HARINGEY RESIDENTS are being encouraged to get tested for HIV as National HIV Testing Week begins and the provides several different way available for testing.
Self- testing is now available with new, free home sampling kits that work by taking a simple finger prick blood sample, available from the website www.freehivtesting.me. They can also visit their GP, attend the sexual health clinic at St Ann’s hospital, residents or visit any of eight local pharmacies which offer free and confidential point of care testing or even use Embrace UK outreach services within the community.
There are over 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK, with figures showing 18,000 of these are unaware they have the virus.
Mesfin Ali, Health Services Manager at Embrace UK Community Support Centre said:
“Testing for HIV is very important, it not only encourages people to live healthily and lets them know when they need to seek expert advice and medical support, but it also helps to prevent late diagnosis, which in turn means that medication is more effective and people live longer with fewer health complications.
There are a variety of ways people can get themselves tested for HIV, this includes Embrace UK Point of Care Testing, using self-testing kits, or going to a number of accredited pharmacies in Haringey.”
In Haringey the rate of late HIV diagnosis has dropped 5 per cent in the last year; however, it is still higher than the London average with more than half of Haringey’s HIV positive population coming from African or Caribbean backgrounds.
One Haringey resident Esther found out she was HIV positive when she was three months pregnant after a routine visit to hospital. She said: “I live a normal life” Esther said, “the only message I have for people is to get out there and get tested as early as possible to find out if you have the negative or positive and to learn what you need to do next.”
Cllr Peter Morton, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said: “We’re working hard to promote regular HIV testing and to ensure that for local people getting a test is as easy as possible.
While it’s great that the numbers of late HIV diagnoses in Haringey has fallen, we know that we can do even better and I’d encourage all of those of who think they may be at risk of HIV to get tested as soon as possible.”
You can find out more about pharmacies which offer sexual health services including HIV testing on our website at http://www.haringey.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/health/public-health/healthy-living-pharmacy.