Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for HIV/AIDS, has today welcomed the report from 2020health entitled Growing Older Positively, which reviews the difficulties that are faced by those who are ageing with HIV.
The Growing older positively report describes the challenges facing the estimated 24,510 people over the age of 50 living with HIV in the UK, and also publishes their recommendations for what can be done by various bodies and institutions to help them.
These recommendations include calling on Local Authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups to continue encouraging older people who have HIV to support each other, requesting that the Royal Colleges medical schools make specialist training relating to HIV/AIDS a mandatory part of GPs’ professional development and a core part of undergraduate teaching, and other important recommendations such as improving Local Authorities’ awareness of the specific needs faced by ageing people with HIV and ensuring that all relevant Council staff are adequately trained on these very specific challenges.
Simon said: “I am so pleased that 2020health has taken the time to investigate and report on the increasing difficulties faced by many people across Brighton Kemptown and the rest of the UK as they grow old with HIV.
“I have been a strong supporter of those with HIV/AIDS in my constituency and also more broadly across the country, and I would like to encourage all the bodies and institutions mentioned in this report to look closely at the recommendations and make the relevant changes.
“I will be making sure that the Department of Health is aware of the recommendations that the report makes and continuing to raise awareness of this matter as best as I can.”
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