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
 

Gay and Living in Blackpool?

posted: 10/02/2011

Blackpool NHS is asking gay men and LBT residents to join their survey about your NHS. Gay and bi men in Blackpool, with or without HIV, can help make a difference.

The NHS, like all public bodies must create Equality Action Plans by April and HIV should be part of these, particularly in a town like Blackpool – both HIV prevention and HIV treatment and care.
 

Equality Action Plans must take these five steps

• Survey how service affects the protected groups (people with HIV are treated as ‘disabled,’ and LGBT are another protected group)
• Consult widely, involve people – that’s why they want your views now in this survey
• Assess the impact of their current policies and practice
• Use this evidence to decide action objectives and priorities
• Take the actions

The Blackpool NHS survey is to find out if different groups of people are treated unfairly and is secure and anonymous. Please take part before Monday 28 February. The survey takes about 5 minutes here on SurveyMonkey.

More information on the Blackpool NHS consultation please email Lorraine Moffat
 

Blackburn Cathedral Vigil

posted: 24/11/2010

A candlelit HIV vigil at Blackburn Cathedral is one of the events in East Lancashire organised for World AIDS Day. The cathedral vigil will be on Thursday December 2nd 2010 at 7.15pm. The service is to be led by Canon Andrew Hindley. There will be speakers from Thrivine and music from the Cathedral Choir and Blackburn People’s choir.
 

Buffet and exhibitions in the Crypt

After the service wine and a light buffet will be served downstairs in the Crypt Cafe where you will also have the opportunity to view the exhibition of The Positive Picture, the results of a project funded by the NHS Dragon’s Apprentice. Painted lanterns and art works by local youth groups will also be on display.

Thrivine awards success
This year the East Lancashire HIV charity Thrivine was nominated for a CVS Community Award, and has recently won the Gilead “Putting patients 1st” Award for England and Northern Ireland, for 'Integrity, Teamwork and Excellence, thereby making a significant contribution to the lives of people living with HIV.'
 

Thrivine are very proud of their achievements so soon after their founding and welcome people to attend the vigil and help put an end to HIV related stigma.

More information
email Thrivine

Body Positive Blackpool Saved

posted: 05/10/2010

Body Positive in Blackpool has been saved by two local councillors who donated £6,500. Body Positive in Blackpool feared it would only survive until next year after it discovered its employee Bianca Campbell had stolen £4,127 using its bank card to buy things for her own botox company, Fresh Face.
Redundancies and cuts

As a result of Campbell's theft and a £15,000 cut in local authority funding, Body Positive Blackpool made two staff redundant and cut its services.  But last week the charity was giving a reprieve after Labour councillors Simon Blackburn and Gary Coleman donated £6,500 to keep the charity running.
Bianca Campbell, who was sacked in March when her theft was discovered, pleaded guilty to fraud at Preston Crown Court.
 

The court heard Campbell used a Body Positive Blackpool bankcard to order products for her own business. Campbell was given a total of six months prison, suspended for a year, with 12 months supervision.
 

Body Positive Blackpool 
 

Source
 

HIV Tests at Casualty

posted: 27/07/2010

Every person who goes to London A&E departments could soon be tested for HIV under plans being considered by NHS London. In the first move of its kind, the HIV checks could become routine at emergency units and will be offered to any adult attending casualty. The move is being rolled out at Chelsea & Westminster NHS foundation trust following a hugely successful Department of Health funded study at the south-west London hospital.
 

2 people diagnosed every month at one A&E

It comes because of the numbers of people with HIV and the rise in HIV across London. The pilot HIV testing at Chelsea and Westminster’s A&E department found nearly half a dozen new people with HIV in only three months.
 

The Health Protection Agency recently recommended that the NHS should as a matter of routine do a HIV healthcare check everyone when they go to an A&E department in any areas with higher rates of HIV. Now a number of other health trusts are already seriously considering this.
 

North West Too?

In NW England, Manchester, Salford and Blackpool have rates of HIV high enough to justify routine HIV screening in A&E.
 

Better Health and prevention

HIV testing at A&E is one way to improve the health of people with undiagnosed HIV. New figures show that at least one in every four people with HIV do not know they have HIV. Late diagnosis worsens people’s health and shortens people’s lives. Undiagnosed HIV means people don't get the treatment they need for good health and people may be passing on HIV unwittingly to their sexual partners.
 

Under 18s

Dr Rachael Jones, from Chelsea and Westminster hospital, said she has treated nearly a dozen patients under 18 in the last three years in West London but this was just “the tip of the iceberg”.
The consultant blamed ministers for focusing on underage pregnancy instead of on safer sex and said HIV tests should be routine for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. She said: “For a long time it was men having sex with men presenting with the virus. Now we're seeing teenagers coming through for the first time with HIV. It only takes one episode of unprotected sex for them to become infected.”
Dr Jones said that the “Don't die of ignorance” shock campaign of the Eighties failed to have a lasting impact and that many teenagers do not even know what HIV is.
 

Source