Sexual health and HIV expert gives evidence to the Scottish Parliament

Glasgow Caledonian University’s Professor of Sexual Health and HIV Claudia Estcourt warned a parliamentary committee that Scotland is falling behind the rest of the UK in plans to eradicate new HIV transmission.

Holyrood’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee heard that delays in tackling the stigma of the virus and a national action plan to prevent the spread is setting back “game changing” progress.

Scotland was the first nation in the UK to roll out the PrEP (pre-expose prophylaxis) medication on the NHS in 2017. Research by Glasgow Caledonian University in 2021 found new diagnoses of the virus in gay and bisexual men had fallen by 20% since its introduction. Link to the research story - https://www.gcu.ac.uk/aboutgcu/universitynews/2021-researchshowshugefallinhivduetoprep.

Professor Estcourt told the committee: “Scotland was the first country in the union to roll out a national programme of PrEP in 2017. We were gamechangers at that point and we have slid back since then.”

The Scottish Government now has a national target to prevent new cases of HIV by 2030. Glasgow Caledonian researchers have begun work on a £400,000 Scottish Government funded project to develop the world's first national PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) online service.

The three-year study, led by Professor Estcourt, will pilot an e-PrEP clinic providing online prescriptions, and HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) check-ups, with the hope of rolling it out across Scotland.

Experts working with Professor Estcourt on the e-PrEP clinic study are fellow researcher Dr Ross Kincaid, Dr Jo Gibbs from University College London, along with three experts from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's Sandyford Sexual Health Service Consultant Dr Ceilidh Grimshaw, Advance Nursing Practitioner Lesley Maxwell and Specialist Registrar Dr Lindsay Henderson.

Professor Estcourt is also co-leading, with Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health Sharon Hutchinson, a dedicated research programme entitled 'Beyond BBV', launched by Glasgow Caledonian in December 2022, with a £2.5 million 10-year investment, to support the Scottish Government's plans to become the first country in the world to both end HIV transmission and eliminate Hepatitis C as a major public health concern.

The 'Beyond BBV' programme also involves GCU Honorary Professors Rak Nandwani, a Non-Executive Director of Public Health Scotland, and Nicola Steedman, the Scottish Government's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Alison Rodger, an infectious disease academic from UCL with specific research and policy focus on HIV prevention, and Dr Becky Metcalfe, Clinical Director of Sandyford Sexual Health Services.

At the same time as the 'Beyond BBV' launch, the Scottish Government published its HIV Transmission Elimination Strategy, led by Professors Nandwani, Estcourt, Hutchinson and Steedman. The GCU team's work will feature in the forthcoming Scottish Government Implementation Plan.

Professor Estcourt spoke about giving evidence at the Scottish Parliament: “It was fantastic to see the University’s work on the ePrEP clinic receiving so much airtime during the Panel’s questions. The Parliamentarians understood the need to design for this for inclusion and the need for it to be developed within a rigorous research framework.

“So much of our research within the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus group, across epidemiology, health psychology, clinical practice has informed Governmental strategy. It was marvellous to have the opportunity to discuss this at Holyrood.”