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JOHN HUMPHRYS: It is now
29 minutes to 8.
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Most of us have probably
never heard of a drug called PrEP,
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but we're about to.
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It's quite an extraordinary drug.
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It's able to reduce the risk of
infection of HIV by almost 90%.
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This programme contains
some strong language
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We have the resources
to wipe this out.
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PrEP. PrEP. PrEP.
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PrEP. PrEP. PrEP.
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I want PrEP now.
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It is a kind of medical miracle.
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Undoubtedly, it's a game changer.
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We're decades into
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our sex lives being associated with
risk, danger, death.
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PrEP can change that.
PrEP can change that.
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We have been working for years with
the NHS to make this happen
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and now they turn around
and say they can't do it.
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NHS England says it's under
no obligation to fund the drug.
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It was absolutely horrifying.
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10, 12,000 people needlessly
contracted this highly stigmatised,
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what can be a life-ending condition
for some people.
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We want all people with health needs
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to be able to access
the drugs that they need.
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That's outrageous.
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Why should the taxpayer subsidise
a reckless sex life?
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PrEP has always been controversial.
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Putting someone on a daily dose
costs around £5,000 a year.
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The NHS is facing its biggest
financial crisis in its history.
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If we don't do this,
what are we for?
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Take responsibility for yourself.
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That's what this is about.
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We don't even need the NHS
right now.
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We can do it ourselves.
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You're taking on the government.
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It was a David against Goliath
battle.
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Four of the biggest clinics
say they've seen a 40-50% drop.
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That is an absolutely
mind-boggling thing.
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The emotions and the morals of it
are irrelevant.
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Do you save money?
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Is it cost-effective?
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These are the things that matter.
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Ricardo, Raymond...
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..Tommy, Ian...
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..Fernando...
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..Mark...
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..Fitzgerald.
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If we go back to the really early
days of the epidemic...
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..it was about death.
It was about a long, painful death
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that hit really young people,
young men,
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at the prime in their life.
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You felt so impotent, I think,
as a medic,
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but everything was done to make
death as dignified as it could be.
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It was this dreadful pandemic
which was, at the time,
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completely untreatable.
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How do you prepare for that?
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That spectre of death and illness
just hangs.
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It's hung over
the gay community particularly
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for nearly 35 years now.
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I'm HIV-positive
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and, although I am probably
going to live a normal life span,
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it means that I'm going to have to
take these...
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..for the rest of my life.
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Cos, if I don't take them,
a terrible fate awaits me,
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and I've seen that fate.
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There's still stigma,
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which is rampant and can really
damage and destroy lives.
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It has an impact on a person's
mental health and their wellbeing,
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just to know that
you've got this thing.
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We're talking about 30 years of fear
caught up in one virus.
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I don't know if they'll ever be able
to completely cure HIV infection
once you've got it.
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It will need science
we don't even have yet.
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And that's why we need to prevent
this disease, not just treat it.
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We have made amazing progress
on HIV treatment.
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If you diagnose it in good time and
you take treatment as prescribed,
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you will have a normal lifespan.
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But the problem is we have not been
doing as well at prevention.
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There was a gap in terms of
the tools at our disposal
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to really get on top
of the high rate of transmission
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that we have been seeing.
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For the last 30 years,
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the number of people acquiring HIV
in the UK has increased every year.
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It's been happening quietly, away
from the headlines but, of course,
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it's still a very serious
lifelong condition
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from which there is no cure.
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Condom use had been around for
a long time, so there were no real,
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major, significant changes
until PrEP came along.
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It is a kind of medical miracle.
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Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis.
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Pre-Exposure, meaning you take it
before risk of exposure to HIV,
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and Prophylaxis,
which means prevention.
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Tenofovir is one of the drugs
that are used to treat HIV.
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Right from the beginning,
it was thought of
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as something that might work for
prevention as well as for treatment.
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PrEP is an oral tablet
taken before sex and, basically,
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if HIV tries to get in,
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then the drugs will block that
from happening.
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And what it does is block HIV's
ability to multiply, so the body
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is able to just eradicate
those cells or they die naturally.
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HIV can't get into the bloodstream
and that infection is prevented.
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It sounds very simple,
and it is very simple.
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So, the Proud study
looked at gay and bisexual men
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who have sex with men.
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We set up Proud to compare PrEP
users to non-PrEP users, and the way
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we did it was to randomise people to
get PrEP straightaway for two years
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or after one year
for the second year.
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In October 2014, actually,
the trial was stopped early.
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Our independent data
monitoring committee said, OK,
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there's such a high level of
effectiveness
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and such a high level of risk,
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we would like you
to offer everybody PrEP,
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so including those individuals
who had not yet got access to it.
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In other words,
the PrEP had worked so well
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it was unethical to hold it back
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from the other half of the people
in the study.
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Proud showed an 86% reduction
in new HIV infection
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in the people taking PrEP
but, actually, people taking it
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consistently, as prescribed,
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would get more protection.
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Biological effectiveness
seemed to be 100%
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because no-one who was taking
their PrEP actually caught HIV.
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That was big at the time.
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That was the historical moment.
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Nobody from then on
could deny that this thing worked.
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It's a real game changer.
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PrEP is the additional tool we need
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to really get on top of
the epidemic.
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It's the piece we need
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along with the treatment,
along with the testing,
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to get early diagnosis.
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Nothing else fills that gap.
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But people couldn't get PrEP
in the UK at that point
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unless they were part of
the Proud study.
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The process of getting new drugs
and new innovations
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approved within the NHS
is incredibly slow,
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and I won't lie and say that I don't
wish that that could be quicker.
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By the end of 2014,
the NHS had begun the process
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to think about whether PrEP
should be made available.
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The Working Group consisted,
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obviously, of officials
from NHS England.
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Public Health England were there.
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Local government was represented.
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Community was represented,
I was on it.
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Obviously, doctors were there
as well.
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Once a year in the summer, there is
a major clinical prioritisation
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where they look at new things
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and decide what they're going to
commission.
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We were desperately
trying to get ready for that.
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The Clinical Priorities
Advisory Group.
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CPAG is made up of
senior NHS England officials
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and a range of experts
from different fields.
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CPAG receives proposals
from various groups
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across the specialised services,
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and their job is to rank those
proposals in order of priority.
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Health care resource allocation -
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these are life-and-death decisions.
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The NHS has got a tough job.
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It's got to make
the right decisions,
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we've got a limited budget.
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Money for one patient
means no money for another patient.
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And it's got to keep
public opinion sweet,
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and that's a very difficult
balancing act.
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I think, for most of us,
the Proud trial provided us
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with the data that we needed
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for PrEP to become
available almost immediately.
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Now was the time that NHS England
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would roll out PrEP
without question.
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It was very, very difficult...
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..and frustrating as a clinician
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to know that this kind of
HIV prevention tool
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was out there, but we couldn't
access it, we couldn't prescribe it.
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And we were seeing people
who we knew were at risk
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and then coming back with HIV.
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# Catch a star if you can
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# Wish for something special...
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I first heard about PrEP
when I was in New York in 2015.
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Basically, everyone was on PrEP.
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And I'm, like, what's PrEP?
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And they're just, like, "Oh, it's
this great new thing, you know?"
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And I'm, like, "OK,
yeah, it sounds great.
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"Let's do it."
So, I started on PrEP then.
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When I was leaving, they were even,
like, "Yeah, if you're going away,
here's some to take with you.
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"Here's, like, two extra months
to tide you over and everything,"
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and I was, like, "Wow, they
really love giving everyone PrEP."
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# Are you ready?
Are you ready for love?
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# Yes, I am. #
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I came back to London
and it was the absolute opposite.
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PrEP stops HIV!
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When do we want it? Now!
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The government
hadn't got their act together
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and made PrEP available yet.
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When do we want it? Now!
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I was surprised
and I was raging as well.
