|TOP|Mildmay, a Christian organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people challenged by HIV and AIDS, is facing a lack of UK patient referrals due to unprecedented NHS debt.

Last year’s global disasters led to a virtual halt in the charity’s voluntary income, causing a predicted reduction of around £200,000 in its 2006-7 contracts.

In spite of being a unique national facility for HIV-related brain impairment and complex HIV/AIDS care management and rehabilitation, the Mildmay Hospital based in east London has already been forced to close one of its three wards, losing a quarter of its 34-bed capacity.

Mildmay director Steve Small says:

”The next 12 months will either make or break us. Our ability to adapt to the changing HIV/AIDS scene has been crucial to our survival over the years. Yet with the NHS facing debt of around £750m, according to a BBC survey, independent hospitals such as Mildmay are feeling the knock-on effects. We have an excellent relationship with our commissioners and referrers, but they are in a difficult position and under real financial pressure.” |AD|

In reality, Primary Care Trusts are facing an annual dilemma of financing the needs of a growing HIV population from inadequate budgets. Some patients are being sent home without specialist support, never reaching their full health potential.

”The combination of fewer referrals and a downturn in donations has taken its toll on the charity as a whole," says Steve Small. "Yet the need for our services continues to grow, both in the UK and worldwide. HIV/AIDS is a major disaster all of its own - killing almost as many people in the world each month as died in the Boxing Day Tsunami. Unless we find new funding urgently, we will be forced to claw back our deficit in ways we would rather not have to consider.”

Mildmay is a Christian organisation dedicated to improving the lives of men, women and children challenged by HIV and AIDS. The charity’s origins go back to 1866 when a cholera epidemic was raging in the East End of London.

For more information on Mildmay, go to http://www.mildmay.org.uk.