HIV Awareness

Following the Student Question Time meeting in my first week as VC, and the subsequent meetings that have taken place, a number of issues were raised by our student body. I’m keen for this blog to become a platform for members of our community to air their views, and to enable discussion with the wider community on those topics.

An issue I’m very keen to explore further is that of health and wellbeing on campus, particularly as we head into exam period in term three. You may see red ribbons cropping up around campus over the next couple of weeks, and this is all part of a campaign to raise awareness about HIV. Whilst HIV awareness has increased over recent years, it’s important that we’re all educated on how to access the relevant services.

What follows is a post written by Warwick Pride, to raise awareness of HIV, pass on some key facts and figures and promote an upcoming event with a representative from the Terrence Higgins Trust on Monday 14^th March.

I hope going forwards that this blog can continue to be a place for discussion, and a platform for different groups to communicate their message. As this is a blog, comments are always welcome to facilitate discussion around this and other key areas.

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HIV Awareness

Over the coming weeks red ribbons will be appearing all over campus. This is part of a campaign to raise awareness about HIV.

Did you know?

• 17% of people with HIV in the UK don’t know they have it.
• There are over 103,000 people living with HIV in the UK.
• 1/3 of people living with HIV in the UK are women.
• 6,000-7,000 people are diagnosed with HIV every year in the UK.
• An estimated 54,000 heterosexual people were living with HIV in the UK in 2014.
• In 2014, 52% of heterosexual women and 61% of heterosexual men were diagnosed late (after the point at which treatment should have begun).

At a time when vital HIV prevention and support services are facing closure, it is important that you keep yourself informed of where you can get tested.

GETTING TESTED

If you think there is a chance (no matter how small) that you may have been exposed to HIV, then you should get tested as soon as you can. If you are tested within 72 hours of possible exposure, you may be offered PEP, which can stop a HIV infection after the virus has entered the body.

The earlier you are diagnosed as HIV positive, the earlier you can begin treatment. With early treatment you can expect to live a normal lifespan. By starting treatment earlier, you can reduce the risk of serious illness and death by 53%.

A few things everyone should know:

• Tests on the NHS are completely free of charge.
• Your test results are kept confidential; they will only be discussed if it is relevant to your treatment.
• If you have a blood test, your blood is NOT automatically tested for HIV
• Depending on the type of test you have, it can take from 2 hours to 2 weeks to receive the results of your test.
• It is very important that you are tested on a regular basis, especially if you have unprotected sex with new or casual partners.
• There are many benefits to getting tested early; you can start treatment as soon as you need it. You can also take preventative measures to avoid passing it on to others if you know you are HIV positive.

So… where can you get tested?

• Integrated Sexual Health Services, located on the 3rd floor of City of Coventry Health Centre. All services are completely free and confidential.
• George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton, offers same day HIV tests.
• The campus health centre is also able to offer a HIV finger-prick test.

Or alternatively, visit test.hiv to see if you are eligible to receive a free postal test!

We are also very excited to announce that on Monday 14^th March, 1-2pm, B2.01 (Science concourse) a HIV positive speaker from the Terrence Higgins Trust will be on campus to discuss what it's like living with HIV, and to answer any questions you may have. Everyone is welcome to come along and we hope to see lots of you there!

Execblog Resource : 10 Mar 2016 14:48 |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem