NHS South East London are changing their HIV services and would like the opinion of local people in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham on their ideas. They particularly want to hear from local people who are living with HIV.
Three public meetings are being held in January to discuss the plans.
5th January 2012 6.00pm - 9.00 pm,
Guy’s Hospital, Robens Suite, 29th Floor, Tower Wing, SE1 9RT
9th January 2012 6.00pm - 9.00 pm,
Assembly Rooms, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill, SW2 1RW
10th January 2012 6.00 pm - 9.00 pm,
Committee Rooms 1 & 2, Civic Suite Lewisham Town Hall, Catford, SE6 4RU
To attend the meeting please contact: patricia.riley@lambethpct.nhs.uk or tel: 0203 049 4046.
If you are unable to attend the meetings, you can respond to the consultation in writing. To get details of how to respond, read the 'plain English' guide to the changes.
More details on the review and proposed changes can also be found at www.selondon.nhs.uk
If you would like advice or to discuss how to respond, please contact the Terrence Higgins Trust policy team at: catherine.murphy@tht.org.uk
NHS South East London also intend to hold additional focus groups, and incentives of £20.00 plus travel will be paid to service users attending the focus groups.
If you are interested in being part of a focus group, please email patricia.riley@lambethpct.nhs.uk or tel: 0203 049 4046.
What the plans in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham mean
The vision of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham is to:
- Provide HIV care and support services that are ‘modern’ and responsive to the current and future needs of people living with HIV.
- Expand HIV testing in GPs and hospital services.
- Continue to provide access to high quality HIV treatments for all people testing positive
- Improve access to mainstream services for people living with HIV.
From September 2012, NHS South East London plan to:
- Stop providing HIV health trainers service; HIV health information will be provided by GPs, HIV treatment services and peer led mentoring programmes
- Stop providing First Point assessment and referral, this will be provided by GPs and HIV Treatment services
- Stop the current peer support / peer led services. They plan to pool the existing resources and commission a new 'peer led/mentoring programme' which has clear health and social care improvement outcomes
- Continue to provide HIV advice and advocacy services (either through the current provider or as a newly commissioned service)
- Continue to provide HIV Family Support services
- Continue to provide an HIV Community Nursing Service but with a clearer health improvement outcomes and working specifically with complex patients
- Continue to provide specialist counseling for people living with HIV as an interim service whilst work is underway to improve competency and access to mainstream psychological therapies services
- Continue to provide specialist mental health services for people living with HIV at SLAM, whilst working to improve competency of, and access to community mental health services and to understand if and what specialist mental health services are required by people living with HIV
- Continue to provide residential and day care services through Mildmay with the intention to reduce activity over time through improving access to other community intermediate (post hospital) services
- Continue to provide residential cognitive impairment provision
- Start a programme of work with mainstream primary care, mental health, community intermediate and Palliative care (end of life) services to ensure competency and access for people living with HIV