Community group launches survey following London HIV drugs change

In April the London Specialist Commissioning Group - hosted by NHS Croydon - changed its rules to mandate “specific regimens for treatment naïve patients unless they are contra-indicated, and request that clinicians switch stable patients to new regimes where appropriate”, according to the UK Community Advisory Board.

The group, a network for community HIV treatment advocates, said the changes were made “to help alleviate the increasing cost of NHS London’s HIV drugs budget”, and are likely to be taken up in other regions, and potentially Scotland and Wales.

In a statement, the group said: “In response to these changes, and to get a clearer picture of how they are impacting people living with HIV, the UKCAB, the network for community HIV treatment advocates, is undertaking a study of patients who have seen changes to their drug regimen since April, and of the experiences of people accessing HIV drugs from London HIV clinics. 

“The survey will be available online for the next few months, and the information that we obtain from the data will be used to help UKCAB produce a report on how the new regime is affecting people living with HIV, positively or negatively,” it adds.

“UKCAB will also be producing a paper version of the survey, which will be circulated to groups and agencies working with or representing groups and people less able to access or use the internet.”

The contacts are Mark Platt, at mabbes@msn.com, or UKCAB administrator Memory Sachikonye at memory.sachikonye@ukcab.net.