A Terrence Higgins Trust report launched today shows that just 45 per cent of people attending genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England are seen within 48 hours, pushing up rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The report ‘Sexually Transmitted Infections: Tackling a growing crisis’ highlights the fact that the longer a person remains untreated, the more likely they are to pass the infection on to others. The government has set a target that by 2008 everyone should be offered a GUM appointment within 48 hours. However, many local health services are a long way from achieving this.

‘Choosing Health’ the government’s public health White Paper highlighted plans to allocate £300 million to transform sexual health services in England. Money will be available from 2006, but there will be no stringent checks in place to ensure this money is put into sexual health services.

Nick Partridge, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust said “With current waiting times for clinic appointments it’s no wonder STI rates are continuing to rise. A quarter of people in England have to wait more than two weeks to be seen. It is simply not good enough.

“From 2006 the £300 million allocation will begin to be available to the NHS but it’s essential it reaches local frontline sexual health services. We now have the worst levels of sexual health since the second world war. We must use this opportunity to turn things around. Miss it and spiralling sexual health trends will only continue.”

Rates of STIs have almost trebled in the last decade and the overall workload for GUM clinics has increased by more than 70 per cent since 1997. In addition GUM clinics are reporting increases in the number and proportion of complicated STI cases. An estimated one third of individuals with symptomatic STIs continue to have sex while they wait for a GUM appointment.

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Notes to editors

1. Download our report Sexually Transmitted Infections: Tackling a growing crisis

2. GUM waiting times, by English region

Please find below genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic waiting time figures for the whole country showing the percentage of people seen at GUM within 48 hours.

3. Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing a wide range of services to over 50,000 people a year. The charity also campaigns and lobbies for greater political and public understanding of the personal, social and medical impact of HIV and sexual health.