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Barking Fastest
In the UK a quarter of people living with HIV are unaware that they are infected*. If you think you’ve been at risk of HIV infection, this service is for you.
For example, you may be concerned that you have become infected with HIV and you want an HIV test as soon as possible. You may be worried that you contracted HIV recently or some time ago, and you are keen not to pass it onto anyone else. When you get your result, you may want to be able to talk to somebody about it.
* Health Protection Agency statistics for 2010, published in November 2011 showed that 24 per cent of people with HIV do not know that they are infected.
Our rapid finger-prick test takes 60 seconds and looks for antibodies to HIV. Your body makes antibodies to try to fight off HIV a few weeks after infection. As antibodies can take up to three months to show in your blood (known as the ‘window period’), you may be advised to come back for a repeat test three months from when you last had sex. The test is done by taking a small sample of blood from your finger using a pin prick.
If the test finds HIV antibodies in your blood, we call it a ‘reactive’ test result. If there are no antibodies to HIV in your blood we call this a ‘negative’ result. If your result is reactive, you will need to have a full blood test to confirm that you are HIV positive. This may be done at our clinic or you may be referred to a sexual health clinic that will confirm your result and give you follow-up care. If you have a reactive result you will be offered support and we will tell you about our other services that are available.
To ensure that all our clinical services provide you with a high standard of care and treatment and are safe, they are provided within Terrence Higgins Trust's clinical governance framework.
This means that our staff are trained to undertake their roles, we have clear policies and procedures in place and work within national guidelines and standards. We regularly monitor our services and welcome feedback from our service users.