Sexually transmitted diseases and ethnic minorities in Britain

The Observer:

The report talks of 'unacceptably' longer waiting times. One in five patients is waiting a month for a sexually transmitted infection test, while more than a third wait two weeks or more for an HIV test. More than half of the clinics said their ability to provide services had deteriorated over the last year.

The study warns that the failure of many health trusts to deal with the problem could result in a 'postcode lottery' in which some of them end up helping to spread infections further as a result of spiralling waiting lists and refusal to see patients.

The findings follow a study led by University College London of the sexual life-styles of ethnic minority groups in Britain, which found that immigration and international travel could be helping to spread infections.

Researchers found the risk of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases was likely to rise in ethnic minority groups because of migration, travel and family ties to the Indian subcontinent, south-east Asia and the Caribbean. One in 13 black men had reported an infection in the past five years. The figure for white men was one in 34 and for Indians and Pakistanis fewer than one in 50.

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