Maria Caulfield, Member of Parliament for Lewes, has welcomed the news that the Government has launched a new research project that will expand the hugely successful HIV opt-out testing programme into areas with a high prevalence of HIV, including locally in Sussex, to support its ambition to end new transmissions of HIV within England by 2030.
Backed by £20 million of funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the new project will expand efforts to detect undiagnosed HIV, Hepatitis B and C to 46 more emergency departments in England – into areas with a high prevalence of HIV.
The expanded programme could identify a significant proportion of the estimated 4,500 people living with undiagnosed HIV, preventing new transmissions and saving more lives.
Last year, as part of the Government’s world leading HIV Action Plan, NHS England launched the blood borne viruses (BBV) opt-out testing programme, with funding available for 34 emergency departments in areas with the highest prevalence of HIV.
This latest announcement will mean the programme will be expanded as part of a research evaluation to 46 more emergency departments, covering 32 areas with a high prevalence of HIV. Locally this includes the Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne District General Hospital.
The expansion will support the UK’s progress in being a world leader in the fight against HIV – and in meeting its goal to end all transmissions of HIV in England by 2030.
The evaluation of the expansion of opt-out testing will help reach the ambition set in January 2019 in reducing new HIV transmissions by 80% in 2025 and ending new transmissions by 2030, according to an update on the HIV Action Plan for England.
Maria Caulfield MP said:
“The current HIV opt-out testing programme has been a huge success, I very much welcome that this is being expanded and includes 2 more hospitals in East Sussex, the Conquest and the Eastbourne DGH. This programme is helping us to ensure that we can reach our goal of ending new HIV transmission by 2030, and I congratulate all those who have campaigned and worked on this project”