THE only specialised support and preventative service for people with HIV in Oxfordshire has been thrown a lifeline, securing its immediate future.

The Terrence Higgins Trust was preparing to close its doors in Rectory Road, Oxford, at the end of March after its funding was cut by Oxfordshire County Council.

But at the 11th hour, the Oxfordshire GP Consortium stepped in and coughed up £75,000, which will fund the service until the end of September.

One 46-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, was diagnosed with HIV 10 years ago and said the funding was "weight off our shoulders".

She said: "I think the positive side of it is first of all it is fantastic and secondly it is going to make people look at how improvements can be made and really challenge everyone to think about what we need.

"We were so worried about what we would do, who we would have to speak to, it felt like the family was going to be splitting up.

"They are really concerned at the end of the six months if the money is going to be stopped again but they are going to speak to our service users.

"And, as a result of all this, lots of new ideas about how to keep the service going and what we actually do need to provide have come out.

"We are still in the holding-your-breath stage."

The consortium will now conduct a "needs assessment" to decide the eventual fate of the service in Oxfordshire.

Nearly 500 people living in Oxfordshire are diagnosed with HIV, and the charity runs 90 support sessions per quarter.

Initially the charity expected a £50,000 cut as part of the adult social care budget savings.

It then came to light the county council was also planning to pull the plug on the additional £100,000 the charity needs to run, thereby stopping the service altogether.

Sue Peters, regional manager for the south at the trust, said: "It is a little weight off our shoulders, although it could have come a little earlier.

"It come at three o'clock on March 31 just as I was finishing off redundancy notices for everyone.

"But this money has given us some time to demonstrate to the consortium the value of our work and the need for the service for people living with HIV.

"That is the real advantage of it."