Sexual health services staff at Sandwell Hospital will be raising awareness of safe sex and the importance of testing at a town centre roadshow this weekend (Saturday 30 November).
Healthcare workers from the hospital’s Dartmouth Clinic will be running the stall, on West Bromwich High Street, as part of global observances for Sunday’s World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and has been held since 1988.
The team will be at the stall, near the Sandwell Centre, from 10am until 3pm and will be handing out condoms, leaflets and goody bags, as well as providing sexual health advice.
Alexandra Young, Senior Sexual Health Nurse at Dartmouth clinic, said: “We will be using the opportunity of World AIDS Day to reach out to shoppers of all ages and backgrounds, telling them of the importance of safe sex and how to access Dartmouth Clinic for free tests and confidential advice.
“There are currently around two people in every thousand in Sandwell who have tested positive for HIV. However, recent findings show that more than a fifth of people who have HIV do not know it, and without being tested or using condoms, they are risking passing the infection on to others. I would urge anyone who has concerns to get them checked out at our clinic.”
For more information on sexual health services in Sandwell, go to https://www.swbh.nhs.uk/services/sexual-health-and-contraception/ or for more information about condoms and HIV and other sexual health infections, go to https://swbhengage.com/health-advice/sexual-health/.
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