Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2023
858. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to address the lack of capacity in PrEP services, particularly in view of the 68% increase in HIV diagnoses in 2022; how the additional €600,000 allocated to support PrEP services in budget 2024 will be spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55412/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra859. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of staff in public PrEP services in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, by location, in tabular form; the number of vacancies in the service in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55413/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 858 and 859 together.
Ireland established a national HIV PrEP programme in November 2019, following a HIQA HTA, which concluded that the introduction of HIV PrEP would be safe, effective and cost saving. The HTA also found that significant investment in public STI services was required to implement PrEP and €5.4 million was set aside in Budget 2020 to roll out a national HIV PrEP programme, managed by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP).
At present, there are 13 public PrEP clinics in Ireland, four of which are located in Dublin, and 16 private/GP providers who are approved to prescribe PrEP, 15 of which are located in Dublin. Dispensing PrEP is free of charge, as are appointments at the public clinics, however, the private providers are subject to consultation charges.
Since the PrEP programme commenced in November, 2019, significant progress has been made in PrEP rollout across Ireland. However, this occurred at a time of unprecedented challenges for the health service - the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic on access to clinical services, coupled with the effects of necessary Covid-19 restrictions on people's social interactions. This made it difficult to assess whether capacity would meet demand under normal circumstances, between 2020 and 2022.
Furthermore, in line with international trends, the eligibility criteria for PrEP have recently been revised to include anticipated risk of HIV infection. This has increased the overall numbers of individuals meeting the criteria for inclusion in the PrEP programme.
The relaxation of most Covid-19 restrictions, following the successful national vaccination campaign, has, in 2022-2023, permitted assessments that additional resources are required to meet additional demand, build capacity and invest in monitoring, evaluation and research to ensure that the PrEP programme in Ireland is reaching those in need, responsive to changing need and at the cutting edge of international PrEP programme delivery.
The HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme have put a number of additional measures in place to support the PrEP Programme, including updating the clinical PrEP Guidelines and approval processes and providing an e-learning module to enable greater access to the PrEP programme through GPs, allowing stable patients to undertake routine STI testing through the new home STI testing service, and working with other areas of the HSE to enable efficient data collection and identify resources to improve capacity.
Both my Department and the HSE SHCPP have identified monitoring and evaluation of the PrEP programme as a priority area of work, building on that which has been undertaken to date. Through Budget 2024, an additional €600,000 has been allocated to support the PrEP programme next year. A further €720,000 will support increased demand for home STI testing, which is being used in conjunction with the PrEP scheme as noted above. Development of the new National Sexual Health Strategy 2023 – 2030 is currently underway; capacity for PrEP during this longer time period will be further examined as part of the policy development process leading to the new NSHS.
In relation to the number of staff in public PrEP services in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023 by location, the number of vacancies in the services in each year and the detail regarding allocation of the additional €600,000 supporting PrEP services in Budget 2024, as these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
