Pop-up HIV tests taking place across Teesside

People can also get free at-home HIV tests from a sexual health clinic

Pop-up clinics offering free HIV tests are taking place in Teesside as part of a national campaign.

Residents in Hartlepool can attend St Aidan's Church on Thursday between 09:30 and 12:00 GMT, and at Community Hub Central from 13:00 to 16:00.

Meanwhile, tests will take place at Redcar Place in Redcar on Friday, between 09:30 and 12:20.

The tests, which are quick and confidential, are being carried out by the Terrence Higgins Trust, which has offered and delivered testing to more than 3,500 people in the area over the last seven years.

Since last April the trust has been directly-commissioned by local authorities in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland and Hartlepool to carry out tests.

The pop-up clinics are part of National HIV Testing Week, which runs until Sunday.

Tests have taken place throughout the week at sites in Stockton, Middlesbrough and at Teesside University.

People can also access free HIV tests through a sexual health clinic, GP, or apply for a home test kit, which are small enough to fit through the letterbox.

Undetectable levels

Anthony Young, service manager at Terrence Higgins Trust Teesside, said people were sometimes "worried" about getting a test, or "don't have time".

"By testing in local spaces like churches and universities, we hope to show how quick, easy and convenient HIV testing is," he added.

"Today, if you test positive, effective treatment means you can live as long as anyone else and it stops you passing on HIV to partners by reducing the amount of the virus in your blood to undetectable levels.

“This means that the levels of HIV become so low that the virus cannot be transmitted.”

He added that if results come back positive, the charity can offer support and advice.

"Testing is nothing to be feared or embarrassed about," he said.

"And with less than six years left to achieve the historic goal of ending new HIV cases in the UK by 2030, every test counts.”

According to the latest available statistics, the overall number of HIV diagnoses in England rose by 6% from 2,313 in 2021 to 2,444 in 2022.

The rise was caused by an increase in diagnoses among heterosexual people, a report showed.