Standards and networks for NHS HIV Services: project summary

"Updated national HIV standards will be developed"
(National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV)

Government policy across the NHS supports the development of national standards as a means of promoting quality and equity in service provision. This is expressed in the NHS Plan and in Shifting the Balance of Power within the NHS, which also highlights the importance of clinical networks. Working in networks can enable services to meet standards.

"All HIV practitioners will be expected to work within a managed service network"
(National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV, 2001)

The government's endorsement of the network approach for HIV followed a number of initiatives in different parts of England, including a project managed by the Medical Foundation for AIDS & Sexual Health (then known as the BMA Foundation for AIDS), to map and facilitate the development of managed service networks for HIV.

The project
A project co-ordinated by the Medical Foundation for AIDS & Sexual Health (MedFASH) to support the Department of Health in achieving its strategic objectives on HIV service standards and networkstook place in 2002-2003 aiming to:
1. develop updated standards for NHS HIV services,
2. disseminate learning about managed networks and how obstacles to their development might be overcome.

Central to the project was close collaboration between providers, service users and commissioners, and the process was informed by key needs which were identified through earlier work by MedFASH:
· Clarity and relevance of standards to all users
· Wide ownership of standards across England
· A key role for service users in standards development
· A clear focus on outcomes (with evidence) and care pathways
· Responsiveness to changing user needs and developments in epidemiology and technology
· Incorporating changes in NHS roles and structures.

Initial activity focused on the project's first objective, the development of new standards. An advisory group worked with the project team to identify the scope and critical components of the project, and to develop the draft standards. To ensure the involvement of stakeholders, three working groups were convened in different geographical locations in England, as well as a national stakeholder consultation meeting, to work on the review and update of the standards. The new recommended standards were published in October 2003.

To address the project's second objective, on HIV service networks, five seminars were held around England in March and April 2003. The seminars enabled those involved with HIV services to share learning about network development, drawing on the experience of those in the HIV sector and in other areas of health.

For information about the project:
Standards & Networks for NHS HIV Services, Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JP. Email: enquiries.medfash@medfash.bma.org.uk Tel: 020 7383 6345. Website: www.medfash.org.uk