Health & Wellbeing

HIV & You, where to get tested and advice.

December 2, 2011

Where to get tested, find free HIV advice and be better informed about HIV…

As National HIV Testing week draws to a close, the fight against HIV and AIDS goes on! Here’s our guide on what you need to know, how to protect yourself and others, and how you can get involved to help raise funds and awareness…

GET TESTED.

•56 Dean Street
•www.dean.st
•020 3315 6699

This convenient, state of the art clinic is totally free to everyone and offers a full range of sexual health and HIV services. You can either book an appointment or walk into the welcoming, confidential service for a 60 second HIV result at anytime. They also offer a walk in post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) service for those who have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hrs, and their HIV testing services are available at G-A-Y Bar on Wednesday and Sweatbox each Monday evening.

•Code
56 Dean Street also offer a weekly service for men into the harder sex scene. It’s available every Tuesday 5-7.30pm and you can text CODE to 07786 202 243 to make an appointment.
56 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 6AQ.

•Pitstop Plus
www.metrocentreonline.org
020 8305 5000

Offering free and confidential STI testing for gay men, there’s no appointment needed and they’re open Wednesday 6.30-8.30pm and Saturday 11am-1pm. They also offer PEP starter packs on the Saturday session.
Norman House, 110-114 Norman Road, Greenwich, SE10 9QJ

•Men’s Health Clinic
020 3049 4580

Located in the heart of Vauxhall, the Men’s Health Clinic every Thursday, 3.30-7.30pm, offers a walk-in service for rapid HIV testing, full sexual health screenings, advice, support and help with alcohol and drug use.
Vauxhall Riverside Sexual Health Centre, Ground Floor, St George’s Wharf, Wandsworth Road, SW8 2JB.

•Positive East
•020 7791 2855
•www.itsbettertoknow.org.uk

Offering fast, free, friendly and confidential HIV testing at two locations, there’s no need to book, just turn up for a test. Available at 159 Mile End Road, E1 4AQ every Saturday 11am to 3pm, Wednesday 5.30pm-8.30pm and also at the Vicarage Lane Centre, Stratford, E15 4ES every Monday and Friday, 4-7pm.

•Mortimer Market Centre
•Tel: 020 3317 5100
•www.camdenproviderservices.nhs.uk

Offering health advice and sexual health services in Central London near Tottenham Court Road (between Goodge Street and Warren Street tubes). There’s a walk-in service for HIV testing and appointments are available Monday and Thursday 9am-6pm, Tuesday 9am-7pm, Wednesday 1-6pm and Friday 9am-3pm.
Copper Street, Off Tottenham Court Road, WC1E 6JB

•The Archway Centre
•Appointments: (Tel) 020 3317 5252*
•Health Advisers: (Tel) 020 3317 5284

North Londoners can get rapid, walk-in HIV testing, free and confidential advice plus full STI screenings. Appointments are available Monday and Tuesday 9am-6.15pm, Wednesday 1.30pm-6.15pm, Thursday 9am-7.15pm and Friday 9am-3.30pm. Young people (under the age of 20) also have walk-in slots Monday to Thursday 3pm-4.30pm.
68 -689 Holloway Road, N19 5SE

•Royal Free Hospital
•www.royalfree.nhs.uk

The Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust has been providing care for people with HIV/AIDS since 1989. If you would like to book a rapid HIV test, please telephone the appointments line on 020 7830 2047or just drop in on Tuesday’s 8.30-11am. Results are available within the hour. If you sell sex, they also have a service to suit your needs, call the health advisors on 020 7830 2847.
Pond Street, Hampstead, NW3 2QG

•Wharfside Clinic
•www.jefferisswing.nhs.uk
•020 7886 1225

Based in Paddington, this clinic offers rapid, walk-in HIV testing with results in 15 minutes, available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9.30am-4.30pm and Wednesday 12.30-4.30pm.
First floor, Jefferiss Wing, St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, W2 1NY

GET ADVICE.

•THT Direct •0808 802 1221

Offering support and information about HIV and sexual health, including where to get tested, vaccinations and treatment. Or, if you’ve been diagnosed HIV positive and need supportwith issues such as disclosure, starting treatment or Hepatitis C, this service is a gateway to all kids of health – from free condoms to a gay men’s Health Trainer, whether you’re HIV positive or not. Lines are open Monday to Friday 10am-10pm, Saturday and Sunday noon-6pm.

•MyHIV from THT
•www.MyHIV.org.uk

If you have HIV, visit MyHIV.org.uk to gain detailed information and advice on living well with HIV, including personal support from other people living with HIV through the community forums.

•London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard
•0300 330 0630
•www.llgs.org.uk

The London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard provides a wide range of information, support and referral services for the LGBT community. They’re available between 10am and 11pm any day of the week, 365 days a year to talk to a fully trained volunteer who will be helpful, friendly and supportive. They offer a full range of sex and sexual health advice – ask them anything you like about sex; wanting it, having it, safer sex, sexual health, where to go if you have an itch or a sore or are worried about HIV, Hep A,B and C or other STI’s.

