Led by the Terrence Higgins Trust, this week’s national HIV Testing Week aims to highlight the importance of regular testing and how quick and easy it is to get a test.
As part of the week, the Minister for Equalities Stuart Andrew MP visited Terrence Higgins Trust in Brighton to show how easy it is to test for HIV and see the city’s world-leading HIV and sexual health services to mark National HIV Testing Week.
The ‘It starts with me’ website has information about HIV Testing. There are a number of ways people in Brighton & Hove can access HIV testing during HIV testing week and all year round.
Anyone in Brighton & Hove can order a free self-test or a postal test via freetesting.hiv, where you take a sample and send it off to a lab who will then contact you with your result.
The latest HIV data from 2022 shows that a quarter of people who were diagnosed with HIV in Brighton & Hove were at a late stage – meaning they tested positive for HIV after the virus has already started to damage their immune system.
However, this figure is significantly lower than the national average of 48%, highlighting the progress in Brighton & Hove made as a UK Fast Track City, a global initiative to end HIV as a public health threat.
Minister Andrew visited the Royal Sussex County Hospital to meet local clinicians to discuss National HIV Testing week and opt-out HIV testing, which was introduced in the emergency department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital the city in April 2022.
The visit also included a trip to Jubilee Library to see the HIV and STI test vending machines.
Installed by the Martin Fisher Foundation in 2017, the 8 sexual health and HIV digital vending machines in the city are a world first and distribute free self-test kits which give a result in a few minutes. They've been instrumental in Brighton & Hove in improving diagnosis rates and destigmatising testing.
Terrence Higgins Trust’s clinic on Ship Street is open as usual for anyone who wants an HIV test. Walk-ins are accepted but it is recommended to call 01273 764 200, book online or email brighton.clinic@tht.org.uk to make an appointment.
Testing is free and confidential. It’s also the only way to know if you have HIV and worth doing because people can live with HIV for a long time without any symptoms.
If you are HIV positive, you can take treatment and live a long and healthy life — people on effective HIV treatment can’t pass it on to partners. Anyone diagnosed with HIV in the UK can access free treatment and support.
Marc Tweed, Service Manager at Terrence Higgins Trust Brighton, said: "It's great to see Minister Andrew test to show how quick and convenient HIV testing is.
“We’re really excited to be testing across Brighton & Hove as part of National HIV Testing Week. Sometimes people are worried about getting a test, or don’t have time.
“Getting tested regularly should be something we’re all doing in order to protect ourselves. Today, if you test positive, effective treatment means you can live as long as anyone else and it stops you passing on HIV to partners by reducing the amount of the virus in your blood to undetectable levels.
“This means that the levels of HIV become so low that the virus cannot be transmitted. Testing for HIV puts you in control and is nothing to be feared.
Testing is nothing to be feared or embarrassed about. And with less than six years left to achieve the historic goal of ending new HIV cases in the UK by 2030, every test counts.”
Councillor Tristram Burden, Brighton & Hove City Council’s chair of Adult Social Care, said: “In recent years there’s been a revolution in HIV testing, and treatment is now so effective that people with HIV can live long and healthy lives without fear of ever passing the virus on.”
“In the UK, it is estimated there are 4,400 people living with HIV who are not yet diagnosed. If we can identify these last few thousand people, we can stop new transmissions altogether and bring the epidemic to a close. But only if people know their HIV status.”
“Through the city’s Towards Zero HIV Taskforce partnership, Brighton & Hove leads the way. We’re very proud to have one of the 8 sexual health and HIV digital vending machines in the city offering free test kits in Jubilee Library.”
National HIV Testing Week runs from Monday 5 February to Sunday 11 February and is coordinated by Terrence Higgins Trust on behalf of HIV Prevention England (HPE).
The week encourages everyone to test for HIV, particularly those from the groups most affected by HIV, including gay and bisexual men and Black African men and women.
Terrence Higgins Trust Brighton & Hove offer support and advice over the phone or in person via appointment. Their general phone number is 01273 764 200.