Newly-registered patients set for HIV test from GPs

By Nigel Praities

The Government has announced the launch of a pilot scheme under which practices will routinely test for HIV when registering new patients.

The Department of Health said it was looking at the idea in two 12-month pilots due to begin shortly in Brighton and Hove and Lewisham, with the aim of improving identification of patients with HIV.

A spokesperson said the DH wanted to make to make HIV testing outside specialist centres more routine and would be evaluating the results of the pilots ‘to determine their wider implementation'.

The move comes as the chief medical officer wrote to all medical colleges – including the RCGP – to ask what progress they had made on implementing HIV testing for patients among their members.

Sir Liam Donaldson said: ‘Tackling HIV cannot be left to the specialists alone.'

‘HIV remains a serious and often stigmatised health condition that may deter individuals from actively seeking or being offered an HIV test.'

‘I would welcome suggestions for how to improve the current situation and your feedback on what, specifically, are the barriers to testing among GPs,' he said.

A new pilot will see all newly registered patients at some practices tested for HIV A new pilot will see all newly registered patients at some practices tested for HIV