Appeal court rules NHS does have power to commission prep HIV service : breakingnews

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Appeal court rules NHS does have power to commission prep HIV service

Appeal court rules NHS does have power to commission prep HIV service

NHS England has lost its appeal over a High Court ruling that it has the legal power to commission PrEP, a "game changer" service in the fight against HIV/Aids.PrEP, short for "pre-exposure prophylaxis", is a prevention strategy which involves people who are HIV negative but at high risk of infection taking the anti-retroviral drug Truvada to reach optimal levels of protection.NHS England argued that it cannot legally commission PrEP because local authorities have the responsibility to arrange services to "prevent" the spread of HIV, while its own responsibilities are limited to treating those already assumed to be infected.


let alone bbc

NHS England has power to fund Prep HIV drug, court decides

NHS England has power to fund Prep HIV drug, court decides

Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Prep needs to be taken daily to build up resistance to HIVThe Court of Appeal has ruled that the NHS in England has the power to fund a drug which prevents HIV infection in people at high risk of the virus.NHS England had previously said that local authorities should provide the pre-exposure prophylaxis drug - known as Prep - because they are responsible for preventative health.But the court insisted this fell within the remit of the NHS.


furthermore theguardian

NHS loses court appeal over 'game-changing' HIV drugs

NHS loses court appeal over 'game-changing' HIV drugs

NHS England does have the power to pay for drugs to protect thousands of people against HIV, the appeal court has ruled, but they may still miss out if it decides it does not have enough money to prioritise them over treatments for other conditions.The court upheld an earlier judgment that it is within the power of NHS England to fund treatment known as PrEP – pre-exposure prophylaxis – which can protect the partners of people with HIV from infection.The case was brought by the National Aids Trust (NAT) after NHS England said responsibility for public health, including HIV prevention, had been passed to local authorities.

Appeal court rules NHS does have power to commission prep HIV service