The Implementation Action
Plan - in the Summer of 2002, acknowledging these concerns.
A major criticism from those involved in the strategy feedback was
simply that the strategy itself was ‘woolly’ and descriptive,
rather than prescriptive; and some felt it was non-committal about
action to achieve change.
The Implementation Action Plan also included the DoH’s 27-point
action plan with a clear timetable for introducing the main interventions
of the original strategy and has been included in the latest document.
This clarifies many aspects of the original strategy and when objectives
should be implemented. How the |
changes are going to be
resourced is still unclear.
While the DoH had previously announced that £47.5 million
would be made available over two years to support implementation
of specific initiatives within the Sexual Health strategy, this
amount is not adequate to fund all the necessary resources - treatments,
screening tests, extra staff and staff training.
Whether the targets set out in the strategy would further stretch
already overburdened GPs and sexual health services without providing
the extra funding was another key concern expressed as part of the
consultation exercise.
This reinforces doubts that the strategy will be able to influence
health service commissioning and service provision, because the
strategy has not been given the priority of an NSF.
On the positive side, the DoH’s new national Safer Sex media
campaign has finally been launched and adverts and tv coverage around
raising national sexual health awareness are beginning to filter
through. But again, concerns have been voiced about how this might
further strain resources in sexual health clinics and on phone helplines.
Services stretched to breaking point
|
 |
GUM clinics - the main providers
of sexual healthcare - are currently stretched to near breaking
point. In |
an article published on
5 December in The Telegraph, Dr Colm O’Mahony, President of
the Association of Genito-Urinary Medicine, said: “Our access
surveys show that more than 40,000 |
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
