The scheme is helping the NHS achieve its target of zero new HIV transmissions by 2030.
A £20 million NHS pilot scheme in emergency departments has helped diagnose thousands of people with HIV and hepatitis.
The pilot, which runs from April 2022 in 33 hospital emergency departments across the UK, has seen patients for routine blood tests offer additional samples which are then tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
The scheme, which will run for the next three years, is “opt-out” – meaning all patients over the age of 18 are screened unless they refuse screening.
According to NHS England, the pilot enabled almost 2,000 people to be diagnosed and offered around 470 people who were diagnosed but not receiving care to be identified and offered treatment.
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Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said: “Effective testing for blood-borne viruses is vital to help us identify and treat more people living with HIV and hepatitis, so we are very pleased from the positive impact of our routine opt. testing program.
“Increasing early detection and diagnosis of HIV, hepatitis and other blood-borne viruses allows us to give people better access to the latest and most effective life-saving medicines that can prevent long-term health problems and reduce the chance of unknown transmissions to others.”
In 2018, the Elton John AIDS Foundation introduced no-participation HIV testing in south London as part of the world’s first social impact bond, which focuses on giving people living with HIV access to appropriate care. In three years, more than 265,000 people have been tested for HIV and more than 460 South Londoners living with HIV have received treatment for the first time.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation introduced no-participation HIV testing in 2018. Photo: AP
Ann Aslett, chief executive of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, said: “When the Elton John AIDS Foundation first piloted opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments in South London, the results were not only shocking, but also paved the way for HIV testing of choice across the country.
“Since opt-out testing in the highest prevalence areas began last April, the system has diagnosed people aged 18 to 85. It has been amazing to see how opt-out testing has changed the lives of people living with HIV.”
According to NHS figures, 42% of HIV diagnoses in the UK occur when the patient’s immune system is already significantly compromised.
Research shows that those who receive a late diagnosis are eight times more likely to die from the disease.
Richard Angell, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said expanding HIV and hepatitis testing in emergency care was “essential” to meeting the organisation’s target of ending new cases of HIV by 2030.
He added: “The results of a year’s worth of opt-out testing in areas with very high HIV prevalence are overwhelming
what everyone expected and they showed an incredible return on investment.”