HIV

Summary

Contact Kirsti Duke, Senior Physiotherapist, Rehabilitation Unit, St Bartholomew's Hospital, Kenton and Lucas Block, West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE   tel 020 7601 8240
Email kirsti.duke@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk
Area of interest HIV/Aids
CSP status unrecognised group
Who can join? The HIV clinical interest group is a very small organisation predominantly with membership in London. There are no formal membership requirements or fees however, participation would be most beneficial for those currently or intending to work with people living with HIV.
What is expected of members? Attendance and participation in quarterly meetings is an important part of membership. Members are also expected to work together as a network in clinical practice, exchange information and provide peer support.
How does the group support members' continuing professional development/lifelong learning?

Website
The website Aids map website is a joint venture between the National AIDS Manual (NAM), the British HIV Association (BHIVA) and St. Stephen's Trust. There is an online library for NAM publications or you can use the site as a search engine. This provides the best up-to-date publications for the UK. It is suitable for both people living with HIV and health professionals.

Peer support/mentorship
A mentorship system operates within the group. Also members can direct queries through the chair of the group (contact details available from the CSP).

Conferences and study days
Meetings every 6 weeks between the major London HIV centres - Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, St Bartholomew's Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital and North Middlesex Hospital. Since February 2005 we have been meeting jointly with the Occupational Therapy Clinical Interest Group who has a similar size and composition to our group.

Study days
21/22nd Sept 2006. See the HIV and Occupational Therapy website for further details.

Formal courses offered/recommended
Most larger trusts or regions have an HIV educator and offer courses for health professionals which are a good introduction. The British HIV Association and the British Dieticians in HIV Association run annual conferences.

Links with other groups/organisations
Many of the clinicians in the group have a mixed caseload including patients with cancer and chronic pain. Therefore membership of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Oncology and Palliative Care and the Physiotherapy Pain Association is useful.
How does the group promote research and evaluation?

Promoting research awareness
Practical assistance may be provided by peer support or recruitment of patients for multi centred studies. Information exchange is a key part of the group's meetings, through relevant article review and examination of practice across centres.

Useful information

Website addresses

  • Medscape website: extensive US based medical website. Includes reviews of conferences, news from all major journals in your chosen clinical area, online articles and databases including Medline and AIDSline. You need to register, but it is free.
  • UN aids website: website for this United Nations organisation. Once again, extensive and includes searching facilities plus an array of documents produced by the organisation. This is particularly good for epidemiological data, worldwide care provision and the health, social and economic impact of the epidemic.
  • Terence Higgins Trust website UK: for patient information, treatment and advice.
  • Aegis website: US website and database search engine. Otherwise type HIV or AIDS into a search engine.

 
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