Would you like to work for an amazing charity? Blue Sky Trust are looking to recruit an Engagement Officer to join our supportive team. For more information or an application pack please contact info@blueskytrust.org or call 07989 155175, closing date is 5pm on the 18th April.
To find out more information click here
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals are collecting patient and visitors views on their visiting times. Visiting has now been reinstated in most areas but the Trust are keen to review their policy and hear your views on what works well for patients and their visitors, and what could be improved. Click here to take part.
Newcastle City Council are currently reviewing the clinical sexual health services within Newcastle upon Tyne. To take part in their survey and give your views go to https://bit.ly/3waipzF
Read the guidance here
NICE has published new recommendations as of 5th January 2022 on cabotegravir (Vocabria) with rilpivirine (Rekambys) for treating HIV-1 in adults, recommendations can be found here
What are Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine?
Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine are medications used to treat HIV, delivered by injection. They have been engineered to stay in the body after injection for at least two months. Aidsmap have more information about these medications here
We hope you saw some of the positive messages about U=U across our social media accounts at the end of October - MASSIVE thanks to everyone who liked, tweeted, retweeted and shared them!
In 2019, it was estimated that there were 105,200 people living with HIV in the UK. 94% of these people were diagnosed, and therefore know that they have HIV. This means that around 1 in 16 people living with HIV in the UK do not know that they have the virus. 98% of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK are on treatment, and 97% of those on treatment are virally suppressed which means they can’t pass the virus on. Of all the people living with HIV in the UK, 89% are virally suppressed.
In the UK we now have medications that can treat HIV, which allows people to live a near normal life expectancy, which is so different to the life expectancy people were told in the 80’s and early 90’s, but still today there is a lot of ignorance, stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV.
If a person adheres to HIV medication, the virus in the blood reduces to undetectable levels. We can now say with complete confidence that people, living with HIV and on effective treatment, can no longer pass on HIV to others, even when sex is unprotected. This is called U=U which stands for Undetectable = Untransmittable.
For anyone who hasn't seen them yet, check out the fantastic videos below - some of our community talking about what U=U means to them...
he thought that one day HIV treatment could require a long-acting injection would have been unbelievable 20 years ago.
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