Expect more teenage pregnancies and STIs as public health cuts kick in

Expect more teenage pregnancies and STIs as public health cuts kick in Slicing money out of local prevention services is ‘economically nonsensical’, completely undermining the pledge to pump billions into the NHS

The term “false economy” is bandied about a lot in discussions about government cuts, but when it comes to slashing public health budgets it is entirely appropriate. Think for one moment about the point of preventative public health services, such as sexual health clinics, suicide prevention schemes and smoking cessation programmes – to avert serious problems and crises later on – and it really isn’t difficult to join the dots.

Reducing or cutting initiatives that help keep people out of doctors’ surgeries and hospitals stores up future problems for an already stretched NHS, yet this is exactly what is happening.

Every £1 spent on contraception saves £11 in healthcare costs. Cuts to sexual health sector are economically nonsensical. Continue reading... The Guardian