DO YOUR BIT.

STAND UP, STAND OUT

Almost twenty people are still being diagnosed with HIV every day in the UK and it is an incurable and life threatening condition. With close to 100,000 people now living with the infection and numbers increasing every year, Terrence Higgins Trust is asking people to Stand Up, Stand Out to raise greater awareness of HIV and also vital funds for HIV prevention services and support for people living with the virus.

It’s easy to get involved with the campaign and people can take part in a variety of different ways:

•Stand Out in red underwear and donate £2 to Terrence Higgins Trust. Be as loud and proud as you like, showing just a hint of red over your jeans or a full ‘underwear as outerwear’ look.

•Get well ‘red’ about HIV: Separate the myths from the facts and find out more information about HIV to protect yourself and your partner. Terrence Higgins Trust’s Stand Up, Stand Out HIV Fastfacts are available on: www.tht.org.uk/fastfacts

•Wear your red ribbon with pride: Wear yours in the lead up to December to remember those who have died with AIDS. Phone 020 7812 1671 to order your free box of red ribbons to help raise funds.

•Write to your local MP: Stand Up and be counted by joining Terrence Higgins Trust’s online campaigning community to encourage your MP to support HIV prevention and keep HIV on the local and national agenda. Click here to write to your local MP:
www.tht.org.uk/mp

WORLD AIDS DAY.

•www.worldaidsday.org
•www.nat.org.uk
Globally, an estimated 33.3 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history. World AIDS Day is an opportunity for you to learn the facts about HIV, put your knowledge into action and also find out how you can get involved to help raise funds and awareness.

The National AIDS Trust has launched a campaign calling for the Government to make Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) compulsory within the national curriculum. Putting SRE at the heart of the curriculum, rather than as just an optional add-on, would help ensure young people are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to protect themselves and others. See the website for more information.

LIVE WELL.

•WHAT IS P.E.P.?
PEP stands for Post Exposure Prophylaxis, a treatment that may prevent HIV infection after the virus has entered the body. It involves taking anti-HIV drugs for four weeks, but you must start treatment as soon as possible after unsafe sex, possible exposure to HIV, ideally within 24 hours but definitely within 72 hours (3 days).

It can cause severe side effects such as diarrhoea, nausea and prolonged headaches. PEP is available from sexual health clinics and hospital accident & emergency departments. PEP is not a cure for HIV and is not guaranteed to prevent HIV once the virus has entered the body. Condoms and lube for sex remain the most efficient way of staying safe from HIV.

JUST SAY ‘YES’!

•GMFA Sexual Health Messaging Service
If you’re a Gaydar user then this World AIDS Day you have the opportunity to do something that can help prevent new infections of HIV. You won’t have to pay anything, you won’t have to talk to anyone and you won’t even have to leave the house. Simply log in to Gaydar and say ‘yes’.

For the last few months, Gaydar (along with Fitlads, Recon and Manhunt) have been working with GMFA to develop the Sexual Health Messaging Service. This new confidential service enables men who have been diagnosed with an STI to let their recent sexual partners know, so that they can get tested and, if necessary, treated.

The Sexual Health Messaging Service, which is funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, is designed to make the difficult task of telling a casual partner that they may need to get tested that much easier. When you are diagnosed at a participating clinic you will be given a unique code, which you can use to access the website.

From there you can enter any contact information that you have for your recent shags: mobile phone numbers, email or even just a profile name from a dating website. They will then be automatically sent a message, alerting them to the fact that they should get themselves checked out. The messages can be anonymous or you can put your name to it.
For more information on the Sexual Health Messaging Service, including details about how to opt in on Recon and Fitlads, visit www.gmfa.org.uk/shms.

TALKING POINTS
•www.aidsmap.com

NAM (National AIDS Manual) have launched Talking Points, a new online tool for people with HIV, at the British HIV Association (BHIVA) Autumn Conference. The new resource will help people to prepare for their doctor’s appointments, and support them to participate in decisions about their treatment.

Taking HIV medication is a life long commitment: it is vital that people living with HIV are on a treatment regimen best suited to them, their health and lifestyle. When users complete a short anonymous questionnaire about their health, Talking Points will generate a personalised checklist of important issues that should be considered when choosing treatment options. See the website for more information.

WIN EUROSTAR TICKETS WITH LIVING WELL
•www.livingwellcic.com
To celebrate World AIDS Day’s 24th birthday, Living Well, a non-profit social enterprise offering high quality health services, is giving you the chance to win two return tickets from London to Paris on the Eurostar as well as other amazing prizes.
To enter the competition, and find out more about Living Well, go to www.livingwellcic.com and click on the competition link. The closing date for entry is 22nd December 2011.
Living Well has become a leading provider of innovative, free services for people living with HIV in London and also offers counselling, life coaching and supportive group work.

iSTAYHEALTHY PHONE APP.

iStayHealthy is the FREE, easy to use mobile application for people living with HIV. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with HIV or are already on anti-retroviral treatment, iStayHealthy helps positive people to keep track of their health status and treatments:
•Store, track and monitor your results.