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I'd been given this
amazing new thing,
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and then it had been
taken away from me.
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That was when I first met Greg.
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He was quite cute and quite sporky
and a little bit sassy,
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and I fancied him a little bit.
Not a lot, a little bit.
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And we got on really well, and I was
trying to get PrEP and he was
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already on PrEP that he'd got
in the States.
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He was running out of PrEP
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and I hadn't got any at all,
so we were about to
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try and hatch a plan how we could
both get PrEP for ourselves.
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We immediately hit it off, and we
were talking at very high speed.
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I had a lot of energy,
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and I was new to all this and I was
ready to jump in with both feet,
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and that's exactly what
Greg was doing as well.
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Several people around me
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that I really cared about
had become HIV-positive.
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That was on my doorstep.
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And I saw what it did
to other people.
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And I was thinking, well, you know,
I'm also quite close to this.
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I could see this could be me
next week as well.
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We need to do something about this.
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We can't just sit here
and keep watching this happen.
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At the time, we were diagnosing
five people a day with HIV.
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That's a lot of people.
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And each one of them, just don't
think of them as a number,
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think of each one of those
individuals.
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My God, it's an adjustment.
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HIV is a huge thing
in gay men's lives.
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And PrEP can change that.
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PrEP can change that.
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If people are at risk of HIV and
they're able to afford to pay for
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prevention, then that's great,
but I mean, really,
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this is a fantastic preventative
tool which everybody who may benefit
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from it should have access to.
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Truvada was, like,
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way too expensive
for 99% of people that needed PrEP.
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Surely, we can find somewhere that
we can get generic PrEP to import.
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I mean, that would work, right?
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We knew India had this funny law
where they could, like,
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make generics but no-one else could,
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and we didn't really have
a full understanding of this.
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I was, like, OK, well, let me ask
my friend who works in the NHS.
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And I was, like, "Oh, hey, babes."
He was like, "Hey, babes."
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"We're trying to figure out
this situation with PrEP.
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"Like, can you kind of point us
in the right direction
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"cos neither of us really have
a clue what the fuck we're doing?"
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The person gave us anonymised data
of a small group of people who had
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had tests done on their blood
after taking this generic PrEP -
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basically, to prove that
the drug is genuine.
242
00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:45,200
It's real drug.
243
00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:49,480
There were a bunch of us who'd been
following the stories around PrEP
244
00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,160
for a number of years.
We started to think,
245
00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:54,680
what could we do and how could we
cut through all of those
246
00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:57,800
kind of institutional barriers
that other people were caught up in?
247
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,120
Alex and I were a bit like,
"OK, like, this might work."
248
00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,000
We were starting to think, we don't
even need the government right now.
249
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,560
We can do it ourselves.
250
00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:11,040
We're going to tell everyone to go
and order pharmaceutical drugs on
251
00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,000
the internet and start taking them.
252
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,440
So we were just, like,
"That's dodge, though, right?"
253
00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,880
And he was, like, "Well, it's legal,
but no-one is doing it."
254
00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,680
As soon as someone says no-one's
doing it and it's a little bit
255
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,320
naughty and a little bit dodge,
of course I'm, like, "Yeah,
256
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,400
"I'm up for that. Where do I sign?"
257
00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,160
Several doctors
and people in high-up places
258
00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,640
thought it was
not a sensible thing to do.
259
00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:32,920
Generally, when they said that,
260
00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,600
they'd get a very angry response
saying,
261
00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,240
"Well, why the fuck are
the NHS not doing it themselves?
262
00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,040
"If they're not going to do it,
fuck the NHS,
263
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,360
"we're going to tell everyone
how to get PrEP."
264
00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:52,920
So you create an evidence review.
265
00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,880
There's also
a budget impact assessment.
266
00:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,160
There's cost effectiveness evidence,
there's the public consultation,
267
00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,800
but the budget impact
is one of the most important.
268
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,360
And it was pretty difficult to give
them an estimate of the numbers
269
00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,640
that were likely
to come forward for PrEP.
270
00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:11,920
That was really tricky.
271
00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,040
And, of course,
it is an expensive drug.
272
00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:15,480
At that time, it was patented.
273
00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:21,320
OK, so you're talking about
a cost of about £400-500 a month
274
00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,880
and, at the time,
we were thinking in terms of
275
00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,560
about 5,000 people who were
in that really high-risk category,
276
00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:29,280
so that's 20 million a year.
277
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:33,560
It's about choices.
278
00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:38,840
The NHS pays £80 million a year
to prescribe paracetamol.
279
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,360
Which you can buy
over the counter for 15p.
280
00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,560
And yet we were asking for
probably about £20-30 million
281
00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,960
for something that will
stop somebody
282
00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,120
acquiring a life-changing condition
283
00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,800
which, if untreated,
will lead to their death.
284
00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,160
But also will have
the economic benefits
285
00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:02,960
of not having to treat somebody
for HIV over their lifetime.
286
00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:08,240
Being diagnosed with HIV
is costly to the NHS.
287
00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:13,760
It costs, on average, £380,000
to provide a lifetime of care
288
00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,880
so, by providing
effective HIV prevention,
289
00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:19,800
you're helping that individual
290
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,640
but you're also preventing that cost
to the NHS.
291
00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,200
The controversial thing about PrEP
292
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,440
is that you are
considering the risk.
293
00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:35,520
You are intending the risk,
and that's the difficult...
294
00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,200
That's the bit that some people
find hard to swallow.
295
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:43,680
I don't think the NHS can afford
£450 a month to a homosexual
296
00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:45,800
who wants to be able to practise
the sort of sex
297
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:47,160
he wants to be able to practise.
298
00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:48,360
Cos this is what it's about.
299
00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,920
It's about indulging gay men
who don't want to use a condom.
300
00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:52,360
Well, that's outrageous.
301
00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,280
Why should the taxpayer
subsidise a reckless sex life
302
00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,600
of people in the gay community?
303
00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,440
Well, you know, in the real world,
304
00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,920
not everyone uses a condom
100% of the time.
305
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,160
Like, you can tell them,
but it's reality.
306
00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:06,840
This does not happen.
307
00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:12,920
PrEP has always been controversial
because we are so wedded to the idea
308
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:17,600
that the ideal way of
preventing HIV is to behave well.
309
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:21,880
Like, if you look at
who HIV infects,
310
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,640
it's disproportionately people
who are not white, brown people,
311
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:26,800
black people, sex workers,
people who inject drugs,
312
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,360
trans-women are disproportionately
affected, as are black Africans -
313
00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:33,360
people who are just on
the circumference of acceptable.
314
00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:39,960
I grew up in Belfast
in Northern Ireland.
315
00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,480
I am the oldest of six kids,
and it was the '80s.
316
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,160
And I was very gay.
317
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:46,320
So it was interesting.
318
00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,920
I never really knew a time
that wasn't The Troubles.
319
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,360
I don't know whether that
informed how I lived,
320
00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:56,120
which was hard and fast
and passionately.
321
00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:59,160
But it definitely had
a deep impact on me.
322
00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,640
# When I look back upon my life
323
00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:08,520
# It's always with a sense of shame
324
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:09,760
# I've always been the one... #
325
00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:10,880
I always wanted to get out.
326
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:12,320
I was always conscious that
327
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,800
there was something else
apart from what I knew.
328
00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:22,760
Everything changed massively
when I moved to London at 25.
329
00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,240
I started working in a gay bar.
330
00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,080
Within six weeks I went from
this geek kid to being an A-gay.
331
00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,120
# It's a sin. #
332
00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:41,520
That was, like, old school,
proper Vauxhall glory days.
333
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,640
Being out every Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday.
334
00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:48,760
I also started seeing this guy.
335
00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:51,120
And I fell in love with him
336
00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:53,640
in a way I'd never fallen in love
with anyone before.
