London’s A&E departments launch opt-out HIV testing for patients having blood tests
gaytimes.co.ukEmergency departments in London have launched opt-out HIV testing as part of the government’s plan to end new cases by 2030.
The change, which went into effect on 1 April, means that all patients who go to A&E in the capital’s hospitals will be routinely tested for HIV when having other blood tests, unless they choose not to. “The expansion of opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments is an important step change when it comes to reaching our life-changing goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030,” said Ian Green, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust. “We need to be testing more people, more often in order to find the estimated 4,660 people living with undiagnosed HIV in the UK.” The move is part of a wider effort from the government to end new HIV cases by 2030, a policy that was announced on World AIDS Day in December 2021.
The government’s HIV Action Plan commits £23 million of funding to reducing new infections by 80% by 2025 and ending infections and deaths within the following five years.
Green called on it to roll the approach out in other high prevalence areas across the UK as “we can’t afford to be conservative with just eight years to reach the goal.” “In London hospitals where opt-out testing has been piloted, those diagnosed were more likely to be heterosexual women of Black ethnicity, and older than those diagnosed in sexual health clinics,” he continued. “This shows the clear role opt-out HIV testing will play in tackling health inequalities and driving us all – regardless of gender, ethnicity, age or sexuality – towards ending new HIV cases by 2030.” £20 million of the government’s aforementioned funding will be allocated to targeted testing in high-risk populations, such as Black African communities,
