Local hospitals to provide opt-out HIV testing with new govt funding

An innovative new HIV testing approach will be rolled out by government to 46 hospitals across England, including two serving residents of the Rochdale borough.

Fairfield Hospital and Royal Oldham are amongst the named hospitals which will test everyone who has a blood test for HIV and hepatitis, unless they ask not to be.

Opt-out HIV testing helps tackle shocking rates of late diagnosis, with more than 4 in 10 people nationally still being diagnosed late. Those diagnosed in A&Es are more likely to be of Black ethnicity, women and older than those diagnosed in sexual health departments.

 

 

The announcement from the new Health Secretary Victoria Atkins follows the incredible success of opt-out testing in A&Es in London, Brighton, Blackpool and Manchester in just 18 months. Nearly 1,000 people were discovered to have HIV and more than 3,000 to have hepatitis B and C.

Last year, Chris Clarkson, MP for Heywood and Middleton, wrote to the Health Secretary to highlight the success of the opt-out testing programme and call for funds, to help reduce new cases of HIV in the area.

The nearly £20 million of funding announced last week will lead to a tripling of the number of HIV tests done in England next year. This is crucial for finding the 4,400 people living with undiagnosed HIV in England, who are twice as likely to live outside of London. Opt-out HIV testing in A&E will turbo-charge local efforts to find these people.

Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, has been calling for this expansion – saying it will be essential to meet the Government’s goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030.

 

 

Mr Clarkson said: “I am very pleased that the new Health Secretary has heard my call for vital HIV testing funds. Opt-out HIV testing in A&Es saves lives, saves money and relieves pressure on the NHS.

“This approach is exactly what is needed to find the undiagnosed and end new cases of HIV by 2030. I am determined that Greater Manchester plays our part in making that goal a reality.”

Richard Angell, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust said: “Today’s announcement is the testing turbo boost we need if we are to end new HIV cases by 2030.

“It’s hugely significant that an additional two million HIV tests will be carried out in A&Es over the next year thanks to a temporary but wholesale expansion of opt-out HIV testing to 46 additional hospitals. With this landmark investment, opt-out HIV testing in A&Es will account for more than half of all tests in England.

“This major ramping up of testing is absolutely crucial to find the 4,400 people still living with undiagnosed HIV.”