337
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,360
I guess, when
the relationship ended...
338
00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,640
..I went off the rails.
339
00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:06,960
I became destructive.
340
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:08,880
I was just a real...
341
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:10,160
I was a mess.
342
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,280
I never, ever, ever had sex...
343
00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,600
..without thinking at one point
HIV's in the room with me. Never.
344
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,520
So I managed to get hold of a small
amount of PrEP and the one thing
345
00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,800
you definitely have to do
before starting PrEP
346
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,200
is to make sure
you're definitely HIV-negative.
347
00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:45,280
I wasn't really worried
348
00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,680
cos I'd tested regularly
for HIV and for STIs.
349
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:52,920
"Why are you here today?"
350
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:54,720
I was, like,
"Oh, I wanted a HIV test
351
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:56,560
"because I managed to get
some PrEP."
352
00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,040
And he was, like, "Really? How...
How did you do that?"
353
00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:01,200
And I told him.
354
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:03,800
He was, like, "Oh, this is amazing.
355
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,880
"I think it's great that you're
looking after your sexual health."
356
00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,840
It's really simple, really quick,
painless, really easy.
357
00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,520
Either one dot comes up for negative
or two dots comes up for positive.
358
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,480
Literally, boom, like, two dots.
359
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:23,960
So he didn't even have to say
anything. I saw it before...
360
00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:25,320
Cos it was sitting between us.
361
00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,280
INAUDIBLE
362
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,120
It's like time stops,
there and then.
363
00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:41,320
So you see the two dots
and time stops.
364
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,720
And, like, literally,
I could almost hear, like,
365
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,760
someone had put him into,
like, half speed.
366
00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,280
INAUDIBLE
367
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:55,560
Rock star Freddie Mercury is dead.
368
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,840
The lead singer of Queen announced
only two days ago that he had AIDS.
369
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:00,960
I was, like, seeing people
go past me
370
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:02,840
and I felt like I was in a bubble.
371
00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,360
Like, there was something separating
me from the rest of the world.
372
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,520
But it's still, like, 35 years of
373
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:15,320
all of those things that you've seen
of what AIDS is and death.
374
00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,760
Freddie Mercury and Rock Hudson
and even Princess Diana.
375
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,960
The heritage of my community
suddenly became mine then.
376
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,960
Freddie Mercury said he hoped that
everyone would join him
377
00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,200
in the fight against
this terrible disease.
378
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:33,800
What does it feel like?
379
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:36,640
Devastating.
380
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,000
Absolutely devastating.
381
00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:41,400
Oh, I cried an ocean.
382
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:42,880
I sobbed so many nights.
383
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,840
But then I realised,
what's me crying going to do?
384
00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:50,520
He's to live with it.
385
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,040
It's his actions, his consequences.
386
00:21:55,040 --> 00:22:00,200
No-one's perfect and, no matter what
your child brings to your door,
387
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,400
you're always going to
support your child.
388
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,240
No-one could have known
at this point,
389
00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,800
but I was already looking at someone
looking at me and thinking,
390
00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,280
"Are you looking at me cos
you know?" It was, like, I can't...
391
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,920
I can't second-guess every person
I meet for the rest of my life
392
00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,240
and wonder if they know
my big secret, so I was, like,
393
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,120
I'm taking the power out of that.
394
00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:24,600
I'm having that back to me.
395
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:32,880
You know when you do one thing?
396
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,600
Like, you know that "ding!" moment
that your whole life changes?
397
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:41,840
Literally, that send on the Facebook
status was actually the moment that
398
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:43,320
the whole of my life changed.
399
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,160
Oh, my God!
Has he put that on Facebook?
400
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,280
TEXT ALERTS
401
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:55,600
My phone just lit up.
402
00:22:57,800 --> 00:22:59,280
And I just sat on those steps
403
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:00,960
and read all of these messages.
404
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,680
And then started to get, like,
really overwhelmed.
405
00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:08,960
First of all, people were, like,
"I can't believe you've done that."
406
00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:11,600
And then a lot of people were, like,
"Well, what is this PrEP stuff?
407
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,640
"And why would PrEP have kept you
HIV-negative?"
408
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,920
So I could tell people what PrEP was
and I can tell people how it works
409
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:20,600
and I can tell people that it
definitely keeps them negative
410
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,480
and then, obviously,
the next question is,
411
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:23,600
"Well, how do I get PrEP?"
412
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,440
Gay guys have the right
to fear-free,
413
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:35,280
guilt-free, disease-free sex.
414
00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,720
And there always has to be
something wrong.
415
00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,160
Like, I have to pay the price
for being gay somewhere.
416
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,080
I'm going to get HIV
or I'm going to get this STI,
417
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,800
or this is going to happen,
or that's going to happen,
418
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:49,360
or I have to put a condom on it.
419
00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,760
We are ultimately conditioned
to believe that love,
420
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,520
and particularly sex,
between two men
421
00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,600
always has to come at a price
when it doesn't.
422
00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:01,520
Then a lot of clarity happened
all at once.
423
00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:05,520
"I can't waste this. Am I throwing
away my HIV-negative status?
424
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:06,920
"It has to count."
425
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,520
When we started
building the website,
426
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:18,880
Greg didn't have anywhere to live,
427
00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,920
so we'd just build the website
in the evenings in my bedroom.
428
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:27,880
We'd sit there surrounded by notes
and random bits of information cos
429
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,040
we'd never bloody made one before
and we had no idea how to do it.
430
00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:32,960
First of all, what we're going to do
431
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,840
is get all the information
and things you need to know
432
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,600
and give it to you in a way that
you can understand.
433
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:40,640
And then we're going to do
the most important bit -
434
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,480
we're going to do a click-to-buy.
435
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,920
This is what it is,
this is how you get it, boom, done.
436
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:47,880
We didn't want to make
any money ourselves.
437
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,200
We were just linking up
buyers to sellers.
438
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:52,960
The whole point of the website -
439
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,600
that it was radical and direct,
because we were angry.
440
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,040
The short of it is, I want PrEP now.
441
00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:01,160
That's what I want.
442
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,160
I'm not going to wait for the NHS
to come and save me.
443
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:08,000
I don't care. I want PrEP now,
and this is how I'm going to get it.
444
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,280
So the website had to be called
IWantPrEPNow.co.uk.
445
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:22,280
So, we found out about IWantPrEPNow
about 5-7 days
446
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,720
before we launched our own website.
447
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:28,480
We basically struck up a
gentleman's agreement then and there
448
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,040
that we should work together
as much as we could.
449
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,360
Will and Mark set up Prepster,
450
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:37,640
raising awareness about PrEP,
and Greg and I set up IWantPrEPNow,
451
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:40,960
signposting people
to where they could go.
452
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,960
We launched, and we were getting
all, like, two kids at Christmas.
453
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,440
Like, oh, how many people
have visited the website?
454
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:47,560
Ooh! 300! Oh!
455
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,680
In the first 24 hours,
we got 400 hits or something
456
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,960
when we were expecting about four.
457
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,200
People really jumped at it
straightaway.
458
00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:01,600
In October 2015, we could talk about
PrEP, but we couldn't prescribe it.
459
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:06,400
And then I became aware of
Prepster and IWantPrEPNow.
460
00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,400
I knew what Greg was doing could be
something great, something big.
461
00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:18,240
Mags Portman, the lead consultant
on HIV and sexual health, e-mailed,
462
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,120
asking if she could speak to me.
463
00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:21,320
This is at a time, bear in mind,
464
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,960
when I thought doctors were, like,
special people, like Superman.
465
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:25,720
Like, that they had special powers.
466
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,320
Mags was, like, "Hey, Greg,
I really like what you're doing,
467
00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:30,960
"I'm doing this thing for this,
and I'd really like to speak to you
468
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,480
"about that, and could we maybe
meet up for a wine after clinic?"
