Date published: 2007/05/27
The BBC says:
A hospital consultant is calling for widespread HIV testing for accident and emergency department patients.
Dr Kaveh Manavi, a consultant in HIV medicine at Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital, told the BBC everyone should be tested unless they opted out.
He said the current system, which targets high-risk groups, such as gay men and drug users, missed many people.
HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust says targeted testing by GPs and clinics would be more cost effective.
It is not acceptable that the NHS effectively forces you to have an HIV test, just because you have had an accident. The idea that the test should be "opt out" means that in reality no patient would be made aware that they have this option. Not only is this whole idea immoral, it is also probably a waste of money, as the Terrence Higgins Trust points out.
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