s no longer an issue”.

That is an illustration of just how far we have come in 20 years.

[Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that it is very dangerous to go around without knowing your HIV status? Will he organise some more publicity, particularly for women, because men seem to have more help than women?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. Early diagnosis is absolutely critical. We have made huge progress. The WHO guidelines aim for 90% of people with HIV to be diagnosed. We are at 87%. Sweden is the only country in the world that has hit the 90% target. I point to the It Starts With Me programme, which is based around individual responsibility and is co-ordinated by the Terrence Higgins Trust, which is making great progress.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I very much welcome the initiatives taken by the Government in this area but does the Minister accept that the NHS itself could do more, particularly in accident and emergency departments and in primary care? Would he be prepared to convene a meeting with NHS England to discuss how the NHS could be persuaded to be much more proactive in relation to testing?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I am very happy to arrange a meeting of that kind. We are expecting an announcement very soon on the PrEP issue and it may be worthwhile having that meeting after that announcement.

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, a high percentage of people living outside London compared to those in it are unaware of their HIV infection. It is 24% compared to 12% in London. Are the Government doing anything in the regions to replicate the good practice that we are beginning to see in London, so that that situation disappears?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I think more is done in London simply because there is a greater incidence of HIV there. I was not aware of the difference between those two figures—the 12% and 24% which the noble Baroness referred to. I should like to look into that point and write to her.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, one of the largest groups within the population who have got this disease through heterosexual transmission is the British black African community—men and women. There are 30,000 cases there. As of last year, estimated undiagnosed cases were increasing within this population. Can my noble friend the Minister please outline what initiatives are specifically aimed at raising awareness and avoiding the late presentation prevalent among that community? In particular, as many in that community are members of faith institutions, what is being done to engage them in raising awareness?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The black African community, male and female, is a group especially vulnerable to HIV, as identified in the work done by NICE. It is a part of the population where special efforts must be made to increase early testing. The work done by the Terrence Higgins Trust in the MARPs programme has also identified that community as extremely important. I think we will see greater targeting of the about 13,000 people in the population who are living with undiagnosed HIV.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister referred briefly in his opening Answer to the question of stigma. I do not know whether he will have heard some testimony from people living with AIDS on the “Today” programme this morning—probably not, as he may well have been working already. It showed that they were subjected to shocking levels of prejudice, most of which appears to come from ignorance. Can he expand a little on what the Government are doing to encourage the right kind of information, not just for people who have AIDS or might be vulnerable to getting it but to the wider population whose attitudes are, frankly, a little prehistoric in quite a lot of cases?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

That is a very insightful question. If we look back over time it is a lot better than it was but, as the noble Baroness says, it is still far from good enough. The education programme needs to go beyond just the people who have AIDS to the wider population, to get a greater degree of understanding. Perhaps I could investigate that issue a little further and write to the noble Baroness.