Southampton joins £20 million research project to expand HIV testing programme
University Hospital Southampton is joining a nationwide trial to evaluate a new approach to HIV testing across England.
The new £20 million project, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will support an ambition to end new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030.
It expands a HIV testing approach to more areas across England with a high prevalence of HIV, including Southampton.
Given the success of the existing testing programme, this new initiative is expected to save, and improve the quality of, thousands of lives.
Building on past success
The expansion comes after the success of opt-out testing for bloodborne viruses in emergency departments in areas with the highest prevalence of HIV.
It has been shown to be highly effective in identifying HIV in people unaware they had the virus, and re-engaging those who are not currently in HIV care.
During the first 18 months, 33 emergency departments conducted over a million HIV tests. They identified 934 people with HIV, as well as over 3,000 people with hepatitis B and C.
The programme provides people diagnosed with HIV links to treatments that make the virus undetectable, allowing them to live a long and healthy life.
Identifying people with undiagnosed HIV
The research programme will now evaluate the testing programme in 46 new sites across England, including University Hospital Southampton.
As a result of this investment, everyone who has a blood test at the emergency department at UHS and 45 other hospitals across England will be tested for HIV and hepatitis, unless they ask not to be.
The funding will lead to a tripling of the number of HIV tests done in England next year. This is crucial for finding the estimated 4,500 people living in the country with undiagnosed HIV.
Opt-out HIV testing helps prevent late diagnosis, with more than four in 10 people currently diagnosed late. Those diagnosed in A&E are more likely to be of Black ethnicity, women and older than those diagnoses in sexual health departments.
Councillor Lorna Fielker, Deputy Leader of Southampton City Council said:
“I am delighted that the new Health Secretary has heard my call for vital HIV testing funds for University Hospital Southampton.
“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 Southampton plays our part in making that goal a reality.”