Here is
a short description of some of our current and
recent activities. To find out more about any
of our projects or to suggest new ideas (including
possibilities for collaboration), please get
in touch.
Policy
work and consultations
MedFASH provides authoritative
responses and briefings to government
and other policy-makers on current
policy issues. Click here
for more information, and for a details
of current and past work in this field.
MedFASH is very pleased
to announce the launch of the Tackling
HIV Testing: increasing detection
and diagnosis resource pack.
The resource pack
will help increase rates of HIV diagnosis
in hospitals. Educational slide sets,
template documents and background
information will assist HIV specialists
who wish to support their colleagues
in other specialties to offer HIV
testing more routinely in their daily
practice. The resource pack is now
available to download from the Tackling
HIV Testing section of our website.
Standards
for the management of sexually transmitted
infections (STIs)
Recent NHS policy,
as well as ongoing implementation
of the National strategy for sexual
health and HIV (Department of Health,
2001), has led to the commissioning
of sexual health services in a wide
range of settings. A number of existing
documents provide relevant guidance,
but there is no single set of agreed
standards to govern the operation
of all services offering STI management.
BASHH wishes to promote
consistency of care and has therefore
undertaken this project, in partnership
with the Royal College of Physicians
(RCP) and other key professional organisations,
to define standards relevant to the
management of STIs in all settings.
The project was managed for BASHH
by MedFASH. Click here
to read the project summary.
We
produced a document for consultation
on new draft standards for the management
of STIs and we invited organisations
and representative bodies to seek
the views of their members (where
relevant) and submit a response on
their behalf.
The standards have
been launched in January 2010. You
can download:
SHout
Loud (Sexual Health Out Loud): www.shoutloud.org.uk
We are happy to announce
the launch of SHout Loud, a new website
helping you have a say about sexual
health, contraceptive and HIV services
in England. This is a collaborative
project between the six leading sexual
health national charities AHPN, Brook,
fpa, MedFASH, National AIDS Trust
(NAT) and Terrence Higgins Trust (THT).
More and more decisions
about health services are now taken
at a local level, and decision-makers
have to take the views of local communities
into account. This means that the
voice of the public is more important
than ever, and people can have a huge
impact on changing and improving sexual
health, contraceptive and HIV services
locally. SHout Loud aims to empower
people to affect local decisions and
improve sexual health in their communities.
The SHout Loud website
features an interactive map, which
you can use to access local sexual
health, HIV and teenage pregnancy
statistics, find out about local NHS
and Local Authority plans and targets
related to sexual health, and take
action to improve sexual heath in
your area by contacting local decision-makers
using our 'Take Action' button. Visit
the website on www.shoutloud.org.uk
to take action now!
Royal
College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Introductory
Certificate in Sexual Health
Working with the RCGP
Sex Drugs and HIV Task Group, MedFASH
has managed the development and piloting
of an Introductory Certificate in
Sexual Health.
Aimed at generalist clinicians and
practice nurses already trained and
working in general practice this course
provides a basic grounding in sexual
health issues.
To obtain the certificate, participants
need to complete the e-learning module
on doctors.net.uk "Sexual
Health in General Practice"
and attend a face-to-face training
day. The cost of the face-to-face
day is £190.
For more information
about the course and future training
dates please check the RCGP
website.
Progress
and priorities - working together for high
quality sexual health. Review of the National
Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV
The Independent Advisory
Group (IAG) on Sexual Health and HIV
advises the Government on implementation
of the National Strategy for Sexual
health and HIV. In 2007, it commissioned
MedFASH to undertake a review of the
strategy, funded by the Department
of Health.
We gathered information
through desk research, expert groups
and regional meetings with multidisciplinary
professional stakeholders and with
service users. The review report,
Progress and priorities - working
together for high quality sexual health.
Review of the National Strategy for
Sexual Health and HIV, was published
in July 2008 and launched at the House
of Lords by Baroness Gould, Chair
of the IAG.
The report highlights
the changing context since the strategy's
publication in 2001, outlines progress
to date and identifies drivers and
barriers to the strategy's implementation.
It provides recommendations in five
strategic priority areas for action
at local, regional and national level.
Click here
for a copy of the full report, or
here
for the executive summary.
