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To: The Secretary of State for Health

Save our sexual health services

Reverse the damaging cuts to the public health budget in England and provide sufficient funding to ensure that patients can continue to access high-quality sexual health services throughout the country

Why is this important?

Sexual health services that are free and open to anyone who needs them have been the keystone of world-leading sexual health care in England for over a hundred years. They provide essential functions such as testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, free contraception including emergency methods such as the ‘morning after pill’ and long-acting methods, as well as sexual health promotion, advice on STI/HIV prevention and outreach services across the community.

These services are free to access, confidential and are there for everyone, including those who are the most vulnerable in society.

However, sexual health services, which are no longer funded from the NHS, are facing unprecedented threats as a result of damaging and persistent Government cuts to local authority public health budgets, from which they are now funded.

These cuts come at a time when more people are accessing sexual health services than ever before, record levels of STIs are being diagnosed, difficult to treat antibiotic-resistant strains of infection are being detected and the need for quality contraception and HIV testing is more important than ever.

Therefore, it is essential that the Government ensures appropriate public health funding is made available for local authorities so we are able to address these challenges head-on and continue to provide the care that people rely on.

Failure to do so represents the falsest of false economies and will jeopardise the sexual health of both individuals and society as a whole.

Sexual health services are for everyone - you do not know when you, your friends, loved ones or family may need them - so join with us now to pledge your support and help ensure that services receive the backing they require.

Organisations endorsing this campaign include:

- British Association for Sexual Health and HIV
- Beyond Positive
- British HIV Association
- British Medical Association
- Brook
- Family Planning Association
- Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare
- Gay Men's Health Collective (MEN R US)
- GMFA (the gay men's health charity)
- The GMI Partnership
- iwantPrEPnow
- LGBT Foundation
- LGBT Consortium
- METRO Charity
- NAM
- National Aids Trust
- National HIV Nurses Association
- The NAZ Project
- PositivelyUK
- Prepster
- Royal College of Nursing
- Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
- Saving Lives
- Society of the Social History of Medicine
- Sophia Forum
- Spectra
- Terrence Higgins Trust

Updates

2018-01-05 18:46:30 +0000

5,000 signatures reached

2017-12-05 10:05:30 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2017-12-03 03:50:00 +0000

500 signatures reached

2017-12-01 15:24:22 +0000

100 signatures reached

2017-12-01 13:52:28 +0000

50 signatures reached

2017-12-01 13:24:49 +0000

25 signatures reached

2017-12-01 13:15:52 +0000

10 signatures reached