[SLOSS transformation]

About the South London HIV Network

The HIV Network was created in 2023 out of a recognition that there was a need to bring HIV care providers together in South London. London continues to have the highest rates of HIV in England, with 32% of new diagnoses in 2021 being London residents. In South London, there are ten acute hospitals, across nine Trusts with a very diverse population, alongside high levels of deprivation. Additionally, the South London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark have the highest prevalence of HIV in the country. All Trusts were working in silo with no formal collaborative learning, working or networked transformation.

The network has been initially funded for two years. The clinical leads, Dr Liz Hamlyn, and Dr Lisa Hamzah play a key role in the development and running of the HIV Network, with responsibility for improvement projects, staff education and establishing best practice.

As a network we are committed to using person-first language as set out in the ‘People First Charter’. This comes from a recognition that people living with or at risk of HIV experience stigma & discrimination and the wrong language perpetuates this.

The overarching goals of the South London HIV Network are to drive ongoing improvement in clinical outcomes and experience of care for the population of South London living with HIV, and to ensure that South London is working towards achieving the National HIV Action Plan Goals by 2030 and reaching the interim targets by 2025. To support these, the network has defined three key aims through discussion with stakeholders: clinical, strategic, and involvement.

Aim 1: Clinical

• Collaboration
• Sharing what works well
• Excellent quality of care
• Improving services
• Improving outcomes for people living with HIV

Aim 2: Strategic

• HIV strategy
• Considering the direction of care for the next ten years
• Sharing resources
• Highlighting unmet need
• Formalising pathways
• Ensuring cost effectiveness

Aim 3: Involvement

• Networking and bringing clinicians together
• Involving and championing people living with HIV
• Education
• Addressing health inequalities

Highlights of our work to date

• Hosted several meetings designed to share best practice for emergency department blood-borne virus opt-out testing
• Hosted several meetings to improve primary/secondary care interface, including creating a standard referral form
• Hosted an in-person Mind Your Language event focusing on promoting the use of the right words in the right way and embedding appropriate terminology within the field
• Hosted an in-person event focused on patients who have been diagnosed with HIV, but are no longer engaged in care. We discussed data sharing principles with the aim of reaching consensus
• Regularly host meetings to disseminate work being done in HIV care, including presenting Positive Voices survey data
• Mapped services available to people living with HIV making this easily available to those involved in their care
• Created an NHS Futures site where we share
  • SOPs
  • Maps of services available to people living with HIV
  • Maps of MDTs across SL
  • Communication materials including posters to promote opt-out primary care testing
  • Minutes and recordings of previous meetings

Meet the team