Recent Posts
- Lawsuit Prompts U.S. State Department To Strengthen Protections Of HIV-Positive Contract Workers
- San Francisco Postpones Agency Cuts, Los Angeles AIDS Clearinghouse Closes
- Kennedy’s Contributions To HIV/AIDS, Gay Rights Policies Recalled
- Routine Circumcision Does Not Protect Against HIV For Men Who Have Sex With Men, CDC Study Finds
- NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman And BD Commemorate Opening Of New Center To Improve HIV/AIDS Treatment In The DRC
Random Posts
- Confirmed Link Between Chronic Infection And Immune-System Protein
- Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky Religious Groups Join Efforts To Encourage HIV Testing
- Obesity May Have Adverse Role In HIV Treatment
- Two Physicians Treat Most Residents With HIV In Southeastern Wyoming
- Terrence Higgins Trust Offers New Test Which Detects HIV A Month After Infection, UK
- Report Shows Jamaica's Progress Towards Achieving U.N. MDGs
- World Bank HIV/AIDS Programs Less Effective Than Its Other Health Programs, Report Finds
- Obama Lifts US Travel Ban On HIV-Infected; Updated AIDS Bill Puts New Focus On Testing
- WHO Report Highlights Gender Disparities, Cites AIDS As Leading Cause Of Women's Deaths
- Needle Exchange Programs Could Save Texas 'Millions Of Dollars,' Opinion Piece Says
Prescription AIDS Drugs
Contact Us
Some HIV-Positive People In Wales Denied Treatment For Common Conditions, Physician Says
May 05th, 2009
Some HIV-positive people in Wales are being denied medical treatment for common illnesses, Olwen Williams, a physician specializing in sexually transmitted infections, said recently, BBC News reports. Williams noted that primary care physicians often refer HIV-positive people to hospitals or HIV specialists for common conditions, such as colds.
The British Medical Association denied that physicians are discriminating against people living with HIV/AIDS and said that some physicians might be more cautious in referring HIV-positive people to specialists. However, Williams said that HIV-positive people are experiencing “very subtle” discrimination, adding that they might disclose their HIV status to a provider and be told they need to visit their HIV specialist. “If I was someone with cancer and I went to a [PCP] with common cold and I was told, ‘Sorry, I can’t deal with that’ because I’ve got cancer I’d be so amazed — that’s what our patients our experiencing,” Williams said, adding that such practices “den[y]” care to HIV-positive people “at a point where they actually need it.” Williams added, “My concern here is that we’ve still got fear and prejudice and ignorance that’s actually driving discrimination and stigma in Wales. And I think this is something major that we have to tackle.”
Andrew Dearden, chair of the British Medical Association’s Welsh council, said it is “unprofessional and unethical” for physicians to discriminate because of an illness. Dearden added that some physicians might not feel they have adequate training to treat some conditions. “Remember that doctors always refer patients to other doctors … when they feel there’s a need for extra information, diagnosis, tests or treatment,” Dearden said. A recent study found that about half of HIV-positive people in the United Kingdom had experience discrimination from a health worker in the previous year, according to a spokesperson from the Terrence Higgins Trust (BBC News, 5/1).
Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Related posts:
- More Than Four Million HIV-positive People Now Receiving Life-saving Treatment More than 4 million people in low- and middle-income countries...
- Advocates Express Concern Over Brazilian State’s Proposed Law Requiring Identification Of HIV-Positive People Recent draft legislation that would require the state government in...
- HIV-Positive People At Increased Risk Of New Flu Strain, WHO Says HIV-positive people worldwide are at an increased risk of the...
- New Initiative: “Positive Charge” To Help Address Barriers And Provide Support To People Living With HIV/AIDS The National AIDS Fund (NAF) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:...
- Yale Physicians Receive $4.1 Million Grant To Study New Treatment For Alcohol-Dependent HIV-Positive Inmates Transitioning Back Into Society Two Yale School of Medicine physicians have been awarded...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.