Professionals for HIV Teens to Adults

posted: 21/01/2011

Professionals in the North of England interested in supporting young people with HIV to make the change from childrens to adult services, are invited to regional meetings.

Growing numbers of HIV teens to adults

Many of the children now growing up with HIV are becoming adults and will need to switch to services for adults. Children's and adults' services staff need to think, plan and work together, for a smooth transition between children’s and adult HIV and other services.

Invitation to regional focus group

The Children and Young People HIV Network has arranged focus groups for professionals in the North of England, (and meetings for other regions) to make a start on developing age transition services locally.

The HIV Network invites all children's and adults' professionals (health sector, social care, and community sector) who are, or will, deliver services to 10 – 24 year old young people living with HIV.

This is part of a three-year project to improve the transition of young people living with HIV from children's to adults' services. The project aims to develop capacity by improving partnership working and enabling quality service development, both clinical and social care.

These focus groups will

• find out any current local arrangements for young people living with HIV making the transition from children's to adults' services
• explore the successes and challenges of transition, in different areas, with different numbers of young people, and identify needs
• provide a networking and discussion opportunity for professionals interested in better transitions.

Transitions won't wait

Despite the current upheavals in health, community and social care, young people’s needs for a better transition will not wait. Each area’s professionals need to become involved.

This networking and sharing opportunity will provide professionals with some useful resources on HIV and transition, lunch, and even travel expenses help for some.
 

Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Birmingham

• For Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire – Manchester, 15 March, 14.00-16.30
• For North, West & South Yorkshire, East Riding, and Lincolnshire – Sheffield, 10 March, 13.30-16.00
• For Tyne and Wear, Co. Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland – Newcastle, 2 March, 10.00-12.30
• For West Midlands, and Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – Birmingham, 15 March, 12.00-14.30.

Join the group where you would have the most service links. No transition arrangements yet? All the better if you attend.

People working with affected families of HIV-positive adolescents are also welcome, although the focus will be on the transition needs of the HIV+ young people.

Book a place
Please email the Children and Young People HIV Network, telling them which one you would like to attend. All places must be booked in advance so they can book suitable accommodation and cater effectively for all. Live elsewhere? - email the Network for details of meetings in other regions

Manchester HIV Training

posted: 19/01/2011

Dates and details of all the training courses on HIV, sexual health, drugs and alcohol for the next year are now listed and can be booked with Manchester Public Health Service.

HIV courses

• Positive Interventions : HIV & Sexual Health Awareness

2 Day course, for frontline workers, in April, July, November, January (2012), February and March

• Positive Plus : Advanced HIV Awareness

1 Day Course for frontline workers - you need to have done their HIV introduction course Back to Basics, or have a good knowledge of HIV. In May, November

• Back to Basics : An introduction to HIV and Sexual Health Awareness

1 Day Course, for frontline workers, in June, October, November, and March (2012)

• Rather have a cup of tea : Over 50’s, sexual health and HIV

1 Day Course for frontline staff working with people over 50, in August

Other Manchester sexual health, drink and drug courses

• Crushes to Hot Flushes : Women and Sexual Health (women only course)
• Getting the Measure of it : Basic alcohol awareness
• Alcohol and Dependency : Women and alcohol
• It’s a Man’s World : Working with boys and young men
• ‘It’s not an issue’ : Sexual health, sex and relationships for people with learning difficulties
• Reducing Drug Related Deaths : Overdose Management
• Living the High Life (Part 1) : Drug Awareness
• Living the High Life (Part 2) : Advanced drugs awareness
• No Girls Allowed : Men and sexual health (men only course)
• People, Pins and Prevention : Safer injection training
• The Jury’s Out : Harm Reduction
• The Sleeping Giant Awakes! : Hepatitis C
• Who ate all the P.I.E.S : ‘An Introduction to Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs’
• Call the Cops : ‘The essential guide to Legal and illegal 'Legal Highs'
• Curry & Rice : The Ultimate Take Away [about the high risks of speedballing: using heroin and crack together]

