HIV PARTNER NOTIFICATION IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED PATIENTS IN THE CLINIC AGAINST BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF SEXUAL HEALTH AND HIV (BASHH) PARTNER NOTIFICATION (PN) STANDARDS

ABSTRACT

Introduction Effective HIV interventions have significantly reduced HIV transmission. However with each new case, effective HIV partner notification(HIV-PN) is pivotal in identifying new HIV transmission networks and is a crucial contribution towards ending new HIV infections in England by 2030. We aimed to review our local PN standards against the BASHH guidelines. Method Using GUMCAD coding and heath adviser/HIV team databases we collected data from all new HIV diagnoses in 2021. Results Overall, there were 24 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV in our clinic in 2021. There were 3(13%) who were experiencing sero-conversion at the time of diagnosis. 22 (92%) were cis-male, 17/24(71%) were MSM, the median age was 44 years (IQR=29-51) and 19(79%) described themselves as being of white ethnicity. We found that 1.88 (BASHH standard=0.88) contacts were reported by the index and 1.13 (BASHH standard=0.8) were tested per index case. The proportion of contactable partners tested according to the patient was 83%(BASHH=85%) and those verified by the clinician was 51%(BASHH=65%). 75%(BASHH=97%) of cases had a documented PN plan and 97%(BASHH=100) had a PEPSE assessment. From the notes review, the reasons why HIV PN was not achieved related to being diagnosed in other services and an absence of health adviser input. During Covid-19 inpatient diagnoses were unable to have HIV-PN initiated on 'red' wards. Discussion Overall we are meeting most of the BASHH standards for HIV PN. Further work is needed as an MDT to ensure this gap in PN follow up is addressed.