Over the past 40 years there have been huge medical advances in the treatment of HIV. This means that people living with HIV can have long and healthy lives. When HIV is successfully managed, it is both undetectable and therefore untransmittable.
I welcome that NHS England has introduced opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments in the highest HIV prevalence areas. It is clear that the early findings show the benefits of this testing and lead to early diagnosis. In just the first 100 days, 102 people were newly identified with HIV.
I have therefore recently written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ask what the Government's plans are to broaden opt-out HIV testing to level up across the country.
On #WorldAIDSDay, lets remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS-related illnesses and continue to commit to ending the stigma.
