An additional nine hospitals will be joining NHS England’s opt-out HIV testing programme as a result of government funding announced in November.
This will bring the total number of hospitals funded to routinely test anyone who has their blood taken in their emergency department for HIV to 89.
New hospitals set to benefit from funding are those in or near cities and towns with a high HIV prevalence, including: Norfolk and Norwich Hospital; East Surrey Hospital; and St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey.
In just 18 months, nearly 1,000 people in London, Brighton, Blackpool and Manchester have been diagnosed due to this opt-out testing scheme – saving lives, preventing transmissions and improving patient health.
The programme has been more likely to find people with HIV who live in the most deprived areas and people of Black African ethnicity, a community which bears a disproportionate burden of HIV and late diagnosis.
The approach also relieves pressure on the health service. Data from Croydon University Hospital found that when they first started opt-out testing the average hospital stay for a newly diagnosed HIV patient was almost 35 days. Within two years, the average stay was just 2.4 days.
