Doctor "will quit" if sex clinic is not free

PATIENTS with HIV and Aids are being treated like second-class citizens, according to the island's sexually-transmitted disease specialist. Dr Nick King said the island was in the grip of an STD epidemic and without extra funding, he might be forced to close his clinic's doors.

Health and Social Security officials have discussed raising capital by charging patients ' and that has outraged the specialist.

'Every other service is free so why should these patients be treated differently? 'Because of their condition, they do not have a voice and I will not be prepared to work if they start charging people.

It is completely wrong,' he said.

At the moment there are 20 people infected with HIV living in the island.

This year three new cases have been diagnosed and one person has died from an Aids-related illness.

Dr King, who is based at the Orchard Centre in St Martin's, complained that many specialised GPs get six times his income.

'Are these people not important? I am not being given adequate remuneration for the work I do and the lack of funding shows they are not being treated equally.

'From a clinical point of view, I will not be prepared to take responsibility when things go wrong because of a reduction of the level of service they are receiving.

'The problem is so bad that I have to see patients when I am not on duty and financing the professional education of staff out of my own allowance.

' Health and Social Services admits that the pressure caused by a steep rise in STD patients is placing an increasing financial burden on it.

According to a paper released earlier this year, the clinic has seen a dramatic rise in clients and in cases of chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

One suggestion was to raise money through social security grants and charging sexual health clinic patients for the service.

Currently the Social Security Department awards the health service '12 every time a patient visits a GP in the island and it was hoped to extend this to Orchard Centre clients.

Minister Mary Lowe has rejected this but hopes the service will remain free at the point of delivery.

'The Social Security Department has told Health and Social Services that it does not want the '12 health benefit grant to apply to attendances at Dr King's sexual health clinic.

'Members showed a strong preference for the sexual health clinic to remain a publicly funded service without charges to the patients.

'We have said that we would like to attend a joint meeting to understand more fully the difficulty that Health and Social Services and Dr King are experiencing over this issue.

' Health minister Peter Roffey has not ruled out charging patients to fund the massive shortfall.

Even though Dr King has threatened to quit if this is approved, Deputy Roffey hopes all parties can reach agreement.

He added: 'We are in talks with Social Security and St Martin's Healthcare Group but unfortunately in the current climate we cannot pluck money out of thin air.

'Ideally all services will be free but without the '12 grant we need to go back to the drawing board to work this out.

'Co-payment is an option and we are looking at different solutions to keep the service running.