Accessing HIV care

To begin with, you are unlikely to notice any differences when you go along to your clinic for HIV treatment and care, along with people who use sexual health services such as GUM clinics, contraception and unplanned pregnancy services. However the decision making process about running and funding these services will have fundamentally changed. Although generally decisions about commissioning health services will be made more locally, some specialist services will be commissioned nationally by the National Commissioning Board, such as HIV.

The NHS reforms will eventually present opportunities for GPs, HIV charities and other organisations to provide part of the HIV care process, in partnership with specialist HIV treatment providers. This could free up time and resources to enable HIV specialists to focus on the more advanced and complex aspects of HIV treatment and care, which may increase as people age with HIV. There is likely to be a slow evolution of services to allow the required relationships and confidence to develop between patients, specialist and non-specialist clinicians and other providers. There may be some rationalisation of services such as a possible reduction in the overall number of clinics or specialisation in some clinics.

How will patient and service user views be represented?

The health reform proposals focus on shared decision making for patients and there are a number of potentially welcome policy developments for people living with HIV or affected by other sexual health issues. For example, the possibility of increased control over and access to care records is something that people living with HIV can potentially benefit from in terms of understanding their condition and treatment options better.

As part of this new focus on patient involvement, HealthWatch will be a new independent body putting forward your views and experiences and it has a key role in plans for health service changes in ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable are heard and addressed. HealthWatch will exist in two distinct form, HealthWatch England nationally and Local HealthWatch. It will be up to each local Health and Wellbeing Board, in consultation with the Local HealthWatch, to then take account of people with particular health needs, like HIV, in the most appropriate way. Local Healthwatches will officially launch in April 2013; these new bodies will replace the current Local Involvement Networks, LINks.

75 HealthWatch pathfinder organisations have already been set up in advance of the full establishment of the national network.

The Care Quality Commission has set up an online community for anyone who is interested in HealthWatch, so you can feed in your views (registration is via HealthWatch@nunwood.com). Views gathered from this forum will then inform the HealthWatch programme board and its advisory group.

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