- We test for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C in the emergency departments (A&E) at Frimley Health. When we test, you will receive a leaflet or be able to refer to the posters on display in the department.
- If you are aged 16 or older and having a blood test as part of your standard care in one of our hospitals, you can also have your blood tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
- It is important to find these illnesses early.
- If you get treatment for these illnesses early enough it can save your life. Treatment for these illnesses is free with the NHS.
- Your blood test results are kept private. If you do not want to be tested for these illnesses, please let a member of staff know.
- Sometimes we are not able to test the blood we take from you due to a technical problem. If you want to know whether your blood was tested, please email fhft.
bbvresultsgroup @nhs.net
The UK Government has set a goal of ending new HIV and hepatitis C transmissions in England by 2030 and provide people who test positive with the right care. Better prevention, detection and treatment are required to eliminate new infections.
Achieving this goal requires reaching those who do not test in traditional settings such as sexual health clinics, so people with Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, can be identified early.
This allows them to start treatment which reduces the risk of long-term health complications, but also potentially protects other people from transmission.
If you have a blood test at the Emergency Department (ED) in Frimley Park or Wexham Park Hospitals as part of your standard care and are aged 16 or over, we may take an additional blood sample to test for blood borne viruses (BBV). The BBVs that we will test for are HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Hepatitis B and C are viruses that affect the liver and HIV affects the immune system.
Many people are living with an undiagnosed blood borne virus (BBV). This method of testing has already been adopted by hospitals in London, Blackpool, Manchester and Brighton, successfully linking many patients to treatment. Hepatitis B and HIV can be managed with medication helping to prevent health complications that can develop as a result of uncontrolled chronic (long-term) infection. Hepatitis C is now curable.
Medication for all of these conditions helps to prevent transmission.
This is an ‘opt out’ test, meaning every blood test that is taken will be screened for these viruses, unless you tell us not to. All results will be kept confidential, and we will only contact you if you have a reactive (provisional positive) result.
If you would like to opt out of having these tests, you must tell the staff member who is taking your blood test. Choosing to opt out won’t affect your care in any way. The only difference is you won’t know if you have the viruses we screen for.
If you are not required to have a blood test during your visit, you will not be tested for BBVs.
This study is currently live at Frimley Park Hospital. This means that if you are eligible, we will take an additional blood sample to test for blood borne viruses. There are resources around the ED to provide you with further information and contact details for our Trust team that can answer any questions you might have. If you would like to opt-out, please inform the staff member that is taking your blood test.
We are not currently running this study at Wexham Park Hospital, so if you attend the ED at Wexham Park, you will not be tested for blood borne viruses as part of this study. We will be running this study at Wexham Park Hospital in due course.
If your result is non-reactive…
A non-reactive (negative) result means that you did not have hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV when we did the test. If you do not hear from us within 4 weeks from the day you presented in ED, you can assume your test results are negative.
If your test result is reactive…
If your test is reactive (provisional positive) we will contact you directly to arrange an appointment with the relevant specialist service to discuss the next steps.
If we are unable to process your test for technical reasons you will be contacted by a member of the team so we can direct you on how to access a retest if you wish.
Please be aware when you get a phone call from the hospital, it usually appears as 0300 614 5005 and we cannot leave confidential information on voicemail messages. Please consider answering calls from 0300 numbers for the 4 weeks after you presented in ED.
If you would like to contact the Frimley Health team for information about your test results, you can email us at fhft.
It is crucial that we have your correct contact details so we can reach you if needed. Please ensure the emergency department team have your current telephone number, address and GP practice during your attendance. Please let a member of staff know if they need to be updated.
If your contact details change in the 4 weeks after your test, please update them with your GP and contact us at fhft.