Why is PrEP not available widely on the NHS?

[prapest]

The stuff can prevent catching HIV and all the awful side effects.

It is dropping rapidly in price and so should be widely available on the NHS.
Sure money is tight, but if contraception such as the pill, condoms, implants etc are provided on the NHS, why isn’t PrEP?

@LaurenOrdering “I do think PrEP should be given to couples where one of the partners is HIV+“

But why? If the HIV+ is on ART and taking it every day and has an undetectable viral load, there is no need as they can’t transmit the virus to their partner.

However if that person keeps on forgetting to take it for whatever reason, and/or doesn’t have an UD VL, then, yes, it would a good idea to take PrEP - or at least ensure condoms are used.

What misinformation is that Sushi?
I'm generally curious.

Because there's a cheaper and more reliable solution - condoms! It is prescribed but only to partners of those who are hiv+ and other specific reasons, not because they cannot be bothered to be safe!

The arguement for PrEP is that intermittent PrEP is cheaper than lifelong HIV treatment . Less people catch HIV -technically this should free up money that can be used for MH, etc but in practice who knows where the money goes.
anniehm, in the UK, most people living with HIV are on treatment and the majority of them are unable to pass HIV to a partner so you wouldn't give PrEP in those circumstances. It IS for people who have trouble keeping themselves safe in other ways - people in coersive relationships, drug users (including those pissed moments when condomless sex seems like a great idea), sex workers, people with crap sex education and most definitely people with mental health issues. It gives us all time to work on better strategies and the hope is that in the long term the money released helps to improve the root causes further reducing HIV.

Condoms are not more reliable than PrEP. Mumsnet does have a blind spot about the “you should just use condoms: the NHS shouldn’t pay for your lifestyle choices, and what about other STDs?” argument. Any suggestion that this is an argument used by Republican senators aboit heterosexual women is met with spluttering. I don’t like and don’t trust condoms. Fortunately the NHS has provided the fund to enable me to have PIV sex without condoms or pregnancy risk for thirty years, because they know it’s in everyone’s best interest to do so.