A Ugandan woman with HIV who was denied 'exceptional leave to remain in the UK' by the High Court in London earlier this month is now appealing against the decision to 'disperse' her from the capital and force her to live in Leeds while her case is under review. The woman is also taking The Guardian newspaper to the Press Complaints Council for naming her in breach of a court confidentiality order. Meanwhile Home Secretary David Blunkett has lost a landmark legal case in the Court of Appeal after he sought to stop asylum seekers from receiving state benefits. The court ruled that to deny late asylum applicants benefits would leave them destitute and at risk of inhumane and degrading treatment.
The Food Chain, which delivered over 36,000 meals last year to housebound people with Aids in London, has received a big funding boost with the receipt of £119,000 grant over the next three years from the Community Fund. The charity has also appointed two well-respected medics to serve as patrons: Dr Margaret Johnson, chairman elect of the British HIV Association and senior HIV consultant at the Royal Free Hospital, and Dr Caroline Bradbeer, clinical director of Specialist medicine at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital. For details of the Food Chain, visit: www.foodchain.org.uk
The Health Protection Agency has been set up this month to tackle threats from infections and environmental hazards in England and Wales. The new organisation will take over the work of other bodies such as the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), including the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, which has hitherto supplied statistics on infectious disease such as HIV and Aids as well as the National Poisons Information Service and the National Focus for Chemical Incidents. For details, visit: www.hpa.org.uk
The head of a Jersey Aids charity has said that the Channel Islands need more money spent on HIV prevention. Rosemary Ruddy, executive director of the St Helier based Aids Care Education and Training (ACET) says Jersey has already seen three new HIV diagnoses this year and the island's government needs to put more money into prevention programmes before it is too late.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Aids and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees are holding a series of parliamentary hearings this May into asylum, immigration and entitlement to HIV treatments. Both groups are seeking submissions from organisations and individuals in order to make recommendations to the Home Office, Department of Health and Department for International Development. The deadline for submissions is 28 April and memoranda should be sent electronically as soon as possible to info@appg-aids.org.uk
A letter from doctors at the Bristol Royal Infirmary to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) says that the current NHS obsession with performance indicators, such as waiting times, is forcing changes that are unpopular with patients. "Empowerment of patients, while laudable in principle, seems to be nothing more than hot air when hospital performance stars are at stake," the doctors said.
The Scottish Voluntary HIV and Aids Forum has been renamed and expanded this month to become HIV Scotland. The organisation will continue to work with and for the HIV voluntary sector north of the border, but will also co-ordinate treatment access information and act as a liaison and a lobbying body with the Scottish Parliament and Executive. For details, telephone: 0131 558 3713, Email: info@hivscotland.com
