Overview
HIV (Harrison wing)
Harrison wing provides specialist outpatient services for people who are living with HIV. Our aim is to support you to live well with HIV.
At the clinic you'll see:
- doctors
- nurses
- pharmacists
- dietitians
- midwives
- a physiotherapist
Our clinic has lots of services on one site. We'll give you specialist support depending on what you need.
Psychological and emotional support
We offer a range of psychological support services. We work with community services and voluntary organisations to provide care and support.
This includes:
- short-term counselling for newly-diagnosed HIV patients and their partners
- assessment and referral to the mental health team including psychiatry and psychology services
- referral to our HIV specialist community nursing team
- referral to voluntary support organisations
- support with risk-taking behaviour including drug use and chemsex (using drugs as part of your sex life)
Financial information and practical advice
A patient representative is available for all patients for:
- advice and information about living well with HIV
- information about welfare benefits and financial help
Medicine and treatment
Our clinical nurse specialists and specialist pharmacists also support patients on anti-HIV medication (highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART). They help make sure you take your treatment exactly as prescribed:
- at the correct time
- following any food advice
It is important that you stick to your plan. If you do not your treatment may not work.
Confidentiality
Maintaining your confidentiality is important to us. Please let us know if there are any special concerns you have about confidentiality.
Chagas disease
We're screening patients born in Latin American countries for Chagas disease.
Chagas disease is an infection caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma Cruzi and affects people who are born or who lived in Central and South America.
If left untreated, the disease can cause problems with your heart and digestive system.
People with HIV are also at risk of a severe form of the disease that can damage the nervous system and heart.
We'll give you a blood test to see if you have Chagas disease.
If you test positive for Chagas disease we'll refer you to the UK Chagas Hub in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. We treat the disease with a drug called benznidazole.
Our consultants
Nick Larbalestier
Rebecca Simons
Golaleh Haidari
Amelia Hughes
Research and clinical trials
Research is vital to improving the care that you receive when you're unwell. You can help improve healthcare by taking part in research studies at our Trust.
The clinical trials unit and the academic research unit run a variety of drug trials and studies in Harrison Wing. The aim of these studies is to improve our understanding of HIV and discover better treatments. If you would like to find out more, please ask your doctor or research nurse.
If you would like to contact our research team, please:
- phone 020 7188 2608 or 020 7188 2609
- email gstt.harrisonwingresearchnursesandadministrators@nhs.net
If you do not want to take part, this will not affect your treatment.
Mpox
Anyone can contract mpox (previously called monkeypox), but UK data from the current outbreak shows higher levels of transmission between men who have sex with men.
Find out more about mpox and the vaccine.
Last updated: October 2023
