Manchester based Lesbian & Gay Foundation (LGF) have teamed up with NHS Services Manchester Centre for Sexual Health and RU Clear to provide 600 Dry Blood Spot HIV Home Sampling Kits to gay and bisexual men who live in Greater Manchester.
The project, funded by the MAC AIDS Fund, is a new addition to The Lesbian & Gay Foundation’s range of sexual health services for men who have sex with men. It will enable bisexual and gay men aged 16+ living in Greater Manchester to order a home sampling kit online, or collect one from The LGF’s Community Resource Centre in Manchester, which tests for HIV. This new service will be available from next Monday, 11th November 2013.
The tests can be completed at home and everything is in the pack to take a small finger prick blood sample which is then posted off to the lab in the envelope provided. The results take up to 2 weeks and are returned by the individual’s chosen method (text, phone call or letter).
Health Protection Agency (HPA) data, HIV & AIDS in the North West of England 2011 found that;
* New diagnoses in gay and bisexual men and men who have sex with men are estimated to have more than doubled from 2002-2011
* Greater Manchester has two high prevalence areas for HIV; Manchester and Salford – Manchester has the second highest prevalence of HIV infection outside London (5.2 cases per 1,000) and Salford has the fourth highest (4 cases per 1,000)
Stacey Adams, Sexual Health Programme Manager for the Lesbian & Gay Foundation comments; “This is a great way for gay and bisexual men to have more freedom in the ways they can choose to test so that they know their HIV status and are able to proactively look after their sexual health.”
The Lesbian & Gay Foundation have also seen an increase in demand for their sexual health services from across the past two years. Stacey explains “We’ve seen a 15% increase in demand in our community based testing services, and a 19% increase in men calling our helpline with sexual health needs, including the benefits of testing and safer sex negotiation”
Health Protection Agency data (2012) estimates around a quarter of people living with HIV remain undiagnosed.
For more information on the project, and to order a home sampling kit visit www.lgf.org.uk/hometesting. The kits will be available to order from Monday 11th November 2013.