469
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,800
And I'm, like,
"This woman is extra!"
470
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:38,040
I was, like, no.
471
00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:39,640
She e-mailed back
straightaway again,
472
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,320
"So can I ask you this,
can I ask you that?"
473
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:42,600
And I was, like, "No, you can't,
474
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,680
"because I don't know, really,
what I'm doing."
475
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,720
When we met, he was very charming.
476
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:50,960
He was a very passionate individual
477
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,520
who really believed in
what he was doing.
478
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,000
So Mags kind of rolled her
sleeves up and got on board.
479
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:58,320
She asked how she could help,
480
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,960
and what we needed then
was some visibility
481
00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:04,160
in the right areas
of the medical sector.
482
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,520
Just in case anybody had been to
the moon for the last year,
483
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,560
we know from home-grown data from
the Proud study that daily Truvada
484
00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,760
reduced the incidence of HIV by 86%.
485
00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,320
Prepster and also IWantPrEPNow
486
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,680
is a site set up by Greg Owen
and his friend,
487
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,000
and they're doing this
really responsibly, basically
488
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,960
providing links to other sites where
people can obtain generic Truvada.
489
00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:28,840
We'd be in a bar or something
490
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,800
and then one person would be, like,
"Oh, YOU made that website?
491
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,840
"Oh, yeah, I think it's totally
fantastic!" And everything.
492
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,520
And this started happening
very slowly.
493
00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,040
One of my very good friends,
he was, like,
494
00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,360
"Babe, you know I was on, like,
this hook-up app?
495
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:46,680
"Everyone was on PrEP."
496
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:48,600
So I logged on
the next bank holiday weekend.
497
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:53,280
And, like, every four or five
profiles was listed as on PrEP.
498
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:57,200
And so, for me, that is
an absolutely mind-boggling thing.
499
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:05,600
Hello. Good evening.
Should a pill to prevent HIV
500
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:08,960
be handed out free to gay men
before they have sex?
501
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,520
The issue in terms of
PrEP access at the moment
502
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:13,920
is that it's completely inequitable.
503
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:18,360
Many gay men buy their PrEP online,
but not everyone can afford to.
504
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,880
The fact that it's not available
505
00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,440
to people in England
free of charge is crazy.
506
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,160
It doesn't cut out
other sexually transmitted disease,
507
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,520
the same argument
that might once have been used
508
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,600
about an NHS-funded
female contraceptive pill.
509
00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,520
Putting someone on a daily dose of
Truvada costs around £5,000 a year,
510
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,160
so should it be publicly funded?
511
00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,240
It's not homophobic
to say to the gay community,
512
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,040
"Take responsibility for yourself."
513
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:50,400
That's what this is about.
514
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,720
It's not the job
of some bureaucrat in the NHS
515
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:57,120
or some high-powered,
well-intentioned consultant saying,
516
00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:59,200
"That's what we'll do -
we'll give them the drug
517
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,840
"and that will cause one less
problem for us to worry about."
518
00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,680
It is not the job of the NHS
to do that.
519
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:09,000
They should not take responsibility
for how I conduct myself
520
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,920
in the bedroom, or wherever it is
I choose to have sex.
521
00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:18,040
Our analytics were showing that
522
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,000
site traffic was increasing
exponentially.
523
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:21,880
Like, it was pretty much exploding.
524
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:27,440
For some reason, one of the sellers
ran out of drug.
525
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,320
One of the other sellers
wouldn't accept card payments.
526
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,760
I was... I was actually
losing the plot.
527
00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:37,160
Meltdown happened.
528
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,040
I thought, "OK,
I've started something
529
00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:40,480
"and people are relying on this,
530
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,520
"so I need to put in
some safety nets."
531
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,920
I felt like, if I was going to be
an HIV prevention activist,
532
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,360
I had to put my money
where my mouth is.
533
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,480
I'm buying a drug that
I have no clue who the seller is
534
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:54,880
or where it's coming from.
535
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,240
If IWantPrEPNow discovered a new
536
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,600
and possibly reliable
supplier of PrEP,
537
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:03,440
I would do a test purchase
with them.
538
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:05,560
I would then
physically take that drug
539
00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:07,640
and then I would go
and visit Mags Portman
540
00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:11,080
at the Mortimer Market Centre
and we would send off the bloods
541
00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:13,360
for therapeutic
drug monitoring tests.
542
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,760
That was the only way that we had
of checking that the PrEP
543
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,600
people were taking
actually contained the ingredients
544
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,680
that we thought it contained.
545
00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:30,120
And so, overall, we tested
about 300, 350 different samples
546
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,360
and found absolutely no evidence
of any fake preparation
547
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,160
in any of the drug
that was being brought in.
548
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,560
Never in the history
of the NHS had people,
549
00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,840
predominantly gay and bisexual men,
went and bought a drug off-line,
550
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:45,320
bucked the process...
551
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:47,800
So, they hadn't turned up,
spoken to someone,
552
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:49,200
been risk-assessed,
553
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:50,760
met eligibility criteria.
554
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,480
None of that stuff. They were like,
"I'm taking this. Boom."
555
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,840
So, guess what happened.
556
00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:59,520
I ended up running a virtual clinic
for the whole of the UK
557
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,520
on social media. It's about
relationships, it's about feelings,
558
00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,080
about social aspects
that need attention,
559
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,640
mental health aspects,
and I love that,
560
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,320
but it's an awful lot
for one person.
561
00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,000
And at this point,
I was sleeping on someone's sofa,
562
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,280
and I was so broke that
I didn't even have an Oyster card.
563
00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,880
For some people,
this isn't a day job.
564
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,400
Greg's own story was that
he had just become infected with HIV
565
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:26,280
because he couldn't
get hold of PrEP,
566
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,160
and Greg didn't want
to see that happen to anyone else.
567
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,720
I think that little bit of anger
will always be in me.
568
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:36,480
Not because I'm angry
that I have HIV.
569
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,360
Just cos I'm angry that
570
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:40,520
people who could have done something
571
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:43,120
and people who should have
done something failed me
572
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,320
and many other people like me.
573
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,560
We knew we were working
to a June deadline.
574
00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,520
Everything had to get
to CPAG for June.
575
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,920
By late February...
576
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:05,280
It really, really was meant
to be going to public consultation.
577
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,280
And I sat here
and counted back the days
578
00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:12,920
and realised that the
public consultation needed to start
579
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:16,280
within the next week
for them to hit that deadline.
580
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,960
And it didn't go out
to public consultation.
581
00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,120
We all knew then that
there was something wrong.
582
00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:29,160
PHONE RINGS
583
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,400
We were summoned to a phone call.
584
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,840
It was, I think, an e-mail through
from the United For PrEP group
585
00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:39,800
about the NHS decision.
586
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:44,440
"Gus, this is between you and me,
but they're going to refuse PrEP."
587
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,200
I mean, I was gobsmacked.
588
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,880
Oh, my goodness.
It was absolutely horrifying.
589
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,600
This is not acceptable.
590
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,120
What was the reason
for this sudden change of mind
591
00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,120
just, what is it,
two or three months
592
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,880
before the CPAG decision?
593
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,560
We were told that, actually,
there was an error
594
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:08,000
and NHS England wasn't
the commissioner for PrEP.
595
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:13,520
They're going to say that they're
not legally able to recommend it.
596
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,560
I thought, "Bastards."
597
00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:22,200
The process stopped for PrEP
because NHS England said that
598
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:26,880
its legal advice was that
it was unable to commission PrEP
599
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,040
because it was
an HIV prevention service
600
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,480
and HIV prevention is now the
responsibility of local authorities.
601
00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,600
The rug was completely pulled out
from under us.
602
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:38,320
And I was just like,
"I can't believe it."
603
00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:40,000
I did literally just
burst into tears.
604
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,320
I was like, "I can't believe this.
