Publish date: 1 December 2024
This weekend marks World AIDS Day and colleagues at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals have reaffirmed their commitment to helping end HIV.
This year the theme of the international awareness day is ‘take the right path: my health, my right’ and is a call to action by the World Health Organisation to help address the inequalities that hinder progress in ending AIDS.
To show its support, the Trust’s HIV team has spent time offering testing and information to colleagues and visitors.
It was this time last year that BTH and other local service providers signed up to the Fast-Track Cities initiative and Trust and council colleagues recently met to share and celebrate the work being done at the organisation and in the local area to end HIV.
Councillor Jo Farell, cabinet member for Communities and Wellbeing at Blackpool Council, recently visited to see some of the work going on at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.
This includes the Opt Out Blood Borne Virus (BBV) testing project in the Trust’s A&E department and providing HIV education to colleagues.
Coun Farrell said: “We knew when we joined the Fast-Track Cities 12 months ago that it would enable us, and our fantastic partners, to be part of the leading places around the world committed to doing all they can to end HIV, sharing expertise and best practice.
“This dedicated screening, delivered by the Trust and the Emergency Department teams, is an incredible piece of work that is helping us work towards our goals and offer support and treatment to patients that may not have been tested otherwise.
“Not only is this programme beneficial to our local people and patients of the hospital, but it is also setting Blackpool on the map for innovative, good practice that many professionals are interested in, both nationally and internationally.
“As part of and beyond the Fast-Track cities connection, Blackpool has always been keen to end the stigma attached with HIV and testing – it is a virus that can affect anybody.
“We want to ensure people aren’t embarrassed to undertake testing and that it is as normal as being checked for other sexually transmitted infections.
“HIV screening is free, readily available and completely confidential.”
Anna Obi, HIV Service Manager, said: “We’d like to thank Coun Farrell for visiting the opt-out blood borne virus testing project in the Emergency Department, a key component of our HIV prevention efforts. We look forward to the developments that 2025 holds and to continuing working with colleagues and partners.”
Contact the Trust’s HIV team by email on bfwh.
