The arms and torso of a patient whose skin displayed a number of lesions due to monkeypox
(Picture: PA Media)Sexual health providers have warned they’re becoming critically overburdened and need additional funding following the monkeypox outbreak, according to reports.
Clinics have said that on average 25 to 30 per cent of all services have been replaced Monkeypox assistance since the first case was identified in May.
This has led to a 90 per cent reduction in access to STI screening in the most affected areas, and a huge drop in their ability to provide HIV prevention drug PrEP and other services, Sky News reported.
Providers have pleaded for more funding in a letter to NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The letter, signed by the British HIV Association, and the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, reads: “In some cases this displacement in financial terms means a potential loss of income to clinics of over £600,000 per quarter.
“This level of loss of income risks destabilising clinics, with loss of staff and, as some providers have warned us, the potential exit from the market of some providers.”
In a separate letter to Public Health Directors and Commissioning Officers at District Councils, they added: “After repeated advocacy with the government and with NHS England/Improvement, we are still at the stage of these national agencies repeatedly requesting evidence while this burden on services remains unfunded.
“We continue to press them for MPX funding and have repeatedly advised them that the exceptional nature of this epidemic, the transmission routes of MPX and its impact should not be considered as routine sexual health expenditure.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We continue to work closely with the UK Health Security Agency, local authorities and NHS England to manage pressures on sexual reproductive health services and ensure access to routine services is maintained.
“The Public Health Grant will increase in each of the next three years, bolstering sexual health services and enabling people to access treatments faster.”
There have been 3,654 cases of Monkeypox since May.
However, cases have started to fall with experts warning rates are looking “very positive”.
Professor Neil Ferguson said the vaccination rollout and behavioural changes among gay men, the most affected group, were likely to be behind the decreases.
From 60 daily cases in July, it fell below 15 last month.
But Mr Ferguson, of the Sage advisory panel, warned “we could start to see a resurgence” if people become less vigilant.
