President’s Blog – Professor Matt Phillips - October 2024
04 October 2024
(Last updated: 4 Oct 2024 12:02)
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you are all keeping well.
September was another incredibly busy month for both our sector and in the world of UK politics more broadly, with annual political party conferences taking place across the country over the past few weeks as many of you will have seen. We were delighted to be able to attend both Labour and Conservative party conferences. These provided important opportunities to highlight to MPs and Ministers the challenges faced by sexual health services across the UK, and to make our case for greater support and a national sexual health strategy for England.
It was particularly encouraging to have Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, come along to an event at the Labour conference, hosted by Terrence Higgin’s Trust and LGBT Labour, and listen to BASHH CEO Kat Smithson’s fantastic speech about our world-class GUM workforce. Kat spoke about the steps we want him to take to invest in and support sexual health moving forwards. Whilst the Secretary of State didn’t respond directly on the call for a new national strategy, he took the opportunity to talk about his intention to ensure services are supported to deliver on mpox and to refresh the HIV Action Plan, as well as his wider commitment to prioritise public health. This referenced the government’s considered response to mpox developments in the first few weeks since coming into office.
BASHH is continuing to work with UKHSA to manage the response to mpox, including ongoing assessment of the rollout of vaccinations and the development of guidelines and advice for services. We are committed to working closely with all relevant partner organisations to help ensure that the most effective response to mpox is put in place across the UK. In practice this means that we are providing timely and relevant information to policymakers, so that UKHSA and others have an informed understanding of what is happening on the frontline of services, and of the corresponding challenges and needs that must be considered in relation to patient access and prevention.
These issues were front of mind for BASHH representatives who supported the Parliamentary ‘Sexual Health 101’ event in September. Taking place ahead of the political party conferences and in partnership with the APPG on HIV and Sexual Health, the event provided a space for MPs and Peers to ‘drop in’ to find out more about our sector and our priorities for the new government. I’m delighted to say that the event was a big success, with over 25 Parliamentarians coming along across a 2-hour period, including many newly elected MPs who are now well placed to raise awareness of these important issues in Parliament over the coming months. A huge thank you to the BASHH members who did such a brilliant job of representing the organisation and our colleagues across the UK on the day.
As some of you will have seen, September also saw the Local Government Association (LGA) launch its Blueprint for the future: Sexual and reproductive health and HIV services in England. The report, which is supported by the Association of Directors of Public Health and the English HIV and Sexual Health Commissioners Group, features a clear call for the Government to publish a 10-year National Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy for England, and to ensure that a strategy is adequately funded moving forward. They outline ‘six to fix’ areas that should feature in the strategy, namely: funding, commissioning, quality standards, technology and innovation, prevention and outreach, and the SRH workforce. There is welcome alignment between the blueprint and BASHH’s Four Priorities for the Government to turn the tide on sexual health.
Looking ahead to the end of October, the Chanceller will be making her first Budget Statement in another significant political milestone. In advance of this, BASHH submitted a representation to the Chancellor to underline the considerable funding pressures that have been placed on sexual health in recent years – which equate to a real term cut in funding of £880 million between 2015 and 2024 (based on 2022/23 prices), leading to a £200 million reduction in STI testing, contraception and treatment funding. Our submission forms just one part of our ongoing advocacy work to raise the profile of sexual health with the new government and call for the adoption of the calls to action set out within BASHH’s Four Priorities publication.
The coming weeks will likely provide no let-up in intensity, with a significant new consultation expected to be launched around the Government’s 10 Year Plan for the NHS, and a packed Parliamentary agenda following the return of MPs from their respective party conferences. We will however continue to embrace the period we are in, utilising every opportunity we have to engage with decision-makers, and work with sector partners so we can advocate to the best of our ability for the vital needs of our members and those we serve at this critical time.
With all of this external business going on, it would almost be easy to forget about our ongoing member-facing activities. I was sorry to miss the SAS conference in Manchester this year – but it sounded like a really great event and I know that the presentation for attendees has since been made available. All this whets the appetite for BASHH’s 2025 annual conference in Edinburgh (June 9-11th) - time to start thinking about abstracts…
We also approach the time of year when we plan for the BASHH AGM and there will be a number of changing seats this year for CGC reps, as well as nominations for Fellows to the Board. Please do think about these roles - BASHH after all is its members. Any of the officers, CGC reps and I would be very happy for a chat if you have thought about going for a role but are not quite sure. We need all hands to the pumps with so much going on in GU Medicine.
Thank you for all the ongoing support you provide in these efforts and as ever, please let me know if I can help you at president@bashh.net
Yours,
Matt
Professor Matt Phillips
BASHH President