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Thanks to an outpouring of support from the community, local charities, and even a few celebrities, the Sussex Beacon clinic will, for now, remain open.
The Sussex Beacon, an HIV/AIDS service organization, will remain open—thanks in large part to a petition signed by more than 10,600 people. The Sussex Beacon, based in Brighton, England, helps hundreds of people living with HIV in the area, and was recently in danger of closing due to threat of closure due to changes in funding.
Fortunately, the local community come to the Sussex Beacon’s aid. The petition, along with support from the English HIV charity, Terrence Higgins Trust, and a few local celebrities, including the Brighton-based DJ Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim). Not only did the saving of the organization enable the continuation of care for many in the area living with HIV, it helped save dozens of jobs, including 14 nurses, who work at the clinic.
The Sussex Beacon clinical services director and nurse, Jason Warriner, told the online nursing journal, Primary Health Care, “It has been a difficult and stressful few months for staff, but people have carried on doing their jobs, and the feedback from service users has been amazing.”
“This threat to funding is what all charities are facing at the moment, especially in the HIV sector. It does feel a bit like we're a sector in decline. If you want to save high quality services, you have to put the funding there,” added Warriner.
Sussex Beacon chief executive Simon Dowe also toldthe Primary Health Care article, “I feel like we've taken a real step forward in our campaign to save the charity. There is still a lot of work to do over the coming months to make the Sussex Beacon more sustainable and less reliant on statutory funding, but I’m delighted we have the opportunity to continue supporting local people living with HIV right now.”
