The Government is issuing a response to all those who sign a petition asking that PrEP be made immediately available on the NHS, following NHS England’s decision of a few weeks ago:
NHS England have agreed to carefully consider their position on commissioning Pre-exposure Prophylaxis. The Government is investing £2.4m in HIV prevention nationally.
The NHS provides world class treatment and care for people living with HIV and work on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) should be seen in the context of our wider commitments to tackling HIV. We have sustained our national £2.4 million investment in HIV prevention and through this funded a number of innovative local projects and set up a new HIV home sampling service – one of the first of its kind. It is also worth highlighting that national investment in home sampling has been significantly enhanced by local investment from local authorities.
With regard to PrEP, NHS England has agreed to carefully consider their position on commissioning. Planning continues on the early implementer tests sites in the meantime. Whatever the commissioning arrangements for PrEP, decisions to fund will depend on full assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness and how it can be integrated with other HIV prevention efforts.
Department of Health