The Minister for Equalities, Stuart Andrew MP, visited the Terrence Higgins Trust in Brighton yesterday as part of National HIV Testing Week.
The minister also demonstrated the ease of the rapid HIV self-test, which gives a result in just 15 minutes.
He visited the Jubilee Library’s HIV and STI test vending machines, installed by the Martin Fisher Foundation in 2017, which distribute free self-test kits.
As of 2022, there are 1,760 people living with HIV in Brighton.
Minister for Equalities, Stuart Andrew MP, said: “Scaling up HIV testing is crucial to ending new HIV transmissions within England by 2030.
“This test is free, easy and confidential, and comes with clear and simple instructions. I’m thankful for the vital work that Terrence Higgins Trust and other service providers do in this area.”
The Minister also visited the Royal Sussex County Hospital to discuss the city’s opt-out HIV testing approach, introduced in April 2022.
All patients who attend A and E at the Royal Sussex County Hospital are screened for HIV when having routine blood tests, unless they choose to opt out, which has led to an additional 50,000 HIV tests since the programme started.
The Minister and clinicians also discussed local priorities in HIV and sexual health including access to HIV prevention pill PrEP.
Across the week, which is coordinated by Terrence Higgins Trust, free and confidential HIV tests will be available at the University of Brighton on Thursday 8 February and the clinic on Ship Street will be open as usual for walk-ins.
The week encourages people to test for HIV, particularly those from the groups most affected by HIV, including gay and bisexual men and Black African men and women.
Marc Tweed, Service Manager at Terrence Higgins Trust Brighton, said: “It’s great to see Minister Andrew test to show how quick and convenient HIV testing is.
“We’re really excited to be testing across Brighton and Hove as part of National HIV Testing Week. Sometimes people are worried about getting a test, or don’t have time.
“By testing at the university, we hope to show that testing for HIV is easier than you think.
“Today, if you test positive, effective treatment means you can live as long as anyone else and it stops you passing on HIV to partners by reducing the amount of the virus in your blood to undetectable levels.”
Councillor Tristram Burden, chair of Adult Social Care, said: “In recent years there’s been a revolution in HIV testing, and treatment is now so effective that people with HIV can live long and healthy lives without fear of ever passing the virus on.
“Through the city’s Towards Zero HIV Taskforce partnership, Brighton and Hove leads the way.
“We’re very proud to have one of the eight sexual health and HIV digital vending machines in the city offering free test kits in Jubilee Library.”
For more information about National HIV Testing Week, go to: startswithme.org.uk
Why are they suddenly advocating universal HIV testing? I might have Malaria, but I very much doubt it and I’m not about to demand a test and waste NHS resources just for the sake of it.
Because HIV is really easily transmitted through sexual contact, and Brighton has a well established dataset that makes this a high risk.
Meanwhile, malaria is transmitted mainly through infected mosquitoes indigenous to Africa and Asia. Brighton is not in Africa or Asia, Barry.
It is also not sudden, HIV awareness and pushing for more extensive testing has been going on for years.
Barry, I feel I say this a lot to you, and a genuinely mean it. Read up on this topic, you will benefit from having a basic understanding, and then we can have an intelligent conversation in the future.
I presently have two loved ones dying of cancer because they couldn’t get seen by their GPs and diagnosed and treated in time. I am not aware of any such disastrous wait for an HIV test, diagnosis and treatment. Unacceptable health inequality. Meanwhile I shall not be wasting NHS funds by joining the ranks of the ‘worried well’ at the expense of those who know they have a problem and cannot get seen.