Anne Main: Time to face up to crisis in sexual health care in St Albans
11th July 2006
Over several months Anne met with staff at the St Albans clinics and was told of the staff shortages and concerns by Dr Pat Munday about the frozen posts and lack of funding for this key Health service.
Over several months Anne met with staff at the St Albans clinics and was told of the staff shortages and concerns by Dr Pat Munday about the frozen posts and lack of funding for this key Health service.
On 01/07/10/March Anne asked questions in the House regarding sexual health services, Anne highlighted the 1,500% increase in HIV in Herts and pushed for a review of the situation. On 21st March 06 Anne Main again asked the Health Secretary what was the results of that review which was undertaken on the Watford and St Albans sites. The resulting MedFash report (Medical Foundation for Aids and sexual Health) confirmed the damming conclusions of the local providers-the service was indeed under funded and short staffed.
Anne also engaged in a series of letters with the Sec of State for Health to try to retain the last sexual health worker in the community whose role was to go into schools-despite meetings and lobbying the post was abolished amidst much rancour.
Subsequent meetings by Anne with Dr Munday show things appear to have gone from bad to worse. The Chlamydia 2007 programme target agreed by the government to prevent disease in young women doesn't even have a start date in Hertfordshire. Despite sexual health purportedly being one of the Government's top 6 priorities it does not appear that the West Herts Trust has shown any willingness to take up any of the recommendations in the damming report, in fact further cuts are planned- all down to financial deficits. Anne this week wrote to the Sec of state demanding to know why the report is not being acted on, and asking for funding. The sad consequence of all this is that that Dr Pat Munday Consultant Genitourinary Physician tendered her resignation, in frustration, to David Laws in June, giving her reasons as the fact that she could no longer take professional responsibility for a service that is fundamentally unsafe.
The Hemel Gazette writes 05/07/06 that Ms Munday, "The clinical director of the Watford Sexual Health Centre has warned the service is likely to collapse within the next few months" because of budget cuts. Pat Munday, clinical director and consultant genitourinary physician, says the centre is "paralysed" because of staff shortages. She warns there will be a "significant effect" on public health, such as infertility because of the situation and treatment time target missed."
Anne said:
"I am so disappointed and angry at this situation. I have been flagging up this crisis for months now, and after all my lobbying I had hoped that the Med Fash report would support the consultants' views that something must be done to support this vital service. National statistics show a large increase in gonorrhea syphilis, HIV and other sexual disease-these need to be treated not ignored to save cash. Chlamydia may be a "target" but we haven't even got a start date to role out the service locally. If the Watford clinic has to see fewer patients, for financial reasons,-I'm told some 48% fewer by staff, then we are looking at a disease time bomb that threatens the health of our young people. I want an assurance from David Laws that he will 'relook' at the MedFash Report and make an effort to try to meet clinical need not just a budget sheet. After all where are these patients supposed to go? St Albans is still in a critical situation due to staff shortages, and queues are legendary at the GUM clinic.
"Its madness to lose able dedicated staff, who quite rightly do not wish to operate in unsafe circumstances. When the public were all asked to pay extra into the health service no one expected this savage round of cuts to be the result-debts and targets are distorting clinical priorities. We need to face up to the crisis in our health service as a whole and grasp the harsh reality that in Hertfordshire we are potentially condemning thousands of young people to a life of unnecessary disease and possible infertility, and an explosion in communicated sexual illness all because some bean counter needs to claw back deficits.
"I will be speaking at a debate that was called for by fellow Hertfordshire Conservative MPs in the House on Thursday where I will be raising this and other health cuts in St Albans and Hertfordshire as a whole.""
