Local council-commissioned sexual health services are at ‘breaking point’, warn local authority leaders.
The latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency show a 23.8% increase in the number of new diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2022.
The agency found that gonorrhoea diagnoses are the highest on record (82,592 in 2022) and syphilis diagnoses are the highest since 1948 (8,692 in 2022).
People aged 15-24 are the most likely to be diagnosed with STIs, the agency said. In 2022, there were over 400 diagnoses of STIs made each day among young people.
Responding to these figures, Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board said it was encouraging to see more people visiting their local sexual health clinic.
However, he warned that these clinics are ‘unsustainable’ without a long term increase in councils’ public health grant.
He said: ‘The Government should ensure sexual and reproductive health funding is increased to levels which matches the increases local services have seen in demand. Investment in early intervention helps to save costs to the health service and prevents problems developing further down the line.’
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