Life saving tests being offered at UHDB
A new blood testing initiative across University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB)'s Emergency Departments is helping patients receive faster diagnosis and access to life-altering treatment.
UHDB has performed over 55,000 blood-borne virus (BBV) tests since launching the opt-out initiative for patients who attend emergency departments at Royal Derby Hospital or Queen's Hospital Burton and require a blood test as part of their care.
The blood tests aim to reach people who may have been unlikely to have accessed testing in other ways and so may otherwise not have been diagnosed, supporting a faster diagnosis, helping them receive the right care sooner.
Since blood-borne virus testing began across UHDB, 156 patients have been diagnosed with a BBV, including 100 hepatitis B, 44 hepatitis C, and 12 HIV cases, meaning specialist care can be provided much sooner had they not been offered the additional BBV test.
One of the first steps to reducing HIV cases is early identification, as this is crucial to an individual's long-term health outcomes, enabling them to access to effective treatment sooner, and significantly reducing the risk of transmitting the virus to others.
In the UK, over 105,000 people are currently living with HIV and more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS related illnesses over the past 40 years leading to the UK government to set a goal of ending HIV transmissions by 2030.
Advances in medicine have advanced dramatically over recent years, allowing people with HIV to live a long and healthy life however HIV continues to be highly stigmatised and misunderstood.
Explaining the positive impact on care that BBV testing is having, Sibu Moyo, Strategic Planning and Delivery Manager at UHDB, said: "Implementing blood-borne virus testing at UHDB has led to over 150 patients receive lifesaving treatment - something teams should be immensely proud of. We aim to continue the momentum across sites to raise awareness, remove stigma and celebrate this great achievement."
Dr Aklak Choudhury, Respiratory Consultant, has seen the benefits that BBV testing has for staff and patients: "I have found HIV testing to be helpful for clinical management of our patients.
"For those who have a positive HIV result, it is an opportunity to get treatment earlier. The stigma of HIV being an untreatable condition is now gone. There are good effective treatments available that if taken early can lead to undetectable viral loads — and no sexual transmission of HIV".
Posters have been placed around emergency departments and information is being shared on screens to inform patients that BBV testing is available.
A member of the specialist nursing team is in touch with a patient if they test positive for an informative and helpful conversation.
Patients are also receiving feedback through support networks post-diagnosis, and peer support networks are provided for HIV diagnoses to allow for support in the community
World AIDS Day is a global movement to unite people in the fight against HIV and AIDS, taking place on 1 December each year. On World AIDS Day we want to shine a spotlight on the real experiences of people living with HIV, while celebrating the strength, resilience, and diversity of the communities most affected.
HIV test kits are free, which you can get by visiting the It Starts With Me website (opens in new window) >
For further information about World AIDS day, you can visit the World AIDS Day website here (opens in new window) >