HIV resources 'haven't proportionally scaled up' alongside advances in treatment, says expert

Cork and Kerry share one HIV clinic, which is 'stretched', Cork Sexual Health Centre's fast-track cities programme manager Tara Russell told the 'Irish Examiner'

 Tara Russell:'There have been efforts to improve access to PrEP, but there are still very long waiting lists in Cork.' Picture: Gareth Chaney

Gaps in HIV care, including for Kerry and Cork, must be addressed if the Government is to reach its target of no new transmissions by 2030, a conference has heard.

These two counties share one HIV clinic, which is “stretched” as more people live longer with HIV and need ongoing care, an expert told the Irish Examiner.

Tara Russell, of the Cork Sexual Health Centre, said some 100 people lived with HIV in those counties about 20 years ago. Now, there are around 1,000.

“The resources haven’t been proportionally scaled up, treatment has become better but, in some ways, more complex,” she said. “What we’d be saying is the clinic is stretched.” 

This means a new injectable treatment cannot be given to these patients, she added. Dublin patients can get an injection every two months instead of taking a daily tablet.

“That’s not an option if you are living in Cork or Kerry, that’s a real inequity,” she said.

"There just isn’t the space for them to do that in Cork. It’s a physical reality" as injections are given in the clinics, Ms Russell said.

She called for funding to allow Cork University Hospital to expand the clinic, saying the hospital is “very aware” of the challenges. More community supports for Kerry are also needed, she added.

PrEP services

She said: “There is a need for improved physical infrastructure for the Cork clinic, and then there’s a need for more resources.” 

Similar challenges face patients in Galway and Limerick, she added.

More funding is also needed for HIV PrEP services. This medicine is taken before and after having sex to prevent HIV transmission.

“There have been efforts to improve access to PrEP, but there are still very long waiting lists in Cork,” she said.

“And you still need to come to the Cork clinic even if you’re living in Kerry to get those prescriptions. It’s the only clinic for prevention as well as treatment.” 

These issues could be addressed in a national action plan, with such a plan called for at the conference by HIV Ireland. Executive director Stephen O’Hare said the knowledge to end new transmissions already exists.

“What we need now is political will and leadership,” he urged.

Ireland signed up to the 2030 target of no new HIV transmissions at the UN General Assembly on HIV in 2021.

An action plan needs “specific targets and oversight”, Mr O'Hare said, adding this is “the only way Ireland can meet its UNAids commitment to end new transmissions by 2030".