Guide for GPs About HIV

posted: 19/05/2011

The popular booklet HIV in Primary Care has a brand new edition ideal for the many GPs unfamiliar with HIV, to help GPs provide high quality care for people living with HIV.

Tell your GP to use this
People living with HIV can help their GP provide better healthcare by telling them about this booklet – it is free to download from MedFASH, or doctors can buy a copy for only £10.

Diagnose and Test

With over a quarter people with HIV in the UK still undiagnosed, the new booklet HIV in Primary Care will help doctors and practice nurses to consider HIV as a possible diagnosis and to test new patients. Testing all new patients is advised in the UK National Guidelines for HIV Testing, which recommend the routine offer of HIV testing for patients with certain conditions or risk factors, and particularly in areas such as Greater Manchester and Blackpool, where HIV prevalence is high.

Better care for patients with HIV

GPs can also help improve their services accessible to people living with HIV by reassuring patients about confidentiality in their practices and by making links with local HIV clinics.

As well as covering testing, the booklet also offers up-to-date information on primary healthcare for patients with HIV, covering day-to-day issues such as contraception, immunisation and cervical screening, as well as side-effects of HIV antiretroviral drugs and potential drug interactions.

GPs who have traditionally not had any or much contact with patients with HIV will see more people with HIV in their surgeries for non-HIV-related problems, because HIV clinics are no longer providing general medical care.

Doctor says
Dr Surinder Singh, a GP from Deptford in London and co-author of the booklet, said: “With the move toward shared care models for people with long-term conditions, GPs will undoubtedly find themselves dealing with people with HIV. In fact it is no more difficult than managing patients with diabetes. The essential element is trust. Ensuring that patients feel confident to disclose their positive HIV status is key, and we hope this booklet will give GPs the information they need to feel confident to provide primary care for HIV-positive patients. Remember that the local HIV specialist unit is available to answer questions from GPs.”

Over 25,000 copies of the first edition of HIV in Primary Care have been distributed since its launch in 2004 and it has received excellent feedback from users.

Getting HIV in Primary Care booklet

Copies can be obtained from MedFASH at £10 per copy, or it can be downloaded free of charge  from MedFASH.
 

The direct download link is here

HIV in Primary Care: an essential guide for GPs, practice nurses and other members of the primary healthcare team by Dr Sara Madge, Dr Philippa Matthews, Dr Surinder Singh and Dr Nick Theobald.

Drs Matthews and Singh are practicing GPs, Drs Madge and Theobald are HIV specialists with a background in general practice. All the authors are involved in GP education.

HIV and Africans in the UK

posted: 11/05/2011

HIV & UK African Communities is a brand new guide to the key issues affecting black African communities in the UK. It contains personal stories and a directory of services as well as sections dealing with the key issues.

Produced by NAM it is available free online or as a book for just under £25.
 

It covers the key topics

• facts and figures about black Africans living in the UK
• about HIV among Africans here
• the needs of Africans living with HIV
• mental health
• faith
• stigma and discrimination
• telling others
• HIV prevention, testing, diagnosis and treatment
• women
• men
• men who have sex with men
• children and families
• young people
• carers
• older adults
• gender-based violence
• rights to healthcare
• immigration and asylum
• prosecutions.

HIV & UK African Communities: the key issues
 

People’s Guide to Police HIV Investigations

posted: 11/05/2011

NAT (National AIDS Trust) have just produced a guide for people living with HIV about how the police should investigate any complaints about HIV being passed on. The Police now have their own detailed guidance for doing these investigations.

This plain English leaflet is for people with HIV and it gives the key points and answers people’s common questions. It does not deal with Scotland where the law and legal system is different, so the guide is just for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Prosecutions are rare

Police investigations into reckless HIV transmission are uncommon. In 2009 around 6500 people found out they had got HIV but few people complain to the police about someone infecting them recklessly, and there was only one prosecution in 2010 and none at all in 2009.

Answers to common questions

The leaflet answers these common questions:

• What should I do if someone goes to the police (or threatens to) accusing me of giving them HIV?
• How much will the police know about HIV?
• Should the police investigate if the person complaining does not have HIV?
• When will police end the investigation?
• Will the police keep my HIV status confidential?
• Can the police see my medical records?
• Should the police comment to the media?
• What if the person accused is under 18?

Expert Guidance for Police and Prosecutors

The police now have their own national guidance to follow when investigating these unusual, complex and sensitive cases. The Crown Prosecution Service also has a guide about prosecuting these cases.

