Almost 2,000 people who were previously undiagnosed have been identified to be living with HIV and Hepatitis as part of an NHS testing pilot.
Over the last year, people visiting A&E who are having their blood taken have had an extra sample taken which is screen for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.
Around 470 people living with blood borne viruses who were previously diagnosed but not receiving NHS care, were identified through the testing programme and given the opportunity to complete treatment.
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Oliver Brown is someone who has benefited from the routine HIV testing, he said: ‘I was 29 when I went to A&E after coming off my bike with one of my fingers badly sliced during the fall. Had Chelsea and Westminster Hospital not been part of a routine HIV opt-out testing programme in Emergency Departments, I may still be unaware of my status.’
The NHS has invested £20 million over three years to implement routine HIV opt out testing programmes within 33 hospital emergency departments in areas with the highest prevalence.
Richard Angell, chief executive at Terrence Higgins Trust responded to the news with: ‘The expansion of A&E HIV and hepatitis testing is essential to reaching our life-changing goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030. The results from one year of opt-out testing in areas with very high HIV prevalence are above and beyond what anyone expected and have demonstrated an incredible return on investment.
‘In fact, the NHS data shows that if there had been funding in all hospitals where the Government’s own guidance recommends opt-out testing takes place, an additional 500 people would be newly diagnosed with HIV or returned to care.’
In the last 12 months the NHS has struck several deals for the latest HIV drugs, including the first oral drug, in a bid to become the first country in the world to stop new cases of the disease by 2030.