Things are changing for Buddies. Buddies has been around for a long time and has evolved to best meet the needs of people living with HIV. It has also been a major supplier of information and support on many aspects of sexual health promotion; especially with regard to gay men. Although we lost the Shropshire contract a few months ago we still run the MesMen project in South Staffordshire.

But things move on. A number of developments mean that we can no longer be the same Buddies that evolved out of the initial shock of what was HIV/AIDS.

• New drug regimes mean that people who are infected can expect to live much longer than previously assumed
• Better drugs mean that people can hold down jobs and return to a more "normal" lifestyle
• Government is creating different strategies regarding the whole area of sexual health and HIV in particular

In other words, whilst still a condition that is life threatening, it is one that, in this Country at least, is controllable - HIV is becoming more mainstream. It does not (or will not) attract the "special" status it did in the past.

Paralleling this process is one that involves the whole way government funds services. Two things are important to note:

• Commissioning of services within the health services will soon be undertaken by small units called Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). In Staffordshire we may be facing the prospect of negotiations with six, seven or more groups rather than the existing two Health Authorities.
• The government keep saying that money for HIV services will no longer be "ring fenced". This means that we may have to compete for money against all sorts of other services instead of fighting for money just against other HIV service providers.

On both points we have to change in order to survive.

Luckily it looks like the PCTs may arrange amongst themselves to commission as a group. Thus, if we are lucky, we may, in effect, maintain the same relationship with the Health Services as we have now. But, as of this moment, nothing is decided. Additionally, "ring fencing" (where money is allocated to a specific area of activity), whilst threatened, hasn't happened yet! As with all things to do with funding, decisions on the "how" and "why" are often taken at the last minute and in places far away from our local purchasers. They are often equally at the behest of others as we are!

But what we do know is that changes are afoot; maybe not in the next financial year but at some time in the near future and in order to survive we have to remain relevant - we must continue to provide services that people need so that wherever the money comes from we will be in a position to offer a service that other people (the purchasers!) will want to invest in.

Having been with Staffordshire Buddies for a short time I am returning to my previous position with Asist, a local advocacy charity.

I will be sorry to leave but am pleased to be handing over to Chris Woolls, an experienced and respected professional in the HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health fields.

I wish Staffordshire Buddies all the best for the future and I am sure that the future is very bright for the organisation, the Service Users, Volunteers and staff.

Many thanks

John 'Mac' Macarthy