HIV organisations like NAT, George House Trust and Terrence Higgins Trust have worked hard with police and prosecutors to produce these guides to reduce as far as possible problems for people with HIV who may be accused.

The police guidance makes plain that all allegations should:

• be fairly investigated
• not be begun or continued if a successful prosecution is not considered realistic
• respect the dignity and confidentiality of people with and affected by HIV.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has approved ‘Investigation Guidance relating to the Criminal Transmission of HIV’ for the police.
This sets the standard for police investigations. Police will find the guidance very helpful; it is available on the national police information and training website ‘POLKA.’ The public can find a public copy on the NAT website.
 

Accused? Remember:

If you are accused of reckless or intentional HIV transmission, get immediate advice from a HIV voluntary organisation with experience in HIV prosecutions, or ring THT Direct (0845 12 21 200)

• Get legal advice when the police start to investigate
• Make sure the police know about and use the ACPO Investigation Guidance
• Get advice and support from a HIV voluntary organisation with experience in dealing with HIV prosecutions.

 NAT Guide for people living with HIV on police investigations is at the bottom of this page.

Guides for More HIV Testing

posted: 04/04/2011

The number of people who got infected with HIV within the UK in the last 10 years has almost doubled. New infections that happened in the UK (rather than abroad) rose from 1,950 in 2001 to 3,780 in 2010.

In response the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE, the body that tells the NHS what healthcare works and is good value for money) has issued new guidance for the testing of the two groups most at risk of getting HIV in the UK, gay/bi men and African people.

HIV testing helps people keep good health

Testing and treating people with HIV helps the person with HIV stay healthy and to live a near-normal life, helps avoid passing on HIV to others, and can save the NHS a lot of money.
 

The NICE guidance aims to increase the numbers taking HIV tests to reduce the number of people who do not know they have HIV and so help prevent HIV being passed on by Africans living in the UK and gay men.

Gay and bisexual men remain the group most at risk of becoming infected with HIV in the UK with 70 per cent more men being diagnosed with HIV in the past 10 years (from 1,810 in 2001 to 3,080 in 2010).
 

‘NAT welcomes the new NICE guidance on increasing testing among African communities and gay men. Not only is the number of people being diagnosed with HIV still too high, late diagnosis is an extremely important problem as it means a person is likely to have had HIV for a number of years – with a high risk of transmission to sexual partners – and it can also reduce the effectiveness of treatment,” commented Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust).

‘It is crucial that HIV testing becomes ‘normalised’ in our society, not just among gay men and African communities, but also amongst health professionals. Many people with HIV attend NHS services for years without being offered an HIV test and this neglect needs to be addressed and stopped.’

'The importance of HIV testing should now be reflected in Government plans as they reorganise the NHS and public health. In particular, it is essential that HIV late diagnosis remain a key outcome indicator to assess progress in public health at the local level. It is also vital that the extensive reorganisation of the NHS does not undermine recent momentum in HIV testing.’
 

‘Public Health England must ensure that the vision for HIV testing amongst gay men and African communities set out in the NICE Guidance is consistently implemented across the whole of the NHS and public health system.’
 

NICE HIV testing guidance for gay/bi men

NICE testing guidance for Africans living in the UK

Source – HPA press release

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Non-Discrimination Law Guide

posted: 04/04/2011

The first ever Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law is now available. It offers practical guidance to help people with discrimination claims at the UK’s Courts and Tribunals. Since the UK made the Human Rights Act part of UK law almost all discrimination cases are dealt with in the UK. The handbook is based on the decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg and the European Court of Justice in Brussels.

The handbook is intended for advice workers, human rights organisations, equality bodies like the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission, as well as lawyers, judges, and prosecutors.

It contains the context and background to European non-discrimination law (including the UN human rights treaties), discrimination categories and defences, the scope of the law (including who is protected), and the grounds protected, such as sex, sexuality, disability, age, race and nationality.

It’s been published jointly by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Court of Human Rights, and is the first comprehensive guide to all European non-discrimination law.
 

"The Guide will improve access to justice for victims of discrimination across Europe. It sets out the complicated system of rules in a simple and comprehensive manner. It is fitting that this successful joint venture should be launched as we prepare for the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights."
Jean-Paul Costa president of ECtHR

Handbook on European Non-Discrimination Law

European Anti-Discrimination Law Review