Conference:
More progress, same priorities? Review of
the National Strategy for Sexual Health and
HIV and beyond - the challenges of implementation
The National Strategy
for Sexual Health and HIV (2001) set
out an ambitious ten-year programme
to tackle sexual ill-health and modernise
sexual health services in England.
A review of the strategy and its implementation
was undertaken in 2008, resulting
in the report Progress
and Priorities - working together
for high quality sexual health,
produced by MedFASH for the Independent
Advisory Group (IAG) on Sexual Health
and HIV.
One year on from the
publication of Progress and Priorities,
this conference provided a unique
opportunity to learn about the Government's
response to the review and to explore
the practicalities of implementing
its recommendations at local and regional
level.
We are very grateful to the speakers
who have all agreed to share their
presentations via the MedFASH website.
To download them, please click on
each speaker's name:
London
sexual health needs assessment and service
mapping
MedFASH has managed
the first sexual health needs assessment
and service mapping for London, in
partnership with the London Health
Observatory (LHO) and Health Protection
Agency (HPA).
The project was established
to assist the NHS in London in its
task of further developing and delivering
high quality and world class sexual
health services. It set out to provide
a detailed picture of sexual health
needs and the current commissioning
and configuration of sexual health
services. It also aimed to provide
national learning for the Department
of Health (DH) about the process of
undertaking a regional needs assessment
and service mapping.
Commissioned by Lambeth
Primary Care Trust (PCT) on behalf
of London PCTs for the London Sexual
Health Programme, the project was
jointly funded by the DH Sexual Health
Policy Team, the DH National Support
Team for Sexual Health and the London
Sexual Health Programme. In managing
the project, MedFASH commissioned
the LHO which worked with the HPA
to produce the needs assessment. A
Project Advisory Group, whose membership
was drawn from commissioners and providers
across London, offered expert advice
and guidance throughout the project.
The following project
reports are published by MedFASH (November
2008).
In addition, the LHO
has produced an interactive web tool
enabling comparison between sexual
health indicators at London borough
level, and a workbook with supplementary
tables. The web tool can be accessed
at the LHO
website.
HIV
for non-HIV specialists
MedFASH has developed
a booklet for healthcare professionals
in secondary care who are not HIV
specialists, to help them improve
their skills and confidence in diagnosing
HIV. The booklet complements new national
HIV testing guidelines and supports
the aims of the
National strategy for sexual health
and HIV (Department of Health,
2001) to reduce the prevalence of
undiagnosed HIV, and the stigma associated
with HIV infection.
The purpose of the project was to
normalise consideration of HIV in
non-HIV specialist clinical settings,
and thereby increase opportunities
for early diagnosis of HIV infection,
and also to improve the quality of
healthcare for people with diagnosed
HIV in those settings. Click here
to download a copy of the booklet.
To order copies, click
here.
The booklet is now
part of our new resource pack Tackling
HIV Testing: increasing detection
and diagnosis produced to help
increase rates of HIV diagnosis in
hospitals. Its educational slide sets,
template documents and background
information will assist HIV specialists
who wish to support their colleagues
in other specialties to offer HIV
testing more routinely in their daily
practice. The resource pack is available
to download from the Tackling
HIV Testing section of our website.
10
High Impact Changes for Genitourinary Medicine
48-hour Access
The 10
High Impact Changes best practice
guide provides measures that can be
implemented quickly and on a scale
that will enable 48-hour access to
a local GUM service by March 2008.
We were commissioned
by the Department of Health to organise
an expert reference group, collate
feedback, comments and case studies
from this group, and draft a practical
guide for the Department of Health
to refine and publish (December 2006).
National
review of Genito Urinary Medicine services
In 2004 we were commissioned
by the Department of Health to manage
a national review of genito-urinary
medicine (GUM) services, as part of
the implementation action plan for
The National Strategy for Sexual Health
and HIV. The review aimed to:
undertake an assessment
of each GUM service in England,
highlighting factors which help
or hinder their ability to offer
a prompt and high quality service
offer recommendations
for service improvement and modernisation
arising from each assessment, relevant
for GUM service providers, their
local primary care trusts and strategic
health authorities
provide findings
and recommendations from the review
to the Department of Health
Initiated in partnership
with the British Association for Sexual
Health and HIV (BASHH), the project
started in June 2004 and the programme
of visits was completed in May 2007.
