Gay Londoners asked about HIV
For the first time, gay men in London are being asked to give their views on the commissioning of HIV services in the capital city.
A proposal for radical changes in the provision of HIV prevention work for gay men has been put forward and you can have your say.
If the proposed HIV prevention work does not meet the needs of gay men, the community suffers and increasingly scarce resources are wasted.
To ensure that these prevention services are appropriate it is vital that that the users of these services, gay men themselves, have a voice.
The major changes that are proposed include, an end to health information adverts and HIV prevention adverts in the gay press and a substantial reduction in the number of leaflets and booklets available.
In place of current services every gay man in London would be assessed on an annual basis by a face-to-face health assessment conducted on the gay scene or HIV organisations.
This assessment would seek to identify risk behaviours and any gaps in men’s HIV prevention knowledge.
Personal data and details of risk behaviour would be collected and systematically stored on a central database
A new programme of research to interview all men testing for HIV or STIs and all HIV positive gay men to develop a database of risk factors and situations which lead to exposure of HIV would be established.
Gay men’s health charity, GMFA, has been asked to host a consultation with gay men in London to get your views on these changes.
GMFA believe the thoughts and opinions of a diverse group of gay men matter, and this is a rare opportunity for your views to be heard by those who hold the future of funding for gay men’s health in their hands.
The group is asking you to fill out a questionnaire which will have a real impact on the future of HIV prevention for gay men in London.
All responses will be anonymous and must be received by 14th December. For a copy of the questionnaire and details of the proposed changes, please email [email protected] or download the Commissioning Intentions and Feedback documents by going to www.gmfa.org.uk/consultation.
