As reported by Local Government Authority, as gonorrhoea and syphilis rates skyrocket in over two-thirds of council areas, sexual health services reach a breaking point, sparking calls for immediate government funding and a comprehensive 10-year plan to combat the crisis
The LGA, which represent councils responsible for public health across England and Wales, is calling 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.
New figures, collected by the Office of Health Disparities and published as a rate per 1,000 residents, on the LGA’s data platform, LG Inform, show that:
Almost all (97 per cent) council areas have seen an increase in the diagnoses rate of gonorrhoea, with 10 local authorities seeing rates triple. The biggest increases were seen in Wigan, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Torbay.
The highest rate of diagnoses was in the London borough of Lambeth, with 1,221 cases per 100,000 people, with the top ten being made up of inner London boroughs.
71 per cent of areas have seen increases in cases of syphilis, with the largest increases being seen in Middlesbrough, the Isle of Wight, Darlington and Redcar & Cleveland.
More than a third (36 per cent) of local authority areas have also seen increases in detections of chlamydia.
Demand for sexual health services has continued to grow, with nearly 4.5 million consultations carried out in 2022, up by a third since 2013. In 2022 there were 2.2 million diagnostic tests carried out, a 13 per cent increase from the year before.
Although some of the rise has been attributed to increased diagnostic testing, and the ongoing work of councils to improve access to services and make it easier for people to get tested regularly, the scale suggests a higher number of infections in the community.
While demand has risen, funding for these services has been reduced.
LGA analysis has found that, between 2015 and 2024, the public health grant received by councils has been reduced in real terms by £880 million (based on 2022/23 prices). This has resulted in a reduction in councils’ ability to spend on STI testing, contraception and treatment.
The LGA said the Government needs to 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 10 Year Sexual and reproductive Health Strategy to help prevent and treat infections in the long term.
Cllr 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.”
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