Offering HIV testing in an acute medical admissions unit in Newcastle upon Tyne

The objective of this study was to offer HIV testing to all patients attending the acute medical admissions unit (AMU) in Newcastle upon Tyne to assess feasibility, acceptability and point prevalence in accordance with the 2008 UK National HIV testing guidelines. A prospective audit was performed offering HIV testing to all patients with the capacity to give verbal consent who attended the AMU. In total, 3,753 eligible patients were admitted during the audit period and 586 (15.6%) were considered for testing. Of those approached, 108 (18.4%) were clinically ineligible to test and 478 were offered a test. In the 396 patients who consented (82.8%), there were two new HIV diagnoses (point prevalence 0.5%). Offering HIV testing in an AMU setting is feasible and acceptable to patients. The high uptake rate but low proportion of admissions tested suggests a lack of confidence of medical staff in offering a test. Misconceptions regarding HIV testing remain and greater education is required for healthcare workers.