Current policies are failing to protect people with HIV in the UK’s immigration detention system, says an editorial in Lancet HIV. It calls on the Home Office to adopt recently published guidance on the issue. However, efforts to provide adequate HIV care will founder if systemic failures in the immigration detention system are not addressed, the authors warn.
HIV care is an important issue because many detainees come from countries with a high prevalence of HIV. However, affected persons face challenges in obtaining and maintaining care, despite being entitled to it by law. Problems include treatment interruptions, infringement of confidentiality, mental health pressures, difficulty in managing comorbidities, and stigma. Lack of resources and understaffing are behind many of the difficulties.
Failure to provide links to HIV care when detainees are released into the UK is not only detrimental to the individual but could create a transmission risk in the community, the editorial notes.
Guidance on HIV care in the immigration detention system was published by the British HIV Association and the National AIDS Trust in March 2019. Recommendations include: detainees with HIV should have access to ART within 24 hours of disclosing their HIV status if they have previously had it prescribed it before; staff must ensure adherence to treatment and facilitate attendance at HIV appointments; and, HIV services must be informed in advance to arrange for adequate treatment supplies for patients being transferred.
