LGA warns sexual health services are at breaking point due to rising demand
More than two thirds of council areas have seen rates of gonorrhoea and syphilis rise since 2017, according to new analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA), as sexual health services reach breaking point.
The LGA, which represents councils responsible for public health across England and Wales, called on the government to provide extra funding so local sexual health clinics can meet rising demand, and publish a long-term plan to help prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
New figures, collected by the Office of Health Disparities and published as a rate per 1,000 residents, show:
- Almost all (97%) council areas have seen an increase in the diagnosis rate of gonorrhoea, with ten local authorities seeing rates triple. The biggest increases were seen in Wigan, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Torbay
- The highest rate of diagnoses was in Lambeth, with 1,221 cases per 100,000 people, with the top ten all made up of inner London borough
- 71% of areas have seen increases in cases of syphilis, with the largest increases seen in Middlesbrough, the Isle of Wight, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland
- More than a third (36%) of local authority areas have also seen increases in detections of chlamydia
Demand for sexual health services has continued to grow, with nearly 4.5m consultations carried out in 2022, up by a third since 2013. In 2022 there were 2.2m diagnostic tests carried out, a 13% increase from the year before.
Although some of the rise has been attributed to increased diagnostic testing and improved access to services, the scale suggests a higher number of infections in the community.
But while demand has risen, funding for these services has been reduced. LGA analysis found the public health grant received by councils fell in real terms by £880m (based on 2022/23 prices) between 2015 and 2024. This has resulted in a reduction in councils’ ability to spend on STI testing, contraception and treatment.
The LGA said the government must urgently publish 2024/25 public health grant allocations for councils which provide an increase in funding to cover these pressures.
As well as this, councils and their local sexual health commissioners are calling for the government to publish a new ten-year sexual and reproductive health strategy to help prevent and treat infections in the long term.
David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: ‘These statistics show that local sexual health services are grappling with unprecedented increases in demand. The government needs to ensure sexual health funding is increased to levels which matches these stark increases.
‘Councils have been working hard to encourage more people to access sexual health services and get tested more regularly to help improve detection rates and catch infections early.
‘Investment in sexual health services helps to prevent longer term illness and unwanted pregnancies, reducing pressure on our NHS and improving the health of people across our communities.’
Dr Claire Dewsnap, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), said: ‘BASHH has repeatedly stressed that, without sufficient investment, sexual health service users will face severe challenges in their ability to access expert, timely care. On top of this, the impact of tendering processes has contributed to a lack of stability in the sexual health sector and a depletion of training which further jeopardises the quality and accessibility of services.
‘This data not only demonstrates the deeply concerning trajectory of STI infection growth but also the need for a robust national strategy, backed up by adequate funding. As demand for care increases, without imminent action, we compromise our ability to safeguard the sexual health of our nation.’
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