Tuesday 15 November 2022 12:23 AM Sexual health services at 'breaking point' as attendance skyrockets, councils ... trends now
Sexual health services are 'at breaking point' as they battle funding cuts and surging demand - including among pensioners, councils warn.
The Local Government Association says without more cash there could be an increase in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
Meanwhile sexual health services in England and Wales could struggle to deal with disease outbreaks, such as monkeypox.
It said that sexual health services working in the community are helping more people than ever before.
But at the same time budgets for public health spending have been 'slashed'.
Official data showed chlamydia rates in young people were nearly 14 times higher in the country's worst affected area as its least. The illness was detected in 3,063 people aged 15 to 24 per 100,000 in Lambeth, London, in the year up to April 2021. For comparison, only 222 per 100,000 in the age group were infected in the market town of Horsham, West Sussex
Chlamydia remains the most commonly diagnosed STI, making up 51 per cent of all confirmed cases. However, around 2,000 fewer cases were detected in 2021 compared to 2020
Some 51,074 gonorrhoea cases were diagnosed in 2021, up by 841 from 2020. However, rates are still below pre-pandemic, with a peak of 70,908 annual cases logged in 2019
The LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, has published a new report titled 'Breaking point: securing the future of sexual health services'.
The report states that there were more than four million sexual health services appointments in 2021 – a rise of 36 per cent since 2013.
In 2021, there were almost two million diagnostic tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and HIV delivered by sexual health services – an increase of 19 per cent compared to 2020.
And an increasing number of women are using sexual health services for long-acting reversible contraceptives including implants and the coil.
More than 300,000 new STIs were detected in 2021.
And the number of common STIs caught among the over 65's increased by 20 per cent – from 2,280 in 2017 to 2748 in 2019.
The LGA said that the rise in need comes after the public health grant to local authorities use to fund sexual health services has reduced by over £1billion between 2015/16 and 2020/21.
It is calling on the Chancellor to commit to support the rise in demand for sexual health care in the fiscal statement on Thursday.
David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board said: 'Councils are facing a perfect storm of increased demand for services whilst at the same time continued cuts to their funding.
'This is unsustainable and risks a reversal in the encouraging fall in some STIs and potential increases in unwanted pregnancies.
'To ensure councils can continue to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of their
