HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust is to start offering a new HIV testing service at one of Brighton's popular gay venues.
The weekly drop in, which will take place on Wednesday evenings from 6.00pm - 8.30pm at The Brighton Sauna, will use modern finger-prick blood tests to offer men results within one hour.
In the UK, gay men remain one of the groups most at risk of HIV infection. However, in Brighton & Hove one in five gay men has never had an HIV test.
In a bid to encourage more men to test and reduce high levels of undiagnosed HIV locally, THT plans to expand its testing services in Brighton to include more non-clinical settings.
Jason Warriner, Clinical Director for THT, said: “We know most gay men in Brighton & Hove are aware of the benefits of regular testing, which is why it is concerning that a fifth of them remain untested for HIV. Some men may not want to visit a traditional sexual health clinic, for whatever reason, but it is still important they know their HIV status.
“Advances in testing mean we can now bring our testing services to the places men are; we don’t have to wait for them to come to us. We’re very grateful to The Brighton Sauna for giving us this opportunity, and hope it will encourage more men to come forward for testing.”
Adam Bailey, General Manager at The Brighton Sauna, said: "We are extremely proud to be able to offer some space for THT to operate this testing service, as we recognise the discretion issues that some people face when confronted with a hard decision to visit a clinic. We wish THT success with it and hope it fills a gap, and helps our customers to stay safe and look after their health. We have always respected our customers' privacy and understand how delicate things like this can be."
THT also runs a weekly ‘Fastest’ clinic from its Brighton centre; Monday evenings from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. The clinic is situated at 61 Ship Street, Brighton.
