Free HIV treatment for foreign nationals on NHS

Treating migrant HIV sufferers is hoped to reduce the risk of Brits being infected and to reduce the cost burden of more expensive treatment needed later on. This will extend free HIV treatment to foreign students, workers and victims of human trafficking, but the Department of Health has said that safeguards will be put in place against 'health tourism'. Department of Health aides explained that it would be very difficult for people to abuse the system, as the process will take months to administer and measure. Chief medical officer professor Dame Sally Davies noted that effective treatment of the disease reduced its spread by up to 96 per cent. Public Health Minister Anne Milton said: 'This measure will protect the public and brings HIV treatment in to line with all other infectious diseases. Treating people with HIV means they are very unlikely to pass the infection on to others.' However, former Conservative cabinet minister and Aids campaigner Lord Fowler called for the free treatment to be extended to those who have been in Britain for six months.