Manchester Public Health Service sexual health training booklet with application form

Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Training Administrator: Kellie McGuire
MPHDS
Mauldeth House
Mauldeth Road West
Chorlton
Manchester
M21 7RL
0161 882 2301

 

Other Manchester Public Health training booklets

• Mental Health and Well Being, contact
• Physical Activity, Health Eating & Cancer Prevention, contact
• Stop Smoking, contact

Manchester Public Health Development Service

HIV Future - National and Council

posted: 24/12/2010

In plans just published for shaking up public health services in the NHS, the Department of Health propose that HIV testing, treatment and care services should be funded and co-ordinated nationally, by the future NHS Commissioning Board.

At the same time, a wide range of sexual health services - including STI clinics, contraception and abortion services - will become the responsibility of local councils, as part of their new public health role.
 

The government announced radical reforms for the English National Health Service (NHS) after the election in May. The main proposal is to abolish primary care trusts (PCTs). Most of the PCT responsibilities for co-ordinating and funding services (“commissioning”) will be transfered to local consortia of family doctors. And the public health services that PCTs commission will be handed over to local councils to manage.
 

NHS shake up worries

Many health professionals have big concerns about any major NHS shake up while big spending cuts are also being forced through. The risks are significant. And one of these worries is that where there are relatively few HIV-positive people, the new GP consortia would not have the skills, experience or interest to commission high-quality HIV services.

However the proposals now published show that GP consortia will not be expected to manage HIV clinical commissioning and HIV prevention.

How will local authorities in areas where there are few people with HIV manage HIV and sexual health prevention and care well?

HIV testing, treatment and care – a job for new NHS national commissioning board
The government has just released further details of their plans for commissioning. HIV testing, treatment and care will, in fact, be commissioned nationally by the NHS Commissioning Board.
The government document states that these arrangements will allow efficiencies to be made in the procurement of drugs and services.

“We’re pleased that HIV treatment is not going directly to inexperienced GP consortia,” commented Lisa Power, head of policy and public affairs at the Terrence Higgins Trust.
 

Local HIV prevention and health promotion – a new service from councils
Another key part of the government’s reforms is that responsibility for public health programmes will shift from NHS primary care trusts to local authorities. They will be allocated a ring-fenced budget that must be spent on public health activities. Notably, this will affect local HIV prevention and health promotion projects.
 

STI clinics, contraception, abortion – a new council service
However the government also revealed today that a very wide range of open-access sexual health services which contribute to public health will be commissioned by local authorities.
 

This includes services for the testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STI clinics), as well as partner notification, STI services in primary care, termination of pregnancy and contraceptive services that are not provided by GPs. Local authorities are likely to be legally required to provide open-access sexual health services, but with some flexibility about how they do so.
 

Lisa Power of Terrence Higgins Trust estimates that providing open-access sexual health services will swallow around 20% of the budget for public health activities in relation to all health conditions.
 

Drug services – a new council responsibility
Drug services, including prevention and treatment, will also be co-ordinated and funded by local authorities.
 

The government's proposals also make clear that tracking HIV and other conditions (currently done by the Health Protection Agency) will be moved to the new body Public Health England, which will become part of the Department of Health.
 

The proposals say nothing about the national HIV-prevention programmes CHAPS and NAHIP (for gay men, and for African people respectively). However they do say some national campaigns may be commissioned by Public Health England.
 

Public Health 'outcomes', not 'targets'

The new government doesn't like 'targets' but sets 'outcomes' instead. Maybe you can spot if there is any real difference between the two. The Department of Health has published its proposed Public Health Outcomes Framework. These are the indicators they will use to judge how well the public health system is performing. The list of 'outcomes', includes the proportion of new people diagnosed late with HIV, the rate of Chlamydia diagnoses among young people, and treatment completion rates for TB.

