PAC calls for chlamydia screening review

The costs of chlamydia testing vary significantly between primary care trusts nationwide, according to a new report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Six years after the National Chlamydia Screening Programme was launched, the PAC has called on the Department of Health to reevaluate the scheme in order to enhance efficiency and reduce spending.

Paul Ward, deputy chief executive at sexual health charity The Higgins Trust, suggested several steps that could be taken to ensure a more even service is offered across the nation.

He said: "There should be a single national tariff that is spent per person being screened. Nobody should be paid more than that locally. The PAC say that this would save £40 million a year.

"Secondly we do agree there should be much greater uniformity of programmes and they should increasingly cover more than one primary care trust."

The National Audit Office reported at the end of last year that to have a significant impact on the prevalence of chlamydia requires overall testing levels of 26 per cent or more. However, figures show that only half of primary care trusts reached this level in 2008-09.

Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed sexually-transmitted infection among under-25s and if left untreated could lead to infertility.

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