P079 HIV Services in a changing provider landscape: Patient experiences and perceived needs

Abstract

Background/introduction With recent commissioning changes, non NHS providers are increasingly being awarded contracts to manage services including HIV care. There is little data on patient views and experiences around this change. Aim(s)/objectives To obtain service user view of the aspects of the HIV service which they consider important in the landscape of commissioning changes. Methods A patient survey was carried out in a community-based HIV service managed by a non-NHS provider. Questions were created to cover the most affected areas of the service due to the changes of HIV service provision. Results A representative sample of 44 attenders over 2 months undertook the survey; 34 men and 10 women. All were satisfied with the service. However some expressed concerns since change of provider, such as “services are being stripped off”, “not enough staff”, “standards have fallen”, “staff are under severe stress”. The proportion that rated the following aspects of the service as very important or important to patients are as follows: 24hour on-call service (98%), clinician access to investigation (95%), HIV team involvement in teaching wider NHS (98%) and current location (95%), HIV team involvement in their inpatient care (98%) and co-location of HIV and Sexual Health service (100%). The majority (86%) wanted an NHS provider, while 7% had no preference. Discussion/conclusion The majority of patients preferred an NHS provider, with co-located Sexual Health services. They rated links with acute trust and the wider NHS as important aspects of their care. This needs to be considered while commissioning, planning and delivering future services.