Cash for testing early 'outcomes'

The Government has included prompt diagnosis of HIV in their important ‘outcomes framework’.
That means money rewards will provide a cash incentive to the health system to diagnose HIV early.

Andrew Lansley, health secretary, commented: “I want to hear views from the people that this new [public health] service will benefit and from those who provide the services we seek to improve; this is your chance to comment on our proposals and to let us know how you think key elements of the service should be designed.”

The consultations and proposals

The proposals are open for public comment until 31 March 2011.
 

Healthy Lives, Healthy People: consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health, 2010.

Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Transparency in Outcomes. Proposals for a Public Health Outcomes Framework, 2010.

Health and Social Care Department of Health website about the various health and social care changes

Source

The current Department of Health Sexual Health Commissioning Toolkit for the NHS and Councils

Guide to HIV Healthcare Confidentiality

posted: 15/12/2010

A new guide for people living with HIV explains your rights to confidentiality in healthcare and what you can expect. The guide, Personal information and the NHS, goes through common concerns people living with HIV have about how the NHS treats the privacy of information about HIV status.

It explains how personal information will be handled, and gives practical advice about what to do if people have any concerns.

Know the facts and take action

This guide helps people with HIV understand confidentiality and privacy rights. It encourages people to ask questions and make concerns known, which NAT hopes will help improve things for everyone. If a person with HIV feels that their personal information has been mishandled, armed with the facts in this guide, they can take action.

Confidentiality is protected in the NHS in the following ways:

• NHS staff should not talk about someone to anyone else either inside or outside the NHS without the patient’s consent; this includes talking to family members and friends of the patient
• NHS staff should not leave names visible anywhere. They should therefore cover up names on paper files or close computer screens and electronic medical records
• All paper records should be kept in a secure place and all computerised records should have electronic protection, such as secure logins and passwords.

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), told us:

‘Many people living with HIV have experienced concerns relating to confidentiality of their status and in healthcare this is especially important. In order to receive the best healthcare, sometimes this does mean sharing your personal information but people living with HIV should be able to do that and feel confident that their information will only be shared appropriately and with their consent. NAT has developed this guide in order to set out the basic principles of confidentiality within the NHS, as it can be a confusing area and many people do not fully understand what the rules – or their rights – are.’

guide: Personal information and the NHS is here
 

NAT's policy report Confidentiality in healthcare for people living with HIV provides useful background 

CHAPS Opens to Gay Men

posted: 13/12/2010

A central website for gay men’s HIV prevention in England has opened. Most HIV prevention for gay and bi men in this country is done by CHAPS, a network of organisations, that includes LGF in Manchester and Terrence Higgins Trust.

CHAPS has worked for more than a dozen years on HIV prevention and better sexual health for gay and bi men in England and gets its funding from the Department of Health. It didn’t have a website and that made it difficult for people to find details of their HIV prevention campaigns and other information.

Who are CHAPS?

Most people haven’t a clue what CHAPS is, so the website explains this and tells you a bit about each CHAPS member, like the LGF. Each has their own page featuring an overview of their services, a guide to their resources and any upcoming events they are hosting.

Work and campaigns

This section introduces CHAPS campaigns past and present and how individuals and organisations can benefit from these. Details of how you can order campaign materials are provided.

What have we learnt?

This part of the new CHAPS website provides easy access to CHAPS reports – like the sector summary reports, Making it Count briefing sheets and Sigma Research reports.

Making it Count, the strategic planning framework for reducing HIV transmission during sex between men, features in a special section with an overview of the key points.

Communicating together

The third section of the CHAPS website, Our Community, opens communications between individuals as well as organisations. This community platform gives you the opportunity to create a profile for both yourself and your project, you can create events such as training and conferences and invite people who are also registered on the site.

Our Community also provides an excellent opportunity to feedback about the development of CHAPS campaigns, conferences and training.

CHAPS website