Click here for more information
on the project.
During the project,
we produced a 'top
tips' guide to support delivery
of the 48 hour access target for GUM.
This guide drew on lessons learnt
from reviews of GUM services and was
circulated by Richard Gleave to SHA
chief executives with a covering
letter.
There are about 53,000
people living with HIV in the UK. Antiretroviral
therapy has dramatically reduced HIV-related
deaths in the UK, but an estimated 14,300
people are still undiagnosed and therefore
unable to access this potentially life-saving
treatment. Many people with HIV, both
diagnosed and undiagnosed, are using
primary care. MedFASH aims to support
GPs and the primary care team in reducing
rates of undiagnosed HIV infection and
providing quality primary healthcare
for their patients with HIV.
In December 2004,
we published HIV
in primary care, an essential
guide for GPs, practice nurses and
other members of the primary healthcare
team, written by GPs Dr Sara Madge,
Dr Philippa Matthews, Dr Surinder
Singh and Dr Nick Theobald. The full-colour
booklet focuses particularly on clinical
diagnosis, offering HIV testing, side-effects
of antiretroviral therapy which may
be seen in primary care, and how GPs
can complement specialist care for
people with HIV. It presents practical
information in an attractive and easy-to-use
format, with photographs to illustrate
the section on the main HIV-related
conditions and their symptoms. Click
here for more information about
the publication, of which printed
copies are available free on request
to GPs and primary healthcare teams
in England.
Recommended
standards and networks for sexual health services
In March 2005, we published Recommended
standards for sexual health services
(download
pdf or order
a printed copy).
A key tool for providers,
commissioners, performance managers
and service users, the recommended
standards will support local
delivery of commitments in the public
health White Paper and the National
strategy for sexual health and HIV.
Covering 10 aspects of service provision,
including guidance on service networks,
they are relevant to all settings
providing NHS-funded sexual health
services, including general practice,
hospital and community-based clinics,
pharmacies, and organisations in the
voluntary and independent sectors.
Supported by an expert advisory group,
MedFASH developed the standards through
consultation with a wide range of
stakeholders.
The recommended standards
are based on the principle of delivery
through service networks. MedFASH
organised a national conference,
on 16 May 2005, on sexual health
service networks. To access
the conference presentations click
here.
We will be publishing
a practical guide to the development
of sexual health and HIV networks
in 2006.
A cornerstone of
the National Strategy for Sexual Health
and HIV, the new Recommended
standards for NHS HIV services
cover 12 aspects of service provision
for people with HIV and offer guidance
on managed service networks. The recommended
standards will serve as a tool for
planning and auditing service development,
a framework for commissioning and
a resource for partnership between
service users and providers. The House
of Commons Health Select Committee
has recommended their use by strategic
health authorities in the performance
management of trusts.
We have been finding out about network
development in HIV and other areas
of healthcare, and drafted a guide
for HIV network development. During
the guide's development, we held five
multidisciplinary seminars
in different parts of England which
offered support to those who are,
or may shortly be, involved in developing
such networks. Participants were given
a working draft of the practice guide
and their feedback, plus that of some
stakeholder organisations, is being
used to help us improve on the first
draft.
We
mapped and facilitated the development
of HIV service networks in the NHS
in four parts of England - the south-east
(Kent, Surrey & Sussex), west
and north Yorkshire, the south-west,
and the West Midlands.
The
project
report contains recommendations
and key findings. To order a printed
copy click
here. You can also find a short
description of what we learnt in an
article in the July 2001 edition of
the AIDS and Hepatitis Digest from
the Royal
Society of Medicine Press.
Promoting
wider availability and use of HIV testing
In December 2004 we
published HIV
in primary care, an essential
guide to HIV for GPs, practice nurses
and other members of the primary healthcare
team. This full colour illustrated
booklet written by GPs, offers practical
help on clinical diagnosis and how
to offer an HIV test.
Earlier work included
partnership with the Sheffield Department
of GU Medicine to develop and pilot
a patient leaflet on testing in GUM
clinics - see Use of a leaflet
to replace verbal pretest discussion
for HIV: effects and acceptability,
published in the journal of Sexually
Transmitted Infections
(2003;79:243-245). Our leaflet for
non-HIV specialists, Take
the HIV Test, is still available
to download.