All patients attending our adult Emergency Department (ED), aged 16 and over and requiring a blood test will now also be tested for HIV.
This is to ensure these infections are identified as early as possible.
This method of testing has already been adopted by many trust across England.
What is HIV?
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that affects the immune system. If you have HIV you can get free medication to keep you well so that you can live a long, full and healthy life. Without treatment HIV may cause severe illness (AIDS).
Many people living with HIV are not aware that they have it. Symptoms can take years to develop. The best way to protect your health is to test for HIV regularly.
We recommend that everyone coming to the hospital has a HIV test.
Consent
Testing for HIV in our Emergency Department will occur on an ‘opt-out’ basis. This means if you have a blood sample taken as part of your care, we will automatically test for HIV.
This is to help us detect as many undiagnosed people as possible. If you do not want your blood to be tested, please see the ‘How do I opt-out?’ section below.
If you are not required to have a blood test during your visit, you will not be tested for HIV.
Test results
- If your result is negative, this means there’s no sign of HIV
- If the result is reactive* this means you need further tests to confirm if you have HIV. A specialist nurse will call you within five working days and arrange for you to come in and see a team of HIV specialists who are very experienced with supporting and caring for people living with HIV.
*Please note we will only call you if your result is reactive.
Please also note that sometimes samples may not be tested for reasons such as not enough blood in the tube or missing labels. As long as you have provided a valid phone number and/or address, the Sexual Health team will contact you if your sample isn’t processed and advise you how you can repeat the test. If you haven’t heard from them within 2 weeks of attending the ED department, you can assume your test was processed and was negative.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you do not want to have your blood tested for HIV please inform the member of staff taking your blood tests.
Please note that your results will be kept confidential and we will only contact you if you have a provisional positive result, the test result was unclear and needs to be repeated, or if it wasn’t possible to process the test.
Please inform the health care professional looking after you, preferably the nurse in triage, as part of the booking in process, that you are opting out of the HIV test. Please re-confirm that you are opting out at the time you are having your blood taken.
This is a blood test to check for antibodies to the HIV virus.
An antigen/antibody lab test using blood from a vein can usually detect HIV 18 to 45 days after exposure.
The Sexual Health team from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – commissioned by Central London Community Health Care Trust – will be responsible for contacting patients with positive or indeterminate results and arranging all follow-up, treatment and support.
Please ensure that you confirm your contact details with the health care professional you speak to when you are booking into the ED.
