The county council has approved an uplift of eight per cent in funding for the sexual health service in response to a “new influx of refugees and asylum seekers in Oxfordshire”.
In a report delivered to Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for public health and inequalities, it was revealed that the expansion of the sexual health outreach service was needed to address the “sudden growth in our local refugee and asylum seeker population with unmet sexual and reproductive needs”.
The eight per cent rise in funding for the provider was approved and has been made effective from April 1 this year.
The report stated the “expansion” of the sexual health service was needed in “order to address the diverse needs of Oxfordshire’s unserved population such as the homeless population, sex workers, gypsies and travellers”.
Director of Public Health at the county council, Ansaf Azhar, said: “Developments in technology and innovation as well as current inflationary pressures have resulted in the proposal of an eight per cent tariff uplift to expand the provision of sexual and reproductive health services by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUHFT) for Oxfordshire residents."
Mr Azhar said the increased funding would provide provision for setting up mobile clinics to “meet the needs of those likely to attend sexual health clinics” and increase the number of telemedicine consultations.
Across the UK, there is an upwards trend in the number of gonorrhoea diagnoses, with a 50 per cent increase in diagnoses in 2022 compared to 2021.
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