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fe\/'cfe[fe Issue 49 • Friday 29 May 2009
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TROLLEYED Leading gay health charity warns that alcohol abuse will get worse unless action is taken now
URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED to prevent huge rises in alcohol abuse amongst gay men, a leading health charity is warning. The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) says that unless there is an overhaul of current support services alcohol and drug abuse will continue to the system fails to help gay men effectively. “During the summer months, with Pride season in full swing, there are more opportunities for gay men to celebrate, have fun and enjoy a few drinks in the sun,” says Marc Thompson, Deputy Head of Health Promotion for Terrence Higgins Trust. “But drinking too much and taking recreational drugs can lead to people taking risks with their sexual health, which in turn increases the risk of them acquiring HIV or
other sexually transmitted infections.” THT says that existing services designed to support people who feel they have problems with alcohol are still poorly equipped to help the LGBT community. “The majority of gay and bisexual people say they would prefer any service they used to be gay-run or gay-friendly so that the service providers fully understand their situation,” Thompson continues. “As gay men’s use of alcohol and drugs is often tied in with their use of the gay bar and club scene, it was felt that existing services didn’t meet all their needs.” THT suggests that dedicated support services would benefit the LGBT community, combined with improved training for service
providers to deal with issues that affect the lives of gay people. “By introducing support that is more tailored to gay people, we will see an increase in the numbers of gay men getting the help they need,” Thompson adds. The NHS admits that work does need to be done to improve services for gay and bisexual men, but is keen to stress that plans are in place to implement better support. “The Terrence Higgins Trust report confirms what we already know about gay men alcohol use,” says Simon Scott, commissioner for mental health & substance misuse, NHS Brighton and Hove. “In 2006 we helped fund extensive research into the needs, views and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual
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