Marie Stopes: HIV testing expanded across Marie Stopes’ England clinics
Marie Stopes International is expanding its sexual health screening to include HIV testing at its nine British centres.
HIV tests will be offered to all women and men visiting a Marie Stopes International clinic and will be available free under the NHS for some women accessing unplanned pregnancy services via an NHS referral.
The test is an important step towards allowing more men and women to receive a crucial early diagnosis of HIV that will ensure they have a better response to treatment and are able to maintain a healthy long life. It is estimated that up to one in four people who has HIV in Britain is currently unaware they have the infection.
The new service is being offered at Marie Stopes International clinics in West London, Manchester, Leeds, Maidstone and Reading and will soon be available at the Bristol and Essex clinics. The screening is already provided at the central London and South London clinics.
The changes come into effect after several Primary Care Trusts agreed to fund HIV tests for women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.
Tracey McNeill, Vice President of UK and Western Europe at Britain’s leading sexual and reproductive health provider, Marie Stopes International said:
“Marie Stopes International already offers Chlamydia testing to our clients which has been very successful in detecting and treating the STI and therefore preventing infertility. We are pleased to now also offer HIV testing and we hope that the more than 70,000 men and women who visit our clinics annually will take up the opportunity to check their HIV status.
“Women and men who are diagnosed early with HIV are more likely to respond better to treatment and lead a long and healthy life and it allows them to protect their partners from the infection. Early diagnosis also allows women to prevent the spread of the infection to any future children they give birth to.”
The HIV test will be available for free or at a cost depending on where clients live that are accessing unplanned pregnancy services. HIV and Chlamydia tests are also available to private patients.
For more information call our OneCall centre on 0845 300 8090.
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Media contact: +44 (0) 20 7034 2069 (m) +44 (0) 7748 948 257
Notes to editor
Marie Stopes International
Marie Stopes International is Britain’s leading independent sexual and reproductive health provider, delivering services to more than 100,000 clients across nine centres each year. We are an outcomes driven health service provider, delivering clinical excellence.
Marie Stopes is a not-for-profit organisation working to ensure that men and women can plan their family and have the information, tools and treatments to protect themselves against unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Internationally, we deliver family planning and sexual healthcare to more than six million people in 43 countries annually. For more information, please visit our website www.mariestopes.org.uk
Krista Eleftheriou – Communications Manager, UK Press and Public Affairs
Marie Stopes International | 1 Conway Street | Fitzroy Square | London W1T 6LP | UK
email krista.eleftheriou@mariestopes.org.uk | tel +44 (0) 20 7034 2389 | Mob: 07769166516 fax +44 (0) 20 7034 2371 | web www.mariestopes.org.uk
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