“Sorry not today!” Gay men being turned away at HSE STI screening services – Donnelly

Fianna Fáil’s Health Spokesperson, Stephen Donnelly TD, has said that the future roll out of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for gay men will be undermined by the HSE’s unwillingness to invest in STI screening programmes in Dublin and across the country.

Deputy Donnelly was speaking after The Red Ball, a charity fundraising event for HIV Ireland which seeks to end discrimination of people living with HIV and campaigns for the roll out of publicly funded PrEP treatment.

He commented, “No one disputes the power of PrEP but unless there is adequate STI screening services for the LGBT community, PrEP will not be as powerful as it should be.

“Only recently, I have been contacted by several gay men who were turned away from the Gay Men’s Health Service (GMHS), located on Baggot Street, due to a lack of capacity. This is an ongoing issue, and one which the staff in the clinic are doing their level best to manage.

“There is no point in the Taoiseach and Government ministers taking part in staged testing events if thousands of gay men are being turned away at the doors when they go looking for an STI screening.

“Put simply demand for the service is outstripping the existing capacity of the clinic. Over the last three years, the number of people presenting to the clinic for STI screening has nearly doubled from less than 6,000 to more than 11,000.

“This is incredibly positive but what about the people who are being turned away? Bearing in mind that of the new patients who presented in 2018, 32% were diagnosed with an STI, it is essential that testing takes place as quickly as possible to avoid further transmission.

“I am led to believe that the GMHS has no core funding, is reliant on annual funding applications to various sections of the HSE, and that most of the staff are employed on an agency basis.

“If we are to truly stem the rise in STIs in this country, no one should be turned away from a testing service. The HSE must fund additional medical, nursing and admin support for the GMHS.

“The cost, in terms of finance and health, of not testing is clear for all to see. Turning a blind eye to sexual health is no longer acceptable in 2019,” concluded Deputy Donnelly.