SIXTY SECOND HIV TEST AT SAMEDAYDOCTOR
Written by matt bullas
In its four clinics in London and Manchester, samedaydoctor offers privacy and one-to-one consultations to anyone wanting to have an HIV test. A further three samedaydoctor clinics are due to open later this year.

SIXTY SECOND HIV TEST AT SAMEDAYDOCTOR
Written by matt bullas
In its four clinics in London and Manchester, samedaydoctor offers privacy and one-to-one consultations to anyone wanting to have an HIV test. A further three samedaydoctor clinics are due to open later this year.

Dr Laurence Gerlis, founder and practising doctor at samedaydoctor in central London says, “We have been using this system for 18 months and have never had a false positive or false negative HIV test result. There is an increasing demand for HIV tests and we are able to reassure people within one minute.”

About 98% of HIV tests carried out at samedaydoctor are negative, but there is a team of counsellors and HIV specialists who are able to offer support to the minority of patients whose HIV test results come back positive.

“Anxiety about HIV is an illness in itself,” Dr Gerlis says, “What we offer is peace of mind to people. The risk of HIV is quite low but the anxiety and guilt surrounding the illness drives people to despair, sometimes to the point of suicide. It is unreasonable to expect the NHS to step in to meet this need, and in my view, it is entirely appropriate that the excess demand for HIV testing can be met by the private sector.”

Since the 1990s the number of people being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection has been rising continually, largely among young people and gay men.

“Gay men in London have the highest incidence of HIV compared with anywhere in the world – more than in Africa, Asia or the US”, says Dr Simon Portsmouth, an HIV specialist at samedaydoctor. “Anything that makes getting an HIV test easier, less stressful and more accessible will hopefully reassure or diagnose more hidden infection.”

An HIV test, which requires just a drop of blood from the finger, is competitively priced at samedaydoctor, costing only £110. samedaydoctor’s central London Clinic is open 7 days a week and no appointment is needed – patients can just walk-in when it is convenient for them to do so. There are up to five doctors and nurses on duty keeping waiting time to a minimum.

samedaydoctor can also test patients for all sexually transmitted diseases and other medical conditions.

Clinic Details:
samedaydoctor central London 020 7631 0090
samedaydoctor north London 08456 528 999
samedaydoctor south London 020 8693 2493
samedaydoctor Manchester 0161 827 7868

PR Details:
For further information contact Nick Smith on nick@clickconsult.co.ukThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , Sarah Bruce-Ball on sj@samedaydoctor.co.ukThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or visit www.samedaydoctor.co.uk