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Nearly a third of people in Ashfield who have been identified with a need for PrEP – an HIV preventative drug – do not have a prescription, figures show.

The Terrence Higgins Trust sexual health charity said PrEP services and HIV testing must be made more accessible to meet the Government’s goal of eliminating new HIV transmissions by 2030.

PrEP, a drug taken either daily or before and after sex that can block HIV if it gets into the body, is available for free through sexual health clinics.

Those eligible for the drug include men and trans women who are HIV negative and who have sex with men, and people whose partner who is HIV positive and is not virally suppressed. Eligibility also extends to those with partners from parts of the world where the virus is common and sex workers.

Overall in England, nearly 27,000 of the 88,000 people identified with a need for the HIV preventative drug did not have a prescription for it.

UK Health Security Agency figures show 104 people were identified with a need for the drug in Ashfield, and 71, 68 per cent, of them had a prescription in 2021.

Across the East Midlands, 2,108 people used PrEP, 59 per cent of those in need of it.

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Overall in England, nearly 27,000 of the 88,000 people, 70 per cent, identified with a need for the HIV preventative drug did not have a prescription for it.

Ian Green, THT chief executive, said the drug should be made available through primary care settings to reach those who do not usually attend sexual health clinics, particularly women.

He said: “HIV testing rates must quickly return to pre-Covid levels and then expanded to get on track to end the Government’s goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030.”

The trust is currently raising awareness of its free HIV testing kits as part of National HIV Testing Week.

Separate UKHSA figures show 683 of those eligible for HIV testing, 25 per cent, were tested during 2021 when pandemic restrictions impacted services – below the national testing coverage of 46 per cent.

Dr Alison Brown, UKHSA interim head of HIV surveillance, said: “No matter your gender or sexual orientation, using condoms, using PrEP if advised, getting tested for HIV and treated if positive, remain vital in protecting your health and that of your partners.”

Nearly a third of people in Ashfield in need of HIV preventative drug do not have prescription