Public health budget must be protected

‘The public health budget has seen an in-year cut of £200m,’ writes Deborah Gold. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

As Zoe Williams makes clear (The unlikely saviour of the NHS: drug-resistant gonorrhoea, 21 September), local authorities are now responsible for vital health services, such as contraception, sexual health and drugs and alcohol services. Despite this, the public health budget that pays for this has seen an in-year cut of £200m, justified by the chancellor as a cut to “non-NHS” spending. This technicality makes no difference to the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on these services to stay well. This cut will be felt a hundredfold by GPs, hospitals and treatment services down the line.

The government needs to commit to increasing the public health budget, maintaining the public health ringfence, and to fund and resource Public Health England.
Deborah Gold
Chief executive, National Aids Trust

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• General practice is facing a perfect storm

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