This is just insane."
605
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:43,840
I was so tired and frustrated.
606
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,440
I felt worse about that
than I did about my HIV diagnosis.
607
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,120
I mean, we just didn't know whether
608
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,160
we were ever going to be able
to prescribe PrEP.
609
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,640
Yeah, it was really
quite a big deal, actually.
610
00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,560
I think we both cried
and then I put her on a bus home
611
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,600
and went home and drank
another bottle of wine.
612
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,800
I don't know what level
that decision was made.
613
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:17,000
My view is it was taken
at a very senior level
614
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:19,280
within NHS England,
615
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:22,520
certainly not far from
the chief executive's door.
616
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,800
It was from high up
within NHS England,
617
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:28,400
but quite who initiated it
618
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:33,200
is something that I think
still isn't entirely clear.
619
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:37,280
It was only when it really went up
to ministerial level
620
00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,560
that people started
being really honest.
621
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:43,440
"Well, OK, yes, it is about
the costs, but it's also about..."
622
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:45,200
And Jeremy Hunt,
the health minister,
623
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:46,960
is recorded as saying this about
624
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,160
"whether I can get it past
the Daily Mail."
625
00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:59,640
We don't know which person
in NHS England
626
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:01,680
sought that legal advice.
627
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,600
What I do know,
from my experience in government,
628
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:07,800
is that you often look for
the advice you require
629
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,720
to actually legitimise a decision
that you want to take.
630
00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:14,480
I'm convinced NHS England panicked
631
00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:17,200
about the potential cost of PrEP
632
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,840
and they looked for
any excuse to resist funding it.
633
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:27,800
Three letters - NHS.
634
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,720
No more pointless reorganisations
of our National Health Service.
635
00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:33,320
Back in 2012,
636
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:36,600
the coalition government
pushed through
637
00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:39,640
a new Act of Parliament
that reshaped the NHS.
638
00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:41,960
Modernisation of
the National Health Service
639
00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:44,520
is necessary.
It is in patients' interests.
640
00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:49,240
One of the key changes was that
public health responsibility
641
00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:51,680
moved onto councils,
local authorities,
642
00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,320
so they were responsible
for public health measures.
643
00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,800
The NHS was responsible
for treatment.
644
00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,120
Based on need, not ability to pay.
645
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:02,080
The reforms really made
646
00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:03,800
the HIV landscape
647
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,480
much more complicated.
648
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:07,600
Previously, it was very clear that
649
00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,080
the NHS was responsible
for all the services.
650
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:11,920
Because it was now divided up,
651
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,440
it was quite hard to see
who was in charge of this.
652
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:15,640
Traitor!
653
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:19,360
The problem being that
local authorities were never given
654
00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:22,880
enough money to run
those public health services.
655
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:25,160
I mean, the discussion
was always that
656
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,600
this would be something
that would be funded
657
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:29,040
by NHS England.
658
00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:33,520
We do do some areas of prevention,
659
00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:35,720
but so, too, do the NHS,
660
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:38,840
and if we then
try to divide that up,
661
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,240
we would be taking on
a vast budget -
662
00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:44,920
an absolutely vast budget -
in a whole range of areas.
663
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,360
The more we looked into it,
664
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,800
the more I realised that, actually,
there's a bigger issue here.
665
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:52,920
It's not actually about PrEP.
666
00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:58,960
This was about the NHS
trying to cut without cutting.
667
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:01,880
The NHS in 2016 was facing
668
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:04,960
one of its biggest financial crises
in its history.
669
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:09,200
All parts of the NHS were trying
to identify ways of saving money,
670
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,880
so I think, rather than being
a special case,
671
00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:15,240
this was part of
a whole programme of savings
672
00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:18,520
that were being developed
across the NHS.
673
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,440
Once NHS England had got
its legal advice
674
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,040
and said, "We can't fund this,"
there was no way one was going
675
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,560
to be able to settle with them
or bargain with them or anything
676
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,120
because their position was,
quite naturally,
677
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:29,880
"We are a responsible public body.
678
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:33,040
"We cannot fund something that we've
been told we have no power to fund."
679
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,480
And that's when
the National AIDS Trust
680
00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:37,080
decided to take them to court.
681
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:42,560
The decision was so outrageous
and so capable of challenge.
682
00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:47,000
I mean, the fact that a charity
had to take NHS England to court
683
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,720
in order to make sure that PrEP
could be available is shameful.
684
00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:57,120
It became clear that
the battle lines had been drawn
685
00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:01,200
and this was heading for court and
that this was going to be a monster.
686
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:03,600
You're taking on the Government.
687
00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,440
It was a really big decision
and it was terrifying.
688
00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:08,560
There were real risks for us.
689
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:10,120
We are a small organisation.
690
00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:12,160
We don't have lots of money
in the bank.
691
00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:15,640
It was a David against Goliath
battle.
692
00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:23,560
After the NHS decision,
we all became a lot more focused.
693
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:26,280
I mean, we were very focused anyway.
694
00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:30,400
Everyone knew,
kind of without too much organising,
695
00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:33,920
how we could literally
just surround it from all areas.
696
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:37,920
We know that PrEP has the potential
to be a game-changer.
697
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:39,880
We made sure that
members of Parliament
698
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:41,440
and members of the House of Lords,
699
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:45,240
they understood the decision
that NHS England had taken.
700
00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:49,040
My concern about the precedent this
sets for other preventative costs
701
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:51,320
being shunted onto
local government...
702
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:55,120
Street activists started to step up
and start taking action.
703
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,440
We knew that PrEP
would not be made available
704
00:38:57,440 --> 00:38:59,240
if there wasn't any demand for it,
705
00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:02,040
and we had to show that
we're demanding PrEP.
706
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:05,080
PROTESTERS: 17 a day won't go away!
707
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:07,040
A whole and very important
708
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:10,000
NHS decision-making process
was paralysed.
709
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:14,720
All of the new proposals
had to be delayed
710
00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:17,040
because there was
a limited pot of money.
711
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,520
It was all about comparison
and prioritisation.
712
00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:24,680
You couldn't do that without knowing
whether PrEP was in the mix or not.
713
00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,360
Suddenly, there was
the Clinical Advisory Group
714
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,040
waiting to make decisions
between this drug and other drugs,
715
00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:33,040
so there was a great urgency
to get the case resolved.
716
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,680
That was incredibly painful for us
717
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,760
because we want
all people with health needs
718
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,640
to be able to access
the drugs that they need.
719
00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:46,400
The answer to the problem was for
NHS England to reverse its decision
720
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:48,280
and take PrEP to CPAG.
721
00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:51,480
It wasn't for us not to challenge
a fundamental injustice.
722
00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:55,160
My understanding is
NHS England are considering
their commissioning responsibility.
723
00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:57,760
I want them to reach
a decision quickly,
724
00:39:57,760 --> 00:39:59,440
but it's right to raise this...
725
00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:04,040
All we were ever asking for
was for the NHS to consider PrEP
726
00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:07,920
under the same rules that they would
consider any other new medication.
727
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:09,960
We sent a letter out to The Times.
728
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:11,880
"Every day that this is delayed,
729
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:16,040
"at least 17 people
will be infected with HIV."
730
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:20,200
17 people every day
infected with HIV
731
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,440
whilst this delay was taking place.
732
00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:26,600
I didn't stop to breathe
since my diagnosis,
733
00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:29,280
since launching the website,
for the best part of a year.
734
00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:31,560
I burned out really bad.
735
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,400
He got so overloaded.
736
00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:39,960
24/7, day and night, day and night,
and he wasn't getting paid.
737
00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:42,120
It was voluntary.
738
00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:45,320
I was sending him money
to make sure he was eating.
739
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:50,240
He was physically
and mentally exhausted.
740
00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:54,800
The online access of PrEP through
IWantPrEPNow was amazing.
741
00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:59,560
No-one would claim that
that is the ultimate,
742
00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:03,040
appropriate provision of PrEP
to address the HIV epidemic.
743
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,760
It was one of the most dramatic days
I've had in court.
744
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:14,640
I'll never forget it.
745
00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:18,080
There was a sense of excitement
and that this was
746
00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:23,200
a really key and important decision
that was being made.
747
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:24,560
It was nerve-racking.
748
00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,200
Like, the whole process
was incredibly nerve-racking.
749
00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,840
The judge was really,
really great, actually,
750
00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:32,080
and from the moment
that he came into the court,
751
00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:34,160
the thing that we'd been
most worried about
752
00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:35,400
is that it was so complex.
753
00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:40,880
The laws and regulations surrounding
the NHS powers and NHS duties
754
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,280
are incredibly complicated.
755
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:46,880
But, actually, he understood it all.
He had clearly read everything.
756
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:49,560
He was immediately like,
"I have these questions."
757
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:54,640
One of the arguments that
the NHS was making is that
758
00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:58,120
it couldn't fund PrEP
because it's prevention
759
00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:00,280
and the NHS can't fund prevention.
760
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:02,920
And that felt ridiculous to us.
761
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,160
They clearly do fund prevention
in lots of different ways.
762
00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:08,360
Outside of HIV, you can look at,
763
00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:11,200
you know, things they've funded,
like Healthy Cities,
764
00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:13,920
or you can look at statins.
765
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:18,360
But even within HIV, they fund PEP,
which is the drug that you can take
766
00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:20,800
if you've been at risk
of contracting HIV
767
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:23,320
for a short period of time
to stop you from getting it.
768
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:26,880
If someone has a needle-stick injury
or has an exposure to HIV
769
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:30,080
through a sexual encounter,
you then go along afterwards
770
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,440
and you get post-exposure
prophylaxis treatment.
771
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:35,080
Now, that operates
in exactly the same way as PrEP.
772
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,680
It's not a perfect analogy,
773
00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:40,680
but you can think about PrEP
as being a bit like the pill,
774
00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,120
PEP being a bit like
the morning-after pill.
775
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,120
The drugs are the same drugs,
776
00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:49,400
so that's also a prevention tool,
so it felt illogical to us.
777
00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:53,480
PrEP's not even about preventing.
It may be taken preventively,
778
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,360
but in order for it
to actually prevent HIV,
779
00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:58,360
someone has to have HIV,
780
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:00,280
and that was deep within
the science of it,
781
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:04,240
and I'm not sure anyone
had really appreciated that.
782
00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:06,880
Truly, actually,
it's a treatment of somebody
783
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:11,240
that has just contracted HIV
that prevents it from taking hold.
784
00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,960
The clear blue line
that the NHS was trying to divide
785
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,840
between these different things
just doesn't exist.
786
00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,680
The NHS's whole strategy
is based about prevention
787
00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:26,520
because everyone knows it's better
than cure, so it didn't make sense.
788
00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:32,720
So, the case was about
far more than just PrEP.
789
00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:37,520
You have to look at the purpose
of the NHS, really.
790
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:40,520
The purpose of the NHS
is to treat and prevent disease.
791
00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,160
Interpreting the law in a way that
792
00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:46,000
stops them providing
preventative treatment
793
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:50,440
just does not make sense. You have
to look at why they are there.
794
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:54,880
And then it finished
and all we could do is wait.
795
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,520
There is a gap between
believing in your case
796
00:43:57,520 --> 00:43:59,880
and knowing that
you're going to win.
797
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:09,720
A High Court judge
is set to rule today
798
00:44:09,720 --> 00:44:13,560
on whether a drug which prevents
people being infected with HIV
799
00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:16,160
should be funded
by the NHS in England.
800
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:20,880
People poised over their phones
to send their tweets.
801
00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:23,280
They had drafts ready
for win or lose.
802
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:26,360
Let's go back now to the news that's
broken in the last few minutes.
803
00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:29,400
The High Court has ruled that
a drug that can prevent HIV
804
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:31,240
can be funded by the NHS.
805
00:44:31,240 --> 00:44:33,360
Well, I think it's very,
very significant.
806
00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:34,960
Mr Justice Green, the judge,
807
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:37,720
has ruled in favour of
the National AIDS Trust,
808
00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:40,720
which brought this case
to the High Courts here...
809
00:44:40,720 --> 00:44:44,600
The judge found unequivocally
in our favour.
810
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:46,440
It was an incredibly strong
judgment.
811
00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:48,640
It was clear that
he'd understood the arguments.
812
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:50,600
I think we felt really kind of heard
813
00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:53,040
and understood
and obviously delighted.
814
00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:55,520
The NHS in England
has been told by the High Court
815
00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:57,240
that it can fund the drug.
816
00:44:57,240 --> 00:45:00,320
The case was nothing to do with
whether it was a good drug.
817
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:01,840
That simply didn't enter into it.
818
00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:04,120
The question was, did they have
the power to fund it?
819
00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:05,720
If they did, then everyone agreed
820
00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:08,240
they had to go away and decide
whether they should fund it.
821
00:45:08,240 --> 00:45:10,320
The court rejected
the Health Service's...
822
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:13,080
I take my hat off
to Debbie and Yusef and NAT.
823
00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:16,920
They did an incredible job.
But, lo and behold, NHS England,
824
00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:19,760
straight on the back of the
announcement, appealed the decision.
825
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:22,000
NHS England says
it'll appeal against
826
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,840
today's High Court ruling,
and even if that fails,
827
00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:27,320
it's under no obligation
to fund the drug
828
00:45:27,320 --> 00:45:30,240
or do anything more than consider
its cost-effectiveness,
829
00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:33,000
alongside treatments
for other health conditions.
830
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:36,400
It was difficult because
we were so pleased that we'd won,
831
00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:40,000
it had taken such a lot of work
and energy to get to that point,
832
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:41,800
and then we knew
we had to do it again.
833
00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:44,880
They released a press statement
834
00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:48,400
where they said
the decision had been taken
835
00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:51,960
for men who have high risk,
condomless sex
836
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,040
with multiple sexual partners.
837
00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:57,200
It was condemnatory.
838
00:45:57,200 --> 00:45:59,520
It just felt... That felt
really vicious, actually.
839
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:02,760
It felt like sour grapes.
Who knows where it came from?
840
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:05,640
But the fact that
that homophobic comment
841
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:08,680
emerged somehow
from within NHS England
842
00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:14,360
was an extraordinary example
of an institution just lashing out.
843
00:46:14,360 --> 00:46:17,240
As soon as you set the tone,
what did they expect?
844
00:46:17,240 --> 00:46:19,760
An official press release!
Where did they expect it to go?
845
00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:21,080
Yes, it became fair game,
846
00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:22,720
and we started to see headlines
847
00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:24,280
we hadn't seen the likes of
848
00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:26,240
since back in the days of AIDS.
849
00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:29,800
I woke up the next morning
to two headlines,
850
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:32,720
one from the Daily Mail
and one from The Times.
851
00:46:32,720 --> 00:46:35,840
It felt like a really massive
smack in the teeth.
852
00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:38,360
The newspapers like the Daily Mail
were once again
853
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:40,760
peddling this idea that
854
00:46:40,760 --> 00:46:42,640
our health and our rights
855
00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:45,760
are somehow less than
other people's rights.
856
00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:48,240
PrEP, subject to the appeal,
857
00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:52,240
will be seen and considered
alongside 13 other treatments,
858
00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:55,800
including treatments for
children with cystic fibrosis,
859
00:46:55,800 --> 00:47:01,240
prosthetic limb loss and
certain types of auditory implants.
860
00:47:01,240 --> 00:47:05,680
The NHS's publicity on the issue
sought to offset PrEP
861
00:47:05,680 --> 00:47:08,320
against cancer treatment
for children -
862
00:47:08,320 --> 00:47:10,040
emotive stuff like that.
863
00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:14,200
"Why should we spend money on PrEP
rather than people with cancer?"
864
00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:16,680
And so it was pitting
one patient group
865
00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:18,640
against another patient group.
866
00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:21,760
ON RADIO: The people that want PrEP,
they just want to cop out.
867
00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:26,280
The National Health Service needs to
prioritise more important illnesses.
868
00:47:26,280 --> 00:47:29,240
The Government has completely
abdicated its responsibility.
869
00:47:29,240 --> 00:47:31,440
And this is a sort of moral dilemma,
870
00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:35,720
when you have a finite budget
and almost infinite demands.
871
00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:38,520
People make mistakes.
People get carried away.
872
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:41,000
It can be that people are in
a bullying relationship.
873
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:43,040
I am absolutely horrified. Mm-hm.
874
00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:46,760
These people, they decide whether
they're going to be promiscuous
875
00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:49,080
or whether they're going
to be sensible about it.
876
00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:52,440
They just think of themselves
and nobody else.
877
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:56,000
"Why don't these gay men just
use condoms or just don't have sex?
878
00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:59,200
"Why should we give
a preventative pill, you know,
879
00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:00,960
"that's going to cost us money,
880
00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:03,280
"when condoms are cheaper
and are easily accessible?"
881
00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:04,720
So, you can argue, you know,
882
00:48:04,720 --> 00:48:06,640
in the same way
about the contraceptive pill
883
00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:09,360
or about, you know,
treatment for skin cancer.
884
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:11,760
A whole range of
preventable illnesses
885
00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:14,480
that we face on a daily basis
in our country.
886
00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:16,480
There's funding, there's money,
887
00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:19,240
there's resources put aside
to fund that.
888
00:48:19,240 --> 00:48:21,280
It will really stick in the craw
889
00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:24,520
of somebody waiting
for a potential operation,
890
00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:26,280
for a wheelchair,
891
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:28,680
somebody stuck on
a hospital trolley,
892
00:48:28,680 --> 00:48:30,440
to know that,
"Oh, it's all right, though.
893
00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:32,440
"All the money's being spent
on those gay guys
894
00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:34,840
"so they can go and have
wild sex parties."
895
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:39,000
It will get more and more lurid,
the coverage of this drug,
896
00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:42,360
which is why, I think, it's not
in the interests of my community
897
00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:45,520
to go down this route - because
it will cause more resentment
898
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,800
and more irritation,
with some justification.
899
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:51,320
Gay men are not going into
children's wards
900
00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:53,480
and stealing money
or drugs from them.
901
00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:55,440
That's not how it's happening.
902
00:48:55,440 --> 00:48:59,360
PrEP is not about sluttiness,
903
00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:02,280
promiscuity, carelessness.
It's actually the opposite.
904
00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:05,400
It's about people caring about
their health and others'.
905
00:49:05,400 --> 00:49:08,200
It should be available
to anybody who's at risk of HIV.
906
00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:13,320
Like, 6,500, 6,000 people
a year back then
907
00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:16,520
were diagnosed with HIV,
and NHS England stalled.
908
00:49:16,520 --> 00:49:19,120
I was like, "You know,
we're into, like, thousands
909
00:49:19,120 --> 00:49:21,640
"needlessly contracted a virus,
910
00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:23,600
"and now we're living
with a condition
911
00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:27,960
"that's going to cost you £350,000,
over a lifetime, of care.
912
00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:31,360
"That's cost to you,
like, NHS England."
913
00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:34,040
But the human cost... Like,
you have something that works,
914
00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:36,440
that stops people getting
this highly stigmatising,
915
00:49:36,440 --> 00:49:38,760
what can be a life-ending condition
for some people.
916
00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:41,560
You have something that will
keep them safe and keep them healthy
917
00:49:41,560 --> 00:49:43,680
and you won't make it available
918
00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:46,240
because some lives don't matter
as much as others.
919
00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:51,920
The evidence on how
NHS England made its decisions
920
00:49:51,920 --> 00:49:54,520
showed that it was going through
all the processes,
921
00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:59,960
and social values or lifestyle
is not part of their criteria.
922
00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:03,480
It's interesting, this question
of personal responsibility
923
00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:06,640
and what role it plays
in the NHS's decisions.
924
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:09,280
Officially, it doesn't play
any role at all.
925
00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:12,560
Unofficially,
you can see it playing a role.
926
00:50:12,560 --> 00:50:17,200
The way PrEP was dealt with
seems to me is an example
927
00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:19,440
where you become so fixated
928
00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:22,200
on the need not to spend money
that you forget
929
00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:24,200
that, you know,
there are people out there,
930
00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:26,760
people who could benefit from PrEP,
931
00:50:26,760 --> 00:50:29,960
who have really been put
at a disadvantage.
932
00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:34,240
And the whole way it was dealt with
was very distasteful.
933
00:50:34,240 --> 00:50:37,880
Ultimately, these difficult choices
have to be made
934
00:50:37,880 --> 00:50:41,600
and it doesn't matter
how much money you put into the NHS,
935
00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:44,560
those choices will still be there.
936
00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:56,680
Obviously, we'd won the case below.
We'd succeeded at first instance,
937
00:50:56,680 --> 00:50:58,600
so that's always a good position
to start from.
938
00:50:58,600 --> 00:51:00,240
You're defending a judgment.
939
00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:03,160
Part of the problem was
the way that we'd won it.
940
00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:05,440
One of the grounds on which
he'd found in their favour
941
00:51:05,440 --> 00:51:08,120
was something quite difficult
to defend, we thought.
942
00:51:08,120 --> 00:51:10,800
And it was, I think,
the finding which gave NHS England
943
00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:13,200
such concerns about the judgment
944
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:15,440
that they really felt
they had to appeal.
945
00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:18,160
They were particularly concerned
by an interpretation
946
00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:22,080
of the dividing line between
the duties of NHS England
947
00:51:22,080 --> 00:51:24,560
and the Secretary of State
and local authorities -
948
00:51:24,560 --> 00:51:26,880
a three-way division
which gave NHS England
949
00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:29,840
very wide powers of responsibility,
950
00:51:29,840 --> 00:51:33,400
which they were worried had much
wider implications beyond this case.
951
00:51:39,800 --> 00:51:43,160
When the appeal came through,
I was in Belfast,
952
00:51:43,160 --> 00:51:45,640
and I was working a bar job.
953
00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:48,280
Literally,
as the announcement was made,
954
00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:52,520
I had my phone in a pint glass
next to the till,
955
00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:55,360
and my phone, again, blasted.
956
00:51:55,360 --> 00:51:56,840
It was like a firework.
957
00:51:56,840 --> 00:51:59,200
It just kept going
and going and going.
958
00:51:59,200 --> 00:52:01,560
The result was that
we won the second time,
959
00:52:01,560 --> 00:52:05,520
which was even more incredible.
960
00:52:05,520 --> 00:52:08,000
And I actually was literally crying.
961
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:10,640
Serving pints of beer
to this poor Belfast boy,
962
00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:13,000
who probably thought
I was absolutely off my rocker.
963
00:52:15,480 --> 00:52:18,880
Our National Health Service,
it's a health service.
964
00:52:18,880 --> 00:52:20,680
It's not a sickness service.
965
00:52:20,680 --> 00:52:24,440
It's about helping some of
the sickest people in society.
966
00:52:24,440 --> 00:52:28,680
It's also about encouraging us
to live healthier lifestyles,
967
00:52:28,680 --> 00:52:35,400
and when a medicine or a tablet
can help prevent future disease,
968
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:38,640
we should use it
and the NHS should embrace it.
969
00:52:40,520 --> 00:52:43,600
They shouldn't have appealed.
The amount of money they've wasted
970
00:52:43,600 --> 00:52:46,240
on the original case
and on the appeal
971
00:52:46,240 --> 00:52:49,080
could have been used
for front-line services.
972
00:52:49,080 --> 00:52:53,320
We're absolutely delighted to have
been vindicated a second time,
973
00:52:53,320 --> 00:52:55,440
and it couldn't be any clearer
974
00:52:55,440 --> 00:52:58,880
that NHS England has the power
to commission PrEP.
975
00:52:58,880 --> 00:53:03,960
And at a time when 17 people a day
are acquiring HIV,
976
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:06,520
we really urge them now
to just move forward.
977
00:53:06,520 --> 00:53:08,560
REPORTER: Reacting to
the court's judgment,
978
00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:11,240
NHS England said
it will now formally consider
979
00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:15,000
whether to fund PrEP,
and where patients might get it.
980
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:16,920
It also said...
981
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:31,760
If NHS are stalling because
they want to get to the point
982
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:35,880
where the drug comes off patent,
will be sold as a generic drug,
983
00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:39,200
and they hope much cheaper,
it's a terrible precedent.
984
00:53:39,200 --> 00:53:42,440
It means many thousands of patients
985
00:53:42,440 --> 00:53:46,000
are going to be deprived
of the latest developments.
986
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:49,520
I hope NHS England,
when they lost the case,
987
00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:53,040
and then when they lost the appeal,
hung their heads in shame.
988
00:53:55,400 --> 00:53:58,520
ON RADIO: Figures released yesterday
show a 21% reduction
989
00:53:58,520 --> 00:54:01,360
in new HIV diagnoses in the UK.
990
00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:05,120
The number of newly diagnosed cases
in London is falling.
991
00:54:05,120 --> 00:54:08,760
Four of the biggest clinics say
they've seen a 40% to 50% drop
992
00:54:08,760 --> 00:54:11,280
in new cases since 2015.
993
00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:15,800
"I've just seen this tweet
from Dean Street clinic -
994
00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:20,120
"that they saw a 45% decline
in HIV infections last year.
995
00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:22,120
"Can that really be true?"
996
00:54:22,120 --> 00:54:25,000
Yes. We were as surprised as anyone.
997
00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:27,600
But as of last April...
998
00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:32,320
..we started seeing fewer
and fewer infections every month.
999
00:54:32,320 --> 00:54:34,360
This was absolutely extraordinary.
1000
00:54:34,360 --> 00:54:38,600
From 2015 to 2016,
for the first time,
1001
00:54:38,600 --> 00:54:42,680
there was a decrease in new
HIV diagnoses amongst gay men
1002
00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:44,040
of around 20%.
1003
00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:48,640
But in certain clinics in London,
that decrease was 40%.
1004
00:54:48,640 --> 00:54:53,000
It was immensely exciting to see,
really, what PrEP could do.
1005
00:54:54,640 --> 00:54:57,840
And I think we probably had
already done as much as
1006
00:54:57,840 --> 00:55:00,280
we possibly could
in the way of frequent testing
1007
00:55:00,280 --> 00:55:03,240
and early diagnosis
and early treatment,
1008
00:55:03,240 --> 00:55:07,800
and the piece that was missing
was the HIV-negative individuals
1009
00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:11,640
who were catching HIV
in between their HIV tests,
1010
00:55:11,640 --> 00:55:14,800
and that's where PrEP
fills that gap.
1011
00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:19,560
That was the first moment
when we, like,
1012
00:55:19,560 --> 00:55:24,040
were able to take a step back
and actually be quite shocked
1013
00:55:24,040 --> 00:55:26,200
at how effective all of this was.
1014
00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:33,880
In the HIV history of the UK,
1015
00:55:33,880 --> 00:55:36,880
I think this is
a hugely significant point.
1016
00:55:38,920 --> 00:55:41,840
Sheena called me that year,
just before Christmas,
1017
00:55:41,840 --> 00:55:44,080
and she said, "Oh,
I just wanted to give you a call
1018
00:55:44,080 --> 00:55:47,040
"to say Happy Christmas
and thank you for all the work
that you've done."
1019
00:55:48,200 --> 00:55:51,360
And I was talking to Greg about this
and saying, "I just...
1020
00:55:51,360 --> 00:55:53,520
"I don't believe it.
It's absolutely incredible.
1021
00:55:53,520 --> 00:55:56,360
"And, you know, you can take credit
for this because, you know,
1022
00:55:56,360 --> 00:55:59,720
"without your website and
pointing people in the direction
1023
00:55:59,720 --> 00:56:01,400
"of where they could buy their PrEP,
1024
00:56:01,400 --> 00:56:03,880
"then we would have had tiny,
tiny numbers on PrEP."
1025
00:56:03,880 --> 00:56:05,520
I was like, "Oh, that's..."
1026
00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:08,160
Praise is uncomfortable for me,
and when Sheena says it,
1027
00:56:08,160 --> 00:56:10,200
it's like the Queen Sheen of PrEP.
1028
00:56:10,200 --> 00:56:12,280
So, you sort of go...
1029
00:56:12,280 --> 00:56:15,520
So, I don't think she knows,
but I did start to cry.
1030
00:56:18,920 --> 00:56:22,000
But Sheena was like,
"I want you to strip it back,
think about the people.
1031
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:24,000
"Like, there are thousands of people
1032
00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:27,760
"walking around now HIV-negative
because of something that you did."
1033
00:56:37,960 --> 00:56:41,200
PrEP offers us
the realistic prospect
1034
00:56:41,200 --> 00:56:45,000
of eliminating HIV
within the next decade or so.
1035
00:56:55,720 --> 00:56:58,120
HIV, in a way,
has been a distraction.
1036
00:56:58,120 --> 00:57:00,360
A war, as they say.
1037
00:57:00,360 --> 00:57:04,080
And now we have
to deal with peace time.
1038
00:57:04,080 --> 00:57:07,520
On a personal level,
I mean, I think, for me,
1039
00:57:07,520 --> 00:57:11,840
I feel like I've done
something good with my life.
1040
00:57:11,840 --> 00:57:13,600
Being part of this,
1041
00:57:13,600 --> 00:57:17,760
I know that I have made a difference
to people's lives,
1042
00:57:17,760 --> 00:57:21,120
and that's a massive thing
to be able to say.
1043
00:57:22,600 --> 00:57:25,160
Yeah. So, I'm thankful for that.
1044
00:57:42,080 --> 00:57:43,480
I had a humble objective.
1045
00:57:43,480 --> 00:57:46,760
I had a really basic objective,
which was I just want one person
1046
00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:49,320
to remain HIV-negative
on the back of my diagnosis.
1047
00:57:49,320 --> 00:57:51,280
That way, it's HIV equal.
1048
00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:55,440
And if we prevent one -
a second person - then I won.
1049
00:57:55,440 --> 00:57:58,280
My HIV status didn't cost anything.
1050
00:58:11,160 --> 00:58:13,600
How much do you know about HIV?
1051
00:58:13,600 --> 00:58:16,000
What's true and what's false?
1052
00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:17,840
Take the Open University quiz
1053
00:58:17,840 --> 00:58:20,040
to find out more
and test your knowledge.
1054
00:58:20,040 --> 00:58:21,160
Go to...
1055
00:58:25,440 --> 00:58:27,800
And follow the links
to the Open University.
1056
00:58:27,800 --> 00:58:30,240
# You make me feel
1057
00:58:30,240 --> 00:58:33,240
# Feel
1058
00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:38,680
# Mighty real
1059
00:58:38,680 --> 00:58:41,800
# I can't, I can't get over
1060
00:58:41,800 --> 00:58:46,680
# You make me feel
1061
00:58:46,680 --> 00:58:50,280
# You make me feel,
make me feel, make me feel
1062
00:58:50,280 --> 00:58:55,440
# Mighty real. #
137608
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