Date: 09/04/2010
The quick and easy HIV test will be provided by SAFER partnership, a network of seven HIV prevention groups with wide experience of providing grassroots services to the African and African-Caribbean communities in southeast London.
The groups are:
•Africa Advocacy Foundation
•African Cultural Promotions
•Ethnic Health Foundation
•London Ecumenical AIDS Trust
•The Naz Project London (NPL)
•North Brixton Islamic Community Centre (NBICC)
•SHAKA Services
SAFER will provide the HIV testing service every Monday from 6pm until 8pm at Shaka Services, 38 - 40 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4RS.
The test involves people having a simple mouth swab. If this shows the presence of HIV antibodies, people will be advised to have a blood test to confirm a diagnosis. People with HIV will then be offered a quick route into more specialist healthcare services.
NHS Lambeth has made early diagnosis of HIV one of its top priorities, because this can:
•Enable HIV positive people to get treatment and support without delay.
•Enable them to protect other people from the HIV virus, for example by practicing safe sex.
NHS Lambeth has commissioned SAFER partnership to raise awareness of HIV and help improve sexual health by distributing condoms and providing HIV tests.
Our approach reflects national guidance on HIV testing and the NHS Lambeth five-year sexual health strategy adopted in 2006 to improve sexual health services and make them easier to use, helping to cut the rate of sexually transmitted disease and teenage pregnancy in Lambeth.
Through our strategy we are expanding local sexual health services and making them more easily available in the community, for example by opening new sexual health centres in Streatham and Vauxhall.
Dr Hiten Dodhia, consultant in public health medicine at NHS Lambeth says:
"The SAFER testing project complements our existing HIV testing services in a number of local GP surgeries, other community settings and local hospitals.
"Early testing and diagnosis offer immediate access to life saving treatments that will help deliver better health benefits, a longer life and most importantly prevent onward infection of the virus."
SAFER partnership chairperson Catherine Pearson says:
"SAFER partnership is very excited to be working with our colleagues in the NHS, including the genitourinary medicine team at King's College Hospital, to offer a confidential, rapid HIV mouth swab test.
"People using our service will be able to get a result within 30 minutes. We hope that by having this service in a community setting it will be easier for people